Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Books to TV

We can all name a few books that have inspired movies, but what about books that inspired TV series? Here are a few suggestions from librarian Genive P.

The Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay

Jeff Lindsay's books inspired the Dexter crime drama about a morally-ambiguous Miami forensics expert who kills criminals who he believes have escaped justice. Check out his latest title, Dexter is Delicious, located at the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley library's new books section.

The Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs

These books by Kathy Reichs are the inspiration for the TV show Bones, featuring a forensic anthropologist and an FBI agent who team up to solve murders using little more than bones as clues. The newest installment in the series is Spider Bones, also available in large print.

And rememember, your community library also has all available seasons of Dexter and Bones in the DVD section, alphabetized by title.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Books to TV

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