Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Pulitzer-winning author reveals Catherine the Great

From a minor German princess to empress of Russia, Catherine the Great's life provides great fodder for a biography, and Pulitzer-winning author Robert K. Massie has accomplished this task to rave critical reviews. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman talks about Catherine as an individual as well as a ruler, taking a behind-the-scenes look at the life of this great leader. Click here or pick up a free copy of Bookpage at your Community Library to read an interview with this new biography's author.

Looking for another high-quality biography of a powerful woman? Try Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff, which made quite a splash when it came out in late 2010.

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

Pulitzer-winning author reveals Catherine the Great

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