Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Desert Fantasy in 'The Kingdoms of Dust' and other books

In the newly-released The Kingdoms of Dust, which earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, necromancer and spy Isyllt Iskaldur finds herself hounded by assassins and seeking asylum in the kingdom she once worked to undermine. New to "The Necromancer Chronicles"? Start with The Drowning City, followed by The Bone Palace. Looking for more desert-inspired fantasy? Try The Warded Man and its recent sequel, Desert Spear, or straddle the border with science fiction in the classic novel Dune, in which a young nobleman goes into exile on a the desert planet Arrakis. The new book The Steel Seraglio, in which an army of the sultan's exiled concubines fight to retake their city, might also be to your liking.

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

Desert Fantasy in 'The Kingdoms of Dust' and other books

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