Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Keira Knightley stars in a new film version of 'Anna Karenina'

Classic stories never go out of style, at least not in Hollywood. After playing heroine Elizabeth Bennett in 2006's Pride and Prejudice (based on Jane Austen's classic novel), Keira Knightley stars again in a film adaptation of yet another classic story: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. The story is about rebellious Anna and her ill-fated, adulterous romance with Count Vronsky amid the turmoil of nineteenth-century Russia. Looking for another film adaptation of this classic? Try the 1935 version that won Greta Garbo "Best Actress." Here's the trailer for the forthcoming film with Keira Knightley (coming out in November 2012), and don't forget to stop by your Community Library to check out the book that inspired the movie!

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

Keira Knightley stars in a new film version of 'Anna Karenina'

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