Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Winners of the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards!

Earlier this week, the winners of the 5th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards were announced! With almost 2 million votes cast this year, the Goodreads Choice Awards are the only major book awards decided by readers.

Click here to read the article and view the winners in all 20 categories. The top ten fiction books are listed below. Congratulations to all the winners!

WINNER!

1. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
2. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
3. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
4. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
5. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriaty
6. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Klein
7. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
8. The House Girl by Tara Conklin
9. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
10. Tenth of December by George Saunders

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

Winners of the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards!

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