Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Join the Book Discussion

The 2015 Long Island Reads book pick is The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman!

Join the Community Library's book club on April 22nd (between 2PM and 4PM) for a discussion of this wonderful novel. Registration is open, click here to reserve your seat today!

The daughter of a curiosities museum's front man pursues an impassioned love affair with a Russian immigrant photographer who after fleeing his Lower East Side Orthodox community has captured poignant images of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. By the best-selling author of Here on Earth. (Publisher Summary)

Click here for more information on Long Island Reads and here for information about Alice Hoffman's upcoming book signing at the Plainview-Old Bethpage library on April 19th!

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

Join the Book Discussion

No comments:

Post a Comment