Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Jan Karon

Recently, Linda from Shirley enthusiastically recommended Debbie Macomber to the Readers' Advisory Librarian. Linda said she loved the way Macomber's books keep characters' intimate passions private, and how they are real page-turners that keep a strong hold on a reader's heart. The book that got her hooked on Macomber? Changing Habits (2003), about three very different women who enter a convent in Minneapolis, then change, grow, and ultimately leave the sisterhood.

For Debbie Macomber fans, Novelist (a readers' advisory database free to Mastics-Moriches-Shirley cardholders) also recommends Jan Karon's Mitford series (start with At Home in Mitford) and the Navy-oriented love stories by Susan Wiggs (start with The Ocean Between Us).

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

Patron enthusiastically recommends Debbie Macomber's books