Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: before you suffocate your own fool self

When you're looking for something to read, but you don't have a lot of time, a short story can be the perfect solution. Check out these great short story collections!

Going Away Shoes by Jill McCorkle: Presents eleven short stories that feature shoes from Cinderella's glass slippers to hunting boots covered in mud.

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li: This collection brings in elements of Chinese and Chinese-American experience while pondering big questions about the human fate.

Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom: A series of interconnected stories where a young woman struggles to come to terms with her roommate's murder, in-laws confess their indiscretions in a unlikely place, and two middle age friends discover a comedic attraction.

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans: Fearless and funny stories that offer a new perspective on being young and of mixed race in America.

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