Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: cosmopolis

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'Cosmopolis' trailer available

Nearly a decade after its publication in 2003, Hollywood is working on a film adaptation of Jon DeLillo's Cosmopolis (film trailer now available here). In the story, a brilliant billionaire asset manager, en route via white stretch limo to the local haircutter, finds his trip interrupted by a presidential motorcade, music idol's funeral, movie set, and violent political demonstration, and receives a number of important visitors in the fields of security, technology, currency, finance, and theory. Twilight star Robert Pattinson plays the role of the much-interrupted billionaire. The movie will most likely be coming to the theaters in the US in fall 2012.

Cosmopolis: Book to Movie Alert

Another book will soon be joining the ranks of books-turned-into-movies: Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo. The story is about a hot-shot NYC stockbroker (played in the forthcoming movie by Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson) whose routine limo ride to a barber shop is interrupted by a presidential motorcade, a music idol's funeral, a movie set, and a violent political demonstration. As the movie's release date draws nearer, there's sure to be a rush on the book, so reserve your copy today!

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