Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: dan simmons

What could be better than curling up with a terrifying horror novel (and candy!) on Halloween night? Stop by the Community Library and pick up some frighteningly good books before heading out to trick-or treat!

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The handsome appearance of dissolute, young Dorian Gray remains unchanged while the features in his portrait become distorted as his degeneration progresses. (Publisher Summary)

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

In D.C. to shoot a film, adored film star Chris MacNeil finds her stay turning into a nightmare when her young daughter, Regan, is possessed by the devil and must endure a brutal exorcism. (Publisher Summary)

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Witchcraft and terror await Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse when they move into the ominous Bramford apartment building. (Publisher Summary)

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

A young governess is sent to a great country house to care for two orphaned children. To begin with Flora and Miles seem to be model pupils but gradually the governess starts to suspect that something is very wrong with them. As she sets out to uncover the corrupt secrets of the house she becomes convinced that something evil is watching her. (Publisher Summary)

Terror by Dan Simmons

Captain Crozier must find a way for his crew to survive the deadly attacks of a mysterious and insatiable sea monster that is stalking the men trapped in the Arctic ice, in a novel loosely based on the mid-nineteenth-century Arctic expedition originally led by Sir John Franklin. (Publisher Summary)

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The classic tale of the bizarre Carpathian count, who drinks human blood to stay alive, and the Englishman who knows his secret. (Publisher Summary)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

In Doctor Sleep, Stephen King returns to the character and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

If you like Doctor Sleep you may also like the following books:

The Ritual by Adam Nevill:

Unexpectedly clashing with his three old University friends while hiking in the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle, Luke takes a shortcut that leads the group to an ancient pagan sacrificial site where they are hunted by a bestial predator.

The Broken Ones by Stephen M. Irwin:

When everyone in the world finds themselves suddenly accompanied by a personal ghost that only the haunted can see, the situation throws society into chaos and creates complications for homicide detective Oscar Mariani.

The Abominable by Dan Simmons:

Four climbers travel to Mount Everest in 1924 in an attempt to recover the body of a missing adventurer but find themselves being pursued by someone. . . or something. This nightmare becomes a matter of life and death at 28,000 feet - but what is pursuing them? And what is the truth behind the disappearances on Everest? As they fight their way to the top of the world, the friends uncover a secret far more abominable than any mythical creature could ever be.

To find more books like these, visit our display in the Fiction section of the library or stop by the reference desk on the first floor.

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

Scare Yourself Silly

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