Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. This book was everything you've heard. It was heartbreaking and fascinating and really got to me. I've put off a review for weeks because I feel like I just can't do it justice. The book addresses life and death and elder care. It's not dry and boring and is mixed with personal stories of choice and what happens when we don't make a choice. It's about quality of life verses quantity of life. This book will stick with me for a very long time, and I highly recommend it to everyone (yes, EVERYone.) For a better review I recommend Janssen's or Amy's.
You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir by Felicia Day. I was first introduced to The Guild, and it's creator Felicia Day after reading Max Wirestone's The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss. I knew then that I'd need to read this memoir. Day does something you rarely see in a(n interesting) memoir- she talks about her life without getting terribly personal, or criticising anyone else. Starting with her life in Huntsville, Alabama, and ending with the creation of Geek and Sundry, this is interesting and funny from beginning to end. I don't read a ton of memoirs, and even fewer celebrity memoirs, but I enjoyed this one completely.
When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare. I read all of Dare's Spindle Cove series back to back last year and loved them, but for some reason put off reading the Castles Ever After Series, despite owning the first two. This is the third book in the series. I loved the idea behind it- painfully shy Maddie invents a suitor, who comes true and insists they marry. I loved both the hero and heroine, and all of the side characters. In hindsight, I don't know how believable it is, but it's a fun ride and definitely makes me want to read the others in the series.
Love Irresistibly, It Happened One Wedding, and Suddenly One Summer by Julie James. The name of this series is the FBI/ US Attorney series and that should give you the hint that these are books about smart, accomplished people. I stayed up too late with all three of these, binge reading my way through. If you're hesitant about romance novels because you worry about insipid plot lines, these are a great choice. Hot, sexy, fun with people who know who and what they are. I'm very happy to have one more left, with another coming out next spring.
I hope to read Being Mortal soon. I wanted to wait until the holidays were over to tackle it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about Being Mortal. Everyone should read it because everyone will have to deal with the issues presented. It's a winner. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI want to read Julie James and Tessa Dare. The Felicia Day memoir has been on my radar but I've yet to pick it up. How did I miss she was from Huntsville?
ReplyDeleteI've heard such good things about BEING MORTAL - I read very few non-fiction books, but have requested that one from my library.
ReplyDeleteI definitely need to be getting to Being Mortal soon - I don't know anyone who's read it and wasn't impressed.
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