Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

I had a sour taste after reading Victoria & Abdul. As I mentioned in previous posts, I did not read much towards the end of this year. The holidays were approaching and my Christmas book giveaway was shaping up to be weak. I decided to wander Barnes and Noble for some inspiration. I saw Being Mortal on the first table of books I walked by.

The word "mortal" caught my attention because of my day job. I read the back cover and it sounded interesting. The subtitle of the book sums it up perfectly: what matters in the end. Atul Gawande is a doctor at one of the hospitals in Boston. He writes about how Americans care for people as they age. He looks at this from a doctor's perspective, but also from a patient perspective as his father his aging.

In the old days, as parents aged, they would move in with their kids and grandkids. The families stayed together to care for the elderly, who were seen as wise and knowledgeable. The premise is we have shifted to a place where we want our elders to be safe, even if it means taking away their cars, putting them in nursing homes, giving them countless meds. Besides the financial cost, it takes a toll mentally and physically, to the point where one asks what is the point of living? What matters in the end?

The author does not have an answer, as it will vary from person to person. He suggests it is more about having that conversation than what the answer is. Some will want to take care of themselves; others will be happy as long as they can still eat ice cream. Hospice seems like a reasonable happy-medium for many at the end of the road (something I did not know much about).

It is a very insightful book and I think it is spot on. I had my dad read the book and then shared it with an old college professor. They used words like "sobering" and "dark" but at the same time they agreed the author was spot on and it was good to think about.

My rating for Being Mortal: 5 stars out of 5. Get it here!

Victoria & Abdul by Shrabani Basu

This is a filler post. I saw a preview at the cinemas for a movie about the friendship between Queen Victoria and her Indian servant towards the end of her life. It was not coming out for another month or so, but I like to read the book first anyways (the movie was obviously based on a book). Unfortunately, I only read about 75 pages before giving up. And I never saw the movie ha.

At a high level, the story seems interesting. In reality, the writing was dry and nothing exciting actually happens. It has more of a historical feel rather than a story (i.e. no conversations). In this sense, the movie would probably be more entertaining.

Not a great post but I felt like writing about it since I gave it a chance. Sometimes you do not strike gold.

My rating for Victoria & Abdul: 1 star out of 5. Get it here!

1984 by George Orwell

Another back-dated post (see the intro in the Good Calories, Bad Calories review). This was the third book club book. Sadly, this was the last book club book of 2017. We tried to read The Leftovers, but we couldn't find a time to meet. Good news is we are hoping to start up again in 2018.

I have to admit after reading Catch-22 I was a little hesitant to read another classic. But 1984 was much better. It was an easier read and the storyline was entertaining. 1984 takes place in a country that is perpetually in war, monitored by the government, and where pretty much everything in life is manipulated. There are social classes, propaganda, and more. The story is about a man who rebels and tries to find out the truth.

With these classic books, I like to comment on how suitable each is for high school kids. I do not remember reading 1984 in high school, but this is one of the rare classics I have come across where I believe kids should be reading it as part of the curriculum. It is readable, relevant, and significant. 

The most fascinating thing to me is this book was written in 1949. It is still relevant today (maybe even more so than back then). It definitely makes the reader think. I cannot get over how relevant it still is today.

My rating for 1984: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!