Hey all,
It’s been a lighter couple of months on the reading front, but here are two that I recently finished. I made some real headway into a couple of other books but had to put them aside for a while. I still struggle with not finishing something once I start. It feels too much like quitting, when in reality, it’s clearing space for the things that will really speak to me.
If you’d like to share these out more broadly, you can use this link where anyone can subscribe: https://booknotes.substack.com/
Matt
1 - Being Mortal
“Our most cruel failure in how we treat the sick and the aged is the failure to recognize that they have priorities beyond merely being safe and living longer; that the chance to shape one’s story is essential to sustaining meaning in life; that we have the opportunity to refashion our institutions, our culture, and our conversations in ways that transform the possibilities for the last chapters of everyone’s lives.”
Atul Gawande is an incredible writer and thinker and uniquely positioned to critique how the modern medical system has focused purely on “repair of health, not sustenance of the soul,” to the detriment of its patients. Through age or illness of ourselves or our loved ones, each of us will be forced to answer difficult questions about what gives our lives meaning, and what is necessary to retain autonomy, purpose, and dignity. Confronting this mortality is a difficult and unpleasant process. Perhaps the most reassuring part of the book is that it is no easier for a physician than it is for the layperson. Gawande chronicles his own father’s struggle with cancer (a physician himself)—even with over a lifetime of experience between father and son (and mother, also a doctor), navigating the end of his life was still full of struggle, uncertainty, and certainly, no easy answers.
Beyond the philosophical there is a lot of practical context provided around the history of elder care, the rise of nursing homes (from poorhouses) and assisted living facilities. Ultimately, this is heavy reading, but full of meaning and opportunity for reflection.
2 - The Library Book
Having walked by the LA Central Library many times, I was surprised to learn that a massive fire had destroyed over 400,000 books in 1986 (the largest library fire in the history of the United States). Susan Orlean’s, appropriately titled book, chronicles the fire, the history of the Los Angeles public library system, and the life of the suspected arsonist. While it wasn’t my favorite, it was fascinating to learn more about the city I live in and some of the rich history that is relatively unknown. One example: the library’s renovation was funded by selling the building’s air rights for $28 million to the developers across the street.