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HW/PC Book Club Feb-2017: “Being Mortal”

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Posted 1/3/2017 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
I do believe that we have some readers out there*….you are invited to join the new HW/PC Book Club. It’ll work just like any other Book Club at a high-level:
    • A book gets recommended/agreed upon then…
    • Book Club participants read the book prior to the “meeting ‘start’ date,” then…
    • Participants discuss the book together (online, in this case), then…
    • The process repeats itself by selecting new book, setting a new date for when discussion will start on the new book, participants read the new book, then new discussion takes place.

I’ll be the facilitator for the first round to help get this started by picking the first book (described below) and setting the first ‘meeting’ start date (1 month away, on Feb 1st, 2017). Let’s establish these “guidelines” at the outset to help keep us on-track…

HW/PC BOOK CLUB GUIDELINES:
    1. The “meeting” will be all online, in a single thread with a Subject line similar to this thread.

    2. Let’s initially plan on a 2-month cycle (possibly as many as 6 books/year)—picking a new book every 2-months ("reading months" will be: Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov) and starting a new “meeting” a month later on the alternating months ("meeting months" will be: Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec, starting on or around the beginning of those months). In other words, Jan-Feb will be one complete 2-month cycle of reading/discussing.

    3. Half way into each “meeting” month, we’ll start discussion about a new book for the next cycle, and then who's-ever book we select, the person proposing that book will become the facilitator for that next round. Participants from the prior read/discuss cycle will pick the next book...in other words, join for at least one round as a participant before suggesting a book for the next round.

    4. Facilitator shall “take the lead” for the 2-month period by initiating and maintaining a new “book thread” on the topic once the book has been selected. During the “reading” month, the new facilitator shall encourage new participants to join, stimulate interest in the book by posting “teasers” (without giving too many “spoilers”), and track who will be participating in the “meeting.” During the “meeting” month, the facilitator continues in the “lead” role by asking stimulating questions of participants and helping to steer the discussion and keep it on-track. In the 2nd half of the "meeting" month, the facilitator leads an effort for current participants to recommend/select another book (and facilitator) for the next cycle. The facilitator's responsibilities come to an end after the 2-month cycle and a successful hand-off to the next facilitator is complete.

    5. Participants are asked to help keep discussion in each “book thread” on-topic. In general, if you haven’t read the book, we’d like to ask you to simply skip over this HW/PC thread (observe the dialogue if you'd like, but sit-out of the discussion) and consider joining in the next cycle with the next book.

    6. Let’s pick books that are at least in some way related to why we are all here at HW/PC…we'll leave it to you to creatively describe the connection

    (Please refer to these by number in the future when proposing a modification or additions to the GUIDELINES.)


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I’ll get the Book Club started by leading discussion (starting Feb 1st) about the book Being Mortal. Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande (or more simply known as Being Mortal).

HERE is the Amazon link to order it online, HERE is the Barnes & Noble link (about 20 bucks; less for e-book), or find it in your local library.

I just read this book over Christmas vacation, and my comment about it to my wife was that this is a valuable book which I would recommend for anyone who has ever known someone who is going to age or die, or is going to age or die themselves. The other thing that I thought about as I was reading it was that it touched upon many, many different topics that have been raised by many different people at HW/PC…and it offers a clear-eyed perspective on thinking through and confronting the challenging issues of quality and quantity of life.

I’ll post more “teasers” later about the book, but will hope that others will now use this thread to “sign-up” for this first round of the HW/PC Book Club.” If you’ve already read Being Mortal and are interested in participating in discussion about it in the February “meeting,” let me know. If you have not yet read the book, but may be interested in reading it and participating in February discussion about it, let me know. If you think this is a stupid idea, don’t bother letting me know…I may end up having online discussion with myself in February, which may be a little odd but won’t bother me too much.

So as a summary, here's how the Book Club will work, and here's what your next steps are:

  • Jan-17 is "reading" month, and discussion begins online on Feb 1st
  • The book selected for the Jan-Feb 2017 cycle is: Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande
  • Reply to this thread in January if you are interested in participating; then get the book and read it by Feb 1st.
  • If you participate in this cycle and you've got a good book to recommend next, bring it into the discussion mid-February timeframe for consideration in the Mar-Apr cycle.



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*The correlation between reading and intelligence has been well documented (PubMed article), but there is the never-ending argument on when comes first (chicken-or-the-egg): does reading make you more intelligent, or do smart people read more? What do you think? The chicken, or the egg?

Post Edited (JackH) : 2/22/2017 2:38:42 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/3/2017 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
BOOK TEASER
Here's a book summary by the publisher:
    From Atul Gawande, a book that has the potential to change medicine – and lives.

    Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming the dangers of childbirth, injury, and disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs counter to what it should.

    Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, Gawande reveals the suffering this dynamic has produced. Nursing homes, devoted above all to safety, battle with residents over the food they are allowed to eat and the choices they are allowed to make. Doctors, uncomfortable discussing patients’ anxieties about death, fall back on false hopes and treatments that are actually shortening lives instead of improving them. And families go along with all of it.

    In his bestselling books, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. Now he examines its ultimate limitations and failures – in his own practices as well as others’ – as life draws to a close. And he discovers how we can do better. He follows a hospice nurse on her rounds, a geriatrician in his clinic, and reformers turning nursing homes upside down. He finds people who show us how to have the hard conversations and how to ensure we never sacrifice what people really care about.

    Riveting, honest, and humane, Being Mortal shows that the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life – all the way to the very end.

Post Edited (JackH) : 1/8/2017 3:32:28 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/4/2017 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
Jack:

This is a GREAT IDEA.

It also strikes a nerve for me as we recently decided to revise our wills, power of attorneys, and advanced directives. This was done previously in 1979, shortly after the birth of our first child. It was interesting examining our viewpoint then and our current viewpoint. These days, especially having PC but also reaching the age of 70, we deal with issues of life/death and what we really want. We realize that doctors might think they have our best interests at heart, but they may not. There is an inherent conflict between preserving life and preserving QOL.

Looks like an excellent choice.

I might be interested in participating, but we will be doing the snowbird thing soon. So, no commitment from moi. Maybe when I get back after March.

Again, great idea and I do hope you do not end up being a group of one. I would predict you get a decent number.

Mel
Posted 1/4/2017 3:08 AM (GMT 0)
As a former university librarian, you can be very well sure that any mention of forming or participating in a book club is music to my ears.

So I'm one of the number here who will be following the development of this idea with great interest.

Let's see how much interest we get for this, and where it might get to!
Posted 1/4/2017 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
I would love to participate.
I will order the book today!
Posted 1/4/2017 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
BOOK TEASER
THIS POST IS A “TEASER” TO HELP STIMULATE INTEREST IN HW/PC BOOK CLUB PARTICIPATION, AND IS NOT INTENED TO SPARK DISCUSSION DURING THE “READING MONTH” PERIOD (JANUARY). THE CONTENTS OF THIS POST WILL LIKELY BE DISCUSSED AMONGST BOOK CLUB PARTICIPANTS DURING THE “MEETING MONTH,” WHICH BEGINS FEBRUARY 1ST, 2017. PLEASE SEE THE INITIAL POST IN THIS THREAD FOR MORE INFORMATION.


The author of Being Mortal describes three primary types of doctor relationships he and his father encountered while navigating the care for his father’s newly found (eventually fatal) cancer. (Both the author, Atul Gawande, and his father are physicians, by the way.)

The first type is the doctor he describes we might read about or imagine from the 1950s or 1960s yet still exists (and thrives) today…the all-knowing God-like figure that tells the patients what they should do and does not discuss options that the doctor does not think are optimal. Chapter 7 includes a deep discussion which contrasts this type (labeled by the author as “Dr. Paternalistic”) and two other types.

As you read the book, and this chapter in particular, you may learn (as the author did) more about the limitations of each type of doctor relationship. You may also think more deeply about this question: “What relationship would you want from your doctor if/when/as you face a serious illness?”


ARE YOU A READER? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE HW/PC BOOK CLUB ONLINE DISCUSSION (IN FEBRUARY) OF THE BOOK Being Mortal? PLEASE USE THIS THREAD IN JANUARY TO POST YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE HW/PC BOOK CLUB. DISCUSSION BEGINS IN FEBRUARY.

Post Edited (JackH) : 1/5/2017 7:15:15 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/5/2017 2:24 AM (GMT 0)
I'll bite. I'll get it ordered and start on it.
Posted 1/5/2017 2:24 AM (GMT 0)
It's an excellent book, and one that I mentioned two years ago in a reply to a "What Are You Reading Now' post.
Posted 1/5/2017 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
BOOK TEASER
THIS POST IS A “TEASER” TO HELP STIMULATE INTEREST IN HW/PC BOOK CLUB PARTICIPATION, AND IS NOT INTENED TO SPARK DISCUSSION DURING THE “READING MONTH” PERIOD (JANUARY). THE CONTENTS OF THIS POST WILL LIKELY BE DISCUSSED AMONGST BOOK CLUB PARTICIPANTS DURING THE “MEETING MONTH,” WHICH BEGINS FEBRUARY 1ST, 2017. PLEASE SEE THE INITIAL POST IN THIS THREAD FOR MORE INFORMATION.


Dr. Atul Gawande (author of Being Mortal) is both a skilled surgeon (currently Associate Professor of general and endocrine surgery at Harvard Medical School, operating out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute) and a skilled writer (author of four New York Times bestsellers including Being Mortal).

Here’s a passage from the book's Introduction of a story from his early days as a writer and as a junior surgical resident, about a man he called Joseph Lazaroff who dealt with late-stage advanced prostate cancer. This passage will give you a flavor of the book’s writing style:

    Joseph Lazaroff was a city administrator who’d lost his wife to lung cancer a few years earlier. Now, he was in his sixties and suffering from an incurable cancer himself—a widely metastatic prostate cancer. He had lost more than fifty pounds. His abdomen, scrotum, and legs had filled with fluid. One day, he woke up unable to move his right leg or control his bowels. He was admitted to the hospital, where I met him as an intern on the neurosurgical team. We found that the cancer had spread to his thoracic spine, where it was compressing his spinal cord. The cancer couldn’t be cured, but we hoped it could be treated. Emergency radiation, however, failed to shrink the cancer, and so the neurosurgeon offered him two options: comfort care or surgery to remove the growing tumor mass from his spine. Lazaroff chose surgery. My job, as the intern on the neurosurgery service, was to hit his written confirmation that he understood the risks of the operation and wished to proceed.

    I’d stood outside his room, his chart in my damp hand, trying to figure out how to even broach the subject with him. The hope was that the operation would halt the progression of his spinal cord damage. It wouldn’t cure him, or reverse his right-leg paralysis, or get him back to the life he had led. No matter what we did he had at most a few months to live, and the procedure was inherently dangerous. It required opening his chest, removing a rib, and collapsing a lung to get at his spine. Blood loss would be high. Recovery would be difficult. In his weakened state, he faced considerable risks of debilitating complications afterward. The operation posed a thread of both worsening and shortening his life. But the neurosurgeon had gone over these dangers, and Lazaroff had been clear that he wanted the operation. All I had to do was go in and take care of the paperwork.

    Lying in his bed, Lazaroff looked gray and emaciated. I said that I was an intern and that I’d come to get his consent for surgery, which required confirming that he was aware of the risks. I said that the operation could remove the tumor but leave him with serious complications, such as a worse paralysis or a stroke, and that it could even prove fatal. I tried to sound clear without being harsh, but my discussion put his back up. Likewise when his son, who was in the room, questioned whether heroic measures were a good idea, Lazaroff didn’t like that at all.

    “Don’t you give up on me,” he said. “You give me every chance I’ve got.” Outside the room, after he signed the form, the son took me aside. His mother had died on a ventilator in intensive care, and at the time his father had said he did not want anything like that to happen to him. But now he was adamant about doing “everything.”

    I believe then that Mr. Lazaroff had chosen badly, and I still believe this. He chose badly not because of all the dangers but because the operation didn’t stand a chance of giving him what he really wanted: his continence, his strength, the life he had previously known. He was pursuing little more than a fantasy at the risk of a prolonged and terrible death—which was precisely what he got.

    The operation was a technical success. Over eight and a half hours, the surgical team removed the mass invading his spine and rebuilt the vertebral body with acrylic cement. The pressure on his spinal cord was gone. But he never recovered from the procedure. In intensive care, he developed respiratory failure, a systemic infection, blood clots from his immobility, then bleeding from the blood thinners to treat them. Each day we fell further behind. We finally had to admit he was dying. On the fourteenth day, his son told the team that we should stop.

    It fell to me to take Lazaroff off the artificial ventilator that was keeping him alive. I checked to make sure that his morphine drip was turned up high, so he wouldn’t suffer from air hunger. I leaned close and, in case he could hear me, said I was going to take the breathing tube out of his mouth. He coughed a couple of times when I pulled it out, opened his eyes briefly, and closed them. His breathing grew labored, then stopped. I put my stethoscope on his chest and heard his heart fade away.

    Now, more than a decade after I first told Mr. Lazaroff’s story, what strikes me most is not how bad his decision was but how much we all avoided talking honestly about the choice before him. We had no difficulty explaining the specific dangers of various treatment options, but we never really touched on the reality of his disease. His oncologists, radiation therapists, surgeons, and other doctors had all seen him through months of treatments for a problem that they knew could not be cured. We could never bring ourselves to discuss the larger truth about his condition or the ultimate limits of our capabilities, let alone what might matter most to him has he neared the end of his life. If he was pursuing a delusion, so were we. Here he was in the hospital, partially paralyzed from a cancer that had spread throughout his body. The chances that he could return to anything like the life he had even a few weeks earlier were zero. But admitting this and helping him cope with it seemed beyond us. We offered no acknowledgment of comfort or guidance. We just had another treatment he could undergo. Maybe something very good would result.


This passage has been provided not only to give you a taste of the author’s gifted storytelling style, but also to let you know that the book is unintimidating and easy-to-read—the topics covered may cause unease, but they are essential topics and the reader will not be slowed or hung-up on technical jargon. (BTW, the case I just quoted from the book was about prostate cancer, but the author talks about his patient and family experiences with many other cancer-types, heart diseases and other lethal ailments or diseases of the elderly…it’s not just a prostate cancer book.)

I basically read this book in one day (a little more) during vacation…if it wasn’t vacation I would have read this moderately-sized book over the course of one or two weeks. We will start Book Club discussions in just under four weeks from today, so consider signing-up now.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So far we have two participant “yes” and two “maybes” (one of the nicer Urban Dictionary definitions for “maybe”: a word that always keeps you guessing yes or no but the answer is no so don't even think it’s yes). Thanks chris1960 and halbert for your “yes” replies…at least I don’t have to discuss the book with myself!


ARE YOU A READER? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE HW/PC BOOK CLUB ONLINE DISCUSSION (IN FEBRUARY) OF THE BOOK Being Mortal? PLEASE USE THIS THREAD IN JANUARY TO POST YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE HW/PC BOOK CLUB. BOOK DISCUSSION BEGINS IN FEBRUARY.

Post Edited (JackH) : 1/5/2017 11:47:43 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/5/2017 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
Count me in. I am also a retired school librarian, but on the elementary level. I am the wife of the "patient" if that changes the perspective any, but the one who does the research. Ordering the book today.
Beth
Posted 1/5/2017 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
If I wasn't clear in my own post above ("Let's see how much interest we get for this...") do put me down as a Yes. This book's topic does seem worth a discussion.

The only concern I might have about this particular book and its topic at this point, and it may well be a groundless concern, as I have not looked at the book yet, is that I'm getting the impression that the subject of assisted suicide may be addressed directly or indirectly in its pages.

The forum rule regarding any discussion of this topic is Rule 1, which reads: "... No discussion of any illegal activity or threats of violence (ie. threats of suicide, self-harm, or physical harm)." So it doesn't sound like what the book might be saying about it is likely to be an actual Rule 1 violation, but maybe this should be clarified before discussion begins?
Posted 1/5/2017 8:23 PM (GMT 0)

81GyGuy said...


The only concern I might have about this particular book and its topic at this point, and it may well be a groundless concern, as I have not looked at the book yet, is that I'm getting the impression that the subject of assisted suicide may be addressed directly or indirectly in its pages.

The forum rule regarding any discussion of this topic is Rule 1, which reads: "... No discussion of any illegal activity or threats of violence (ie. threats of suicide, self-harm, or physical harm)."

Good point. If that is one of the themes of the book then discussion on that subject will need to be avoided.

Jim
Posted 1/5/2017 8:54 PM (GMT 0)
First of all, welcome, DYank...wide perspectives presented in the discussion will make this a more complete experience for all. The book is, as I said, going to be a valuable read for everyone who has ever known someone close to them who has aged, or died, or who may themselves age or die.


And 81GyGuy, thanks for lifting the ambiguity of your initial response. Looking forward to your participation, too.


Regarding your comment/question...

Tudpock18 said...

81GyGuy said...


The only concern I might have about this particular book and its topic at this point, and it may well be a groundless concern, as I have not looked at the book yet, is that I'm getting the impression that the subject of assisted suicide may be addressed directly or indirectly in its pages.

The forum rule regarding any discussion of this topic is Rule 1, which reads: "... No discussion of any illegal activity or threats of violence (ie. threats of suicide, self-harm, or physical harm)."

Good point. If that is one of the themes of the book then discussion on that subject will need to be avoided.

Jim

... Jim jumped in before I could respond, but let me make it even more clear. This is not a book about assisted suicide. The topic is addressed in a portion of one of the early chapters—in fact, I don't even recall, without looking back (and I don't plan to look back for this), what points the author may have raised about it; it was not a "theme" of the book. Let's just be really clear here...this will not be a point of discussion at HW/PC. Period. Our discussions in this thread will no doubt be closely monitored—in fact, I was hoping that Tudpock18 might join in as a participant—but do not let that be your "only concern" about participating. Believe me, there is plenty of other stuff to talk about in this book without even touching upon this minor topic. End of story.

Post Edited (JackH) : 1/5/2017 2:59:18 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/5/2017 10:58 PM (GMT 0)
Great idea. I'd be inclined to participate from time-to-
time depending on the book. "Being Mortal" isn't up my alley - maybe a bit too close to home. I read all the time, but mostly history, biography, and politics, some of which could quickly lead to rule-breaking discussions. I'm right now reading "Six Frigates" by Ian Toll, about the origins of the U.S. Navy, with also a lot of insight into administrations of our early presidents. It is very well-researched, well-written, and hard to put down. It appeals to me also on a personal level because I grew up in the shadow of the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, where my grandfather was a machinist and where the USS Constitution, one of the original six frigates of the book's title, is still in service as a commissioned ship of the U.S. Navy -- albeit a ship that serves as a museum. It appeals also because I was a sailor and a history major. The the couple of books I finished before this one are too politically hot to mention, but there are others I could suggest for anyone of a historical bent that might not land us in the forum moderators' brig.

If any readers among us are interested, this coming weekend is the annual Moby Dick marathon at the New Bedford Mass. whaling museum. They stream it live on their website as 100 or so volunteers take turns reading the entire book aloud from noon Saturday through 1 p.m. or so Sunday. Chapter 9 with Rev. Mapple's sermon is read from the Seaman's Bethel church pulpit, which is in the shape of a ship's prow. I read MD first as a young sailor in off-watch hours in Vietnam. I usually keep the marathon running on a browser and check in from time-to time to see where they are up to. Volunteer readers (there is a long waiting list) come from far and wide, so you will find some sections read in languages other than English.

/www.whalingmuseum.org/programs/21st-annual-moby-dick-marathon-2017/
Posted 1/6/2017 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
I am one of the maybes, due to out upcoming trip.

I did reserve the book at our local library, but others currently have it out

Mel
Posted 1/6/2017 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
Just ordered it off amazon. Looks like an interesting read.
Posted 1/6/2017 2:43 AM (GMT 0)
My wife picked it up for me at B/N today. I'll start on it soon.
Posted 1/6/2017 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
My idea to eliminate the bugaboos of forum rules...do it like the chat room this forum used to have backin the day...every thursday it was set up at a specific time...and anyone could come in...to talk about whatever their hearts desired...civlly and horrors of horrors some times folks would even touch on "negative" subjects...it probably was quite a release...tho I never took part...quite a few did and they could provide the logistics of how it worked.... I think it was thursday but ich mach nix
Posted 1/6/2017 6:08 PM (GMT 0)
BOOK TEASER
THIS POST IS A “TEASER” TO HELP STIMULATE INTEREST IN HW/PC BOOK CLUB PARTICIPATION, AND IS NOT INTENED TO SPARK DISCUSSION DURING THE “READING MONTH” PERIOD (JANUARY). THE CONTENTS OF THIS POST WILL LIKELY BE DISCUSSED AMONGST BOOK CLUB PARTICIPANTS DURING THE “MEETING MONTH,” WHICH BEGINS FEBRUARY 1ST, 2017. PLEASE SEE THE INITIAL POST IN THIS THREAD FOR MORE INFORMATION.


The first several chapters of Being Mortal focus largely on eldercare, and provides an interesting historic insight on the evolution of hospitals, then nursing homes, and now assisted living facilities. The evolutionary perspective may help readers to understand the backstory of how and why things are the way they are today.

For those of you who have just starting reading Being Mortal, note my opinion that this book could on the one hand have essentially been two different, shorter books…kept together, they are essentially Part 1 as discussed here in this post "teaser," and Part 2 more about treatments and their related decisions discussed in previous "teasers." We can talk about that division more during “meeting month.”

Both my parents died quite young and I never had to deal with their “elder care.” As such, I have not directly encountered the point of strong criticism made by the author in Being Mortal that many assisted living and skilled nursing facilities are marketing more to the adult children (bright, clean, smell-free) than alleviating the “Three Plagues of nursing home existence: boredom, loneliness, and helplessness.” Maybe some of you have first-hand experience with this…? (Save your answer for February)

After February, when our Book Club “meeting month” is over, I do plan to loan my copy of Being Mortal to a good friend of mine who is presently struggling with decisions which need to be made for the evolving care of his elderly parents. I think that the book’s perspectives will be clarifying for him.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I’d like to thank and welcome Robertmp for joining the HW/PC Book Club for the Jan-Feb cycle.

The discussion here in this thread during January (the “reading month”) will remain (1) focused on those who have given a clear “yes” to participation as described in the opening post (with this gentle reminder that those who have decided not to participate do not need to post that decision here), and also (2) will include a few more “teasers” to possibly encourage more to join-in during “reading month.”

There is still plenty of time to join and read the book, even for slow readers (like me!), before the discussion begins in February. Note that most libraries will also have a "books on tape" version available which may be either in a CD or electronic format (I use audible.com app on my phone).


HW/PC Book Club Participants signed-up, so far (these are the clear "yes" replies I have ascertained):
  • JackH
  • chris1960
  • halbert
  • DYank
  • 81GyGuy
  • Robertmp
    (it’s too early to be thinking about this now, but this group should also be thinking in the back of their heads about what book to recommend for the Mar-Apr cycle…I’ll bring this up again in mid-February and the participants can make a selection before March)

Tim G, I saw your post that you had read the book, but that was about it and there was no clear indication that you were interested in participating in the HW/PC Book Club discussion. If you are, please reply with a more clear "yes." thanks!


ARE YOU A READER? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE HW/PC BOOK CLUB ONLINE DISCUSSION (IN FEBRUARY) OF THE BOOK Being Mortal? PLEASE USE THIS THREAD IN JANUARY TO POST YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE HW/PC BOOK CLUB. BOOK DISCUSSION BEGINS IN FEBRUARY.

Post Edited (JackH) : 1/6/2017 11:23:50 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/7/2017 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
Jack--Sure, I'll participate in the book discussion. The book is worth a reread.

Bohemond--I'm a reader,too. Thanks for the hat tip about Six Frigates which I'll read based on your recommendation. (I'm a Navy man). I'm halfway through a reread of Moby Dick. Have you read the new biography of U. S. Grant? I haven't, but plan to.
Posted 1/7/2017 5:11 AM (GMT 0)
Tim G,
I'm sure you will really enjoy "Six Frigates". I haven't read the new U.S Grant biography, but it's on my list, though I have read Grant's memoirs, which I'd say is pretty much for hard-core history, Civil War, or American literature buffs. I highly recommend for anyone "Grant and Twain" by Mark Perry, which is about the deep friendship of Mark Twain and U.S. Grant after Grant left the presidency dead broke, without even a military pension, and not long thereafter slowly dying of throat cancer as he raced against time to complete his two-volume memoirs, hoping the proceeds would leave his wife with an income.

Twain saved Grant from a bad publishing deal under which Grant would have received $25,000. Twain published Grant's Memoirs himself after Grant's death and ultimately left Grant's widow with more than $400,000 in royalties (the equivalent of millions in today's dollars) and way, way more than Twain made for himself as publisher.

Perry's book might even be a good choice for this book group somewhere down the road, since it is about Grant facing up to and persevering in the face of his own mortality with the help and support of his friends and family.
Jim
Posted 1/7/2017 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
I'll join you. It sounds like a really thought provoking and relevant book. I've considered it from time to time but never made the leap because I wondered if it was a little too relevant to me right now. But I think it'd be valuable perspective, and a great group of fellow readers.

Like DYank, I'm also a wife-of rather than a patient myself, but also like DYank, I've always been the one doing the research.

Katie
Posted 1/7/2017 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I'm about half-way through the book right now. A slow, snowing Saturday in progress here in the Philly area, so not much else to do. A good and thought provoking book. I'm looking my library over and wondering what to suggest for the next round. Biography? History? Science/Medicine? Fiction?
Posted 1/7/2017 8:54 PM (GMT 0)
Tim G, I'm glad you came back and saw my question to you, and glad you decided to participate.

Infohound2, I'm also very glad to hear you are joining as a participant...I think it's never too early, and (nearly) never too late, to take on-board the topics of this book.



If others are still pondering but interested in signing-up as a HW/PC Book Club participant, please note halbert's comment from earlier today that he's nearly half way through the book which he picked up just 2 days ago; in other words, there is plenty of time to complete it before the discussion begins in February.

The HW/PC Book Club is open to anyone/everyone—it's a "big tent"—but we are looking for discussion postings from amongst participants who have read the book...if you haven’t read the book (in February), we’d like to ask you to simply skip over this HW/PC thread (observe the dialogue if you'd like, but sit-out of the discussion) and consider joining as a participant in the next cycle with the next book. Let us know if you want to join...

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HW/PC Book Club Participant List, so far, for the Jan-Feb reading/discussion of Being Mortal (these are the clear "yes" replies I have ascertained):
  • JackH
  • chris1960
  • halbert
  • DYank
  • 81GyGuy
  • Robertmp
  • Tim G
  • Infohound2
    (it’s too early to be thinking about this now, but this group of names should also be thinking in the back of their heads about what book to recommend for the Mar-Apr cycle…let's please hold-off on that part of the discussion for now, but I’ll bring the topic up again in mid-February and the Jan-Feb participants can make a selection on a book for the next round before March begins)


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Note to all participants/readers: As you are going through Being Mortal, please underline or make a note of important/valuable/memorable quotes that you run across which you think could be ones you might want to recall for future reference or pass on to others. As I went through the book, I noted several. Let's discuss/share (in February).

Post Edited (JackH) : 1/7/2017 3:06:44 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/8/2017 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
Still think the chat room is a good way to go...as you can have books on politics{body food} and "religon" {spirit food}...with out the moderators involvement you would be able to discuss in a meaning full way freely and civilly...

Question: Are just the en-listee's allowed comment on this thread... if so...I will fade..... straight forward...
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