in What I'm reading 1,075 Words

The Books I Read in December 2023

Due to having Covid, I postponed my usual first-Monday-of-the-month blog about the books I read in December to today. I’m still struggling with the symptoms, but I know this will pass. I’m grateful for the vaccines that kept me from having a worse case.

Today’s blog post is about three very different books I read last month. I hope at least one of them will pique your interest.

Dangerous Women, by Mark de Castrique

Dangerous Women, a novel by mark de Castrique
Dangerous Women,
by Mark de Castrique

Mark de Castrique is a North Carolina author who has published several different novel series. Dangerous Women is the second book in his newest series. I blogged about Secret Lives in my June 5, 2023 blog post, Three Books I Read in May 2023.

The two books in this series (so far!) don’t have to be read in order, but it might help you to know the background of 75-year-old ex-FBI protagonist Ethel Crestwater when you read Dangerous Women. Ethel is still the sharpest knife in the drawer and she is compelled to get involved in certain cases. She runs a boarding house and most of her tenants are active FBI agents.

Mark de Castrique has a talent for weaving humor and politics into his stories, which makes for entertaining and intriguing reading. (He’s also a very nice guy!)

The Cave: A Secret Underground Hospital and One Woman’s Story of Survival in Syria, by Amani Ballour, MD with Rania Abouzeid

The Cave: A Secret Underground Hospital and One Woman's Story of Survival in Syria, by Amani Ballour, M.D. with Rania Abouzeid
The Cave,
by Amani Ballour, M.D.
with Rania Abouzeid

This book will grab you by the throat from the beginning!

I won an Advance Reader’s Edition of the book through a giveaway on Goodreads.com. Reading The Cave has been a wake-up call for me. I pride myself in keeping up with current events and what is going on in the world, but I must admit that the suffering of Syrians under the regime of Bashar al-Assad had fallen off my radar.

In The Cave, Dr. Amani Ballour reminded me in the most graphic and vivid terms of the horrendous cruelty Assad has reigned down on the citizens of his country.

The book opens with the sarin Assad attacked his people with on August 21, 2013 and how Dr Ballour and her colleagues struggled to treat the victims in the underground hospital called The Cave. Dr. Ballour writes about how difficult it was for her as a woman to pursue an education and a medical degree.

Dr. Ballour tells in chronological order the horrors of years of bombing and the scarcity of food, electricity, and medical supplies. She tells about how Assad’s propaganda spread word that she was a liar as she risked her life by giving interviews to every media outlet that would interview her.

In 2018, Dr. Ballour – who had become director of The Cave – was finally forced to flee the hospital after Assad’s army invaded the area on the ground. She tried three times to cross into Turkey to escape the Assad regime. It was eventually due to her never-ceasing efforts to bring the world’s attention to the plight of the Syrian people that she became a refugee in the United States in 2021.

National Geographic Society published Dr. Ballour’s book and filmed a documentary about The Cave that was nominated for an Academy Award.

Backed by the governments of Russie and Iran, Bashar al-Assad continues to persecute, torture, and murder Syrians while the world turns a blind eye.

Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning, by Liz Cheney
Oath and Honor:
A Memoir and a Warning,
by Liz Cheney

Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning, by Liz Cheney

Speaking of wake-up calls… Oath and Honor, by Liz Cheney, should serve as a wake-up call for the American people.

I don’t agree with most of Liz Cheney’s stands on political issues; however, I don’t doubt her patriotism and abiding love for the United States and our country’s Constitution for one minute. I admire her for how she has chosen country over the Republican Party and her own position in the GOP. She tried to warn her colleagues in Congress about the threat Donald Trump posed to our democracy leading up to his attempted coup on January 6, 2021. Her warnings continue to fall on deaf ears – or worse… they continue to fall on the ears of members of the U.S. Congress who are so afraid of Trump and his supporters who don’t have enough backbone to stand up for democracy.

In Oath and Honor, Liz Cheney gives a blow-by-blow account of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the failed attempt by Trump and his minions to stop Congress’ duty to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. She names names and one of the surprises is how much the current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (who I’d never heard of until his election to that high position on October 25, 2023) supports Trump’s big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. (The book had already been written and Ms. Cheney had no way of knowing Mike Johnson was going to be elected Speaker of the House when she wrote extensively about his actions, inactions, and words regarding The Big Lie and January 6, 2021.)

Liz Cheney’s book probably won’t change any minds. People who see her as a turncoat won’t read her book. That will not silence her, though, as she has pledged to do all she can to make sure Donald Trump is never elected U.S. president again.

I highly recommend this book, but I’m afraid the people who most need to read it will not. They have “drunk the Kool-Aid” and have closed their minds to the ugly truth about the danger Donald Trump is.

Since my last blog post

I went down a rabbit hole on the Internet and stumbled upon Annals of Bath County, Virginia, by Oren Morton. Written in 1917, it contained a wealth of information I desperately needed to enhance the writing of the early portions of The Heirloom – the historical novel I’m writing. It was the very material I’ve been looking for in all the wrong places for a year or more.

Until my next blog post

I hope you stay well.

I hope to get my January newsletter written and sent out this week.

If you have access to everything you want to read, take advantage of that privilege.

Remember the people of Ukraine and Japan.

Janet

25 thoughts on “The Books I Read in December 2023”

  5. All three books sound fascinating but I would choose Lynn Chaney’s because I think the American people should have better political options than the ones they are getting. She is a true Republican from the old school and definitely one who could lead the party and the nation. It is sad to think that in a country of 332 million only two old men are in contention for the presidency! Janet, this is surreal! In any event, I hope a good candidate shows up in either party that can leave those two has-beens in the dust of forgetfulness… all the best and I am glad you’ve recuperated. It’s freezing now in Spain but at least we’ve been spared the rains that are washing away many other parts of Europe…

    Liked by 1 person

  6. These are very interesting books especially the cave. The world doesn’t hear the truth of what goes on in these countries. This is similar to what is happening in Palestine now. Thanks for sharing these books. The book by Liz Cheney piqued my interest

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Good! I think you’ll also be intrigued by the book I’m blogging about on January 15. It’s not my usual time to write about the books I’ve read, but this one can’t wait until February! Finding My Way: My Journey as a Blind Educator and Pastor, by the Rev. Dr. Gregory Davis.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Thank you for your detailed comment. I keep thinking the same thing… out of 332 million people, this is the best we can do? I’m beginning to think Americans are going to end of with the government the apparent majority deserve. It’s just too bad that the rest of us are getting the government we don’t deserve! I never intended to turn my blog into a platform for politics, but perhaps that’s what God had in mind for it from the beginning. He has given me this platform, and I seek His guidance in how I am to use it. This week I read US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn’s book, Standing My Ground. I’ll blog about it February 5. It is a raw book as Officer Dunn talks about the pride he takes in serving as a police officer at the US Capitol and how unbelievably horrible the January 6, 2021 insurrection and attempted coup were. He has announced he’s running for Congress from Maryland. I believe it would do the US House of Representatives good to have a member with the experience he had first-hand on January 6. So many of the members are now in denial that it ever happened!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. The Cave was an extraordinary read! Situations like that around the world make the news for a short time, and then we don’t hear about them again. I was embarrassed to realize how much I’d forgotten about the situation in Syria. And, yes, reading The Cave was a constant reminder to me about what is happening in Gaza. Instead of just going after Hamas, Israel’s leaders seem to not care how many innocent civilians get killed in the retaliation. I hope President Biden will continue to push back on Israel’s current tactics that are looking more and more like genocide.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. It is an unbelievable situation and truly a disgrace. The assault on the capital in an attempt to overthrow the government was seen by all around the world. It cannot be denied. Unfortunately if Trump gets back into office it would be redeemed and all those guilty traitors would be pardoned… I cannot bear to think of what would happen if Trump were ever re-elected I hope the US voters open their eyes, ears and hearts and not vote him in. I too am challenged by the political situation and although I never intended to have politics be part of my blog posts I have to be true to the man that I am and to my role as an artist. To be a man of the “polis” means you have to voice your opinions and thoughts and because one is educated and trained, noblesse oblige… my grandmother always used to tell me that. If one has the education, training and ability one is obliged to think, to speak and to act. I let God guide my actions, as you do. I pray for guidance, as you do so I believe I am on the right track. I truly think you are too. All the best and a blessed night.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. I believe we’re both on the right track in making our voices heard as we are prompted and able. It is truly a responsibility that comes from the benefit of an education and freedom. Yes: noblesse oblige! Your grandmother was right! To whom much is given, much is required.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. It is indeed a genocide but I can’t understand why Hamas instigated a war that they know they cannot win and knowing that their people will be sacrificed in the process. In my opinion both leaders are working for the same satanic kingdom. This is the same thing that happened in the first and second world war. Both opposing sides were funded by the same satanic organisation and only the poor and innocents were slaughtered. May God have mercy on us.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. I have thought the same thing about Hamas: why start a war you can’t win. But you are correct. Isn’t it the same with every war? Only the innocent people bear the brunt of the suffering. God surely weeps for the state of things in the world today.

    Liked by 1 person

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