After not reading a single book in its entirety in November, I hit the ground running in December. Last month I read a variety of genres and book lengths.

The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust, by Francis S. Collins

To refresh your memory, Dr. Francis S. Collins is a geneticist who has discovered genes that cause various genetic diseases. He was Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2009 until 2021. Prior to that, he headed the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute.

I had the good fortune to hear Dr. Francis S. Collins speak at Queens University of Charlotte years ago. He was a captivating and down-to-earth speaker. He spoke about how the more he learned about science, the more he believed that God created all things.

It is a point he repeats in this book. He says that there are just too many facets of nature that were created with a degree of precision that could not have happened by chance. Knowing that about him, I eagerly awaited the book to be ordered by the public library.

In the book, he addresses truth, science, faith, and trust individually and how each one contributes to the others and to wisdom. He is concerned about the public’s growing mistrust of science and how scientists and physicians such as Dr. Fauci have become scapegoats for science deniers and far too many politicians.

I highly recommend this book!

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“The Answer is No,” a short story by Fredrik Backman

This short story by the author of A Man Called Ove, is in somewhat the same vein as that novel. The main character in “The Answer is No,” just tries to have a quiet day with no contact with other human beings. He experiences one interruption after another and discovers that saying “No” is futile. He gets pulled/pushed into one neighborhood problem after another. You find yourself simultaneously laughing and feeling sorry for him.

Incidentally, the book is free to read through Kindle Unlimited and $1.99 to purchase for Kindle.

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Framed, by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

This latest book by John Grisham along with Jim McCloskey will tempt you to lose all your faith in our judicial system – from corrupt police officers to corrupt lawyers to corrupt judges… one comes away from this nonfiction book of case after case where justice was miscarried.

John Grisham and Jim McCloskey take turns writing the chapters in this book. Each chapter is about a different true example of how corrupt people on various levels have miscarried justice on purpose.

It is a sobering book. The doom and gloom of each chapter had a cumulative effect on me. I recommend you read it, but it is not a pleasant read.

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“Bangkok Has Him Now: How Would You Escape?” by Emma Dhesi

This is a short story – a thriller short story – by a Scottish author, Emma Dhesi. I have been fortunate to watch and listen to several online writing workshops conducted by Emma Dhesi. Reading this fast-paced thriller short story was the first time I took the opportunity to read something she wrote and published. It grabbed me by the throat from the beginning and held my interest throughout.

Hurricane Helene Update

As of Friday, 184 roads in NC, including a portion of I-40 near the Tennessee line, remained closed due to the damage wreaked by Hurricane Helene. Snow has now been added to the equation and will be a given for much of the next two-to-three months.

Most of the Blue Ridge Parkway remains closed, with no estimate of when it will be fully reopened.

All the people living in temporary housing – in RVs, campers, FEMA trailers, etc. and those still waiting for repairs to the houses they’re still living in are feeling the brunt of the winter cold.

I haven’t mentioned Jake Jarvis of Precision Grading in a few weeks, but that man has hardly missed a single day since September 25 in his one-man effort to help as many people in western North Carolina as possible. He is not charging for his time or materials and he is, no doubt, wearing out his equipment.

I follow Precision Grading on Facebook. The photographs of some of the places he has taken his heavy equipment are astounding. He appears to do all this with a wonderful attitude. Thursday night he posted that it was Day 104 post Helene. That day he had cut a new driveway for a woman in Bat Cave, NC who had only had access through a neighbor’s property until then. Her driveway had been cut in half by landslides and volunteers trying to help her had been scared off by the 100-foot drop off. Jake was able to cut a new driveway for her, so she can now safely access her own home more than three months after the storm. This is just one example of the work Jake has doing. If you wish to donate to help him cover the cost of materials, fuel, and equipment maintenance, his address is Precision Grading, 99 Polaris Drive, Saluda, NC  28773.

The work of Brother Wolf Animal Rescue and The 21^st Century Packhorse Librarian continue and will appreciate your support for the foreseeable future. You can search for them and Precision Grading online for more information.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read.

As western North Carolina and other areas continue to recover from Hurricane Helene, our hearts hurt for the people affected by the wildfires in California. We know recovery will take years and their lives will never be the same. Life is fragile. Everything we know can change in the blink of an eye.

Take care of each other.

Remember the people of Ukraine, too.

Janet