The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

Isaacson chronicled the work of 2020 Nobel Prize chemistry winners Drs. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier who discovered the CRISPR/ Cas9 "genetic scissors" in our DNA which bacteria have utilized to survive billions of years to fight viruses.

Growing up in the '60s in Hilo, Hawaii, Doudna was intrigued by the folding grass plant. Why do the leaves close when touched? Her persistent curiosity and determination with the support of her father and a  biologist family friend encouraged her to pursue science despite not having the support of her high school counselor and college advisor.

Doudna and her colleagues worked on a vaccine for COVID using CRISPR in our RNA to chop up the virus instead of the traditional route of copying the genetic code of the virus to build antibodies like the flu vaccine. Besides James Watson, she credited female role models before her like Rosalind Franklin, who had also contributed to the discovery of the DNA structure.

The book is an eye-opening read for me in the nature of competitive science and the intellectual properties and patents protected by institutions and universities. Also, where should the line be drawn in bioethics regarding the use of the CRISPR technology?

All the Way to the Tigers: A Memoir by Mary Morris

A skating injury prompted Morris to fulfill her lifelong dream of seeing the elusive tiger in India. In the process, her childhood memories resurface; the tenuous relationship with her mother is looked at with a more understanding perspective. The book is an intersection of travelogue, memoir, cultural adventures, and her determination to tackle life challenges. I enjoyed reading it and learned more about the majestic tiger.

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

Tired of being ridiculed by her students, Margery Benson decided to leave her life in London and pursue her dream of finding the undiscovered golden beetle in New Caledonia Island. She becomes interested in the insect when she was a child from her father...  To fulfill her wish, she needed an assistant for the expedition as it was 1950 and ended up with an unlikely candidate, Enid Pretty. What follows is an incredible adventure across the Pacific, surviving a deadly cyclone on the island, among other challenges. It is a fascinating read with the transformation powder of friendship, the backdrop of vivid sights and sounds of a tropical island, but danger and mystery still lurk in the natural world.

The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir by Andre Leon Tally

Tally's memoir gives us an insider look at the high fashion industry, as well as his career. Growing up in Durham, North Carolina with his parents gone all the time, he was nurtured by his grandmother. He studied French and received a scholarship at Brown University. His hard work and talent lead him to both New York and Paris, gaining recognition from Diana Vreeland, Andy Warhol, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves St Laurent, and more. Despite racism and prejudice, he breaks ground to become the creative director writing and photographing for the Vogue Magazine while falling in and out of favor with its chief editor Anna Wintour. He reflects on his friendships and comes to terms with his weight and sexuality, with the belief that education and knowledge is key to his success, in addition to the love of his grandmother and mentor Diana Vreeland. It is an interesting read.

Strong by Kara Goucher

 

“This is My Race

I Am Fearless

 I Belong”

 

From the publisher:  Kara offers a look inside her private Confidence Journal. Interactive prompts teach you how to implement this practice into your own daily training routine.

 Confidence techniques include Positive Self Talk, Setting Goals, Power Words, and Visualization Techniques.

 Inspirational read from a two-time Olympian for boosting confidence!

 

 

My Stylish French Girlfriends by Sharon Santoni

Even though this book is a coffee table style book, I read it from cover to cover. It appealed to my artistic side, as well as my interest in house decorating and garden keeping. It features 20 different French women. Each woman has a few pages dedicated to them with a short synopsis of how they live and a photo shoot of their workplaces and homes. Some of them live in the French countryside, others live in Paris and have a country home, some also live in small villages. Each woman has an established way of life. Their families vary as to being single with grown children to married with kids still in the house and everything in-between. To me, they each seemed to have an elegance to them and the knowledge of how one should enjoy the simple pleasures in life and seek the quiet joys of everyday living. This, of course, is balanced against the busy, motivated life of working. Some of their professions were: selling antiques, country home interior shop, painter (as in on canvas), bridal gown designer, champagne producer, horse raiser, home renovator, and wire sculptor to name a few. So interesting and beautiful, a really enjoyable book.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson

Neurosurgeon Jake Baker reminisces about growing up in 1980's Niagara Falls, the summer when he turned twelve where his eccentric uncle Calvin formed The Saturday Night Ghost Club with him and the new neighborhood kids Billy and Dove. They go for haunting adventures in town and inadvertently past family tragedies resurface... The story is about childhood innocence and friendship as well as teenage angst and rebellion. It touches on bullying, family dynamics and how one's memories shift with changing perspectives over time. Except for the medical description of the brains, it is a good story with layers that I enjoyed.