#40, Our Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf

I've read a couple of Mr. Haruf's books before, and found them to be very satisfying.  He examines small town life in and around Holt, Colorado.  In this book, Addie Moore, a 70-year-old widow, asks her near neighbor Louis Waters, whom she knows slightly, to come to her at night to help her combat the loneliness she feels.  Just to lay in bed with her and talk, to share one another's company.  It is a sweet and tender book about taking chances, reaching out, and breaking down barriers.  I wondered a little why, in the end, they did not get married, but that is a small point.

#39, Sunset, by Al Lamanda

The first of the John Bekker series, this sets the scene pretty well as John tries to solve the 12-year-old murder of his wife.  Not bad.

#38, God and the Astronomers, by Robert Jastrow

This book (the 1978 edition) is a short explanation of The Big Bang theory, and why it comports with the creation of the universe by God ex nihilo.  It discusses briefly the limits this places on scientific knowledge (we can know nothing of what went on before the "big bang").  Short, interesting, written by an agnostic.

#37, Badlands, by C.J. Box

Sort of a bridge book between two about The Lizard King, apparently. Pretty Good.