KimMiE” – Page 44 – Cannonball Read 17

Five stars of adorable madness

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

January 20, 2019 by KimMiE" 7 Comments

In 2018 I went on a bucket-list trip to Antarctica and saw penguins. Always a fan of the adorable little birds (I mean, come on, that waddle!), I’ve become sort of obsessed. This new-found penguin mania resulted in a Sphenisciformes-themed Christmas, including a hard copy of the delightful 1938 children’s tale, Mr. Popper’s Penguins. I say delightful, but I might have easily said batshit crazy. I want whatever the Atwater couple was smoking when they wrote this. For context, Mr. Atwater died before publishing Mr. […]

For my first read of 2019, I decide to learn EVERYTHING

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

January 20, 2019 by KimMiE" 2 Comments

Although probably best known for travel writing, Bill Bryson has written a number of science-based nonfiction books, and in 2003 he published a book that pondered the scientific questions and attempted to answer, well, nearly everything. The jump from travel writing to his Short History of Nearly Everything is not such a tremendous leap, however, if you think about it like a travelogue, starting with the beginning of the solar system and ending with life as we know it. In the introduction, Bryson describes how […]

Shocking that 19th century men didn’t like this novel!

December 28, 2018 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

The Awakening is considered by many to be an American classic and a forerunner of modern feminist literature. Yet when it was published in 1899, it received more negative criticism than positive, leading author Kate Chopin to dedicate her talents to writing short stories exclusively for the remainder of her life. Given that most journalists and literary critics in the late 19th century were men, the chilly reception shouldn’t be surprising. The Awakening is about a married woman named Edna Pontellier who, while spending her summer on Grand […]

Put down the Google. All the answers you’re looking for are in this book.

December 24, 2018 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

I received Does It Fart? for my birthday from my sister and brother-in-law, who know that I like to read all manner of animal-related information. “It’s a bit silly,” my sister warned. Silly, perhaps, but also revelatory. I often stick post-its on the pages of books I’m reading to help me locate the interesting bits when I’m writing my reviews (I can’t bring myself to underline), and I’ve applied a remarkable number for such a short (133-page) book! The Introduction explains why the authors decided […]

A new chapter for a brilliant piece of crime journalism

November 30, 2018 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

CBR 10 Bingo: So Shiny! Bingo #3! On April 24, 2018, Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested and charged with eight counts of first-degree murder by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. Santa Barbara County would soon follow with four additional murder charges. The man widely known as the Golden State Killer, thought to be responsible for at least 13 murders and over 50 rapes spanning the 1970s and 80s, had finally been caught. No doubt the families of the victims felt some degree of comfort and […]

Well, that was a tad dismal

November 29, 2018 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

CBR 10 Bingo: This Old Thing; published 1911 Ethan Frome has been on my reading list for years, ever since I was enchanted by Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, for which Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1921. The Age of Innocence is a lovely tale of thwarted love and sadly not the book I’m reviewing today. Ethan Frome is also a tale of lovers separated by circumstances, yet not nearly as engaging as Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel. The story takes place […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

About KimMiE"