Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Not as Good as Hyperbole and a Half

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

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I adored Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half blog, and especially resonated with her cartoons about depression. I picked up Solutions and Other Problems, her second book, in the hopes it would be just as funny and affecting. While it was both of these things at times, overall the book just wasn’t as strong as her previous work. The book is primarily about funny anecdotes, childhood stories, and wacky takes on things. To be honest, they felt kind of forced and not particularly humorous. They […]

What stars are made of

The Curious Life of Cecilia Payne: Discovering the Stuff of Stars by Laura Alary

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TITLE: The Curious Life of Cecilia Payne: Discovering the Stuff of Stars AUTHOR:  Laura Alary ILLUSTRATOR:  Yas Imamura  PUB DATE: Late January 2026 READ AS: Online reader copy RESULT:  Dang this is good! NEED MORE?: YES OKAY MORE: This is a picture book about Cecila Payne, who was a young girl who did not fit in. She stood out in many ways not just because she was taller than other girls/women, not just because she was a female, but because she really loved nature and […]

Zora Neale Hurston looking for gold

Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories: A Tall Tale Based on the Life and Work of Zora Neale Hurston by Giselle Anatol and Raissa Figueroa

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I did not love nor hate Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories: A Tall Tale Based on the Life and Work of Zora Neale Hurston by Giselle Anatol and Raissa Figueroa as the illustrator. It was an experience book where after reading you need to stop and think about it. You need to take your time in the first place and I would even recommend a second read.. It was interesting and different but had a familiar overtone as well. Taking the life experiences […]

Forty Years Into the Future

Future Boy by Michael J. Fox

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Future Boy is Michael J. Fox’s memoir of his time simultaneously filming both Back to the Future and his sitcom Family Ties. Famously, Fox was the original choice for the role of Marty McFly, but producer Steven Spielberg and Director Robert Zemeckis couldn’t convince Family Ties showrunner Gary David Goldberg to let Fox out of his filming schedule for the TV show in order to do the movie. Instead, Eric Stoltz got the part, only to be fired after shooting for several weeks, apparently because […]

if women were “naturally” anything, societies wouldn’t spend so much time trying to police every aspect of their lives

The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley

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I found The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley because I needed a palate cleanser after some 19th century melancholia. And it worked. If you want something that isn’t Eline Vere by Louis Coperus, I can highly recommend this book. A lot has happened in feminism and geekery since the book was published in 2016, shortly after gamergate (which was covered) and shortly before Trump was elected and the me too movement blew up in 2017. I got ready to abandon the book when I […]

Semper Iocosus

Grit, Spit, and Never Quit by Rob Riggle

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Before reading this book, Rob Riggle was like the friend of a good friend. I enjoyed my time with him on The Daily Show, Bear Grylls, Angie Tribeca, New Girl, etc. But Riggle wasn’t my friend yet. This book, to continue the metaphor, is the first time Riggle and I have ever hung out without the mutual friend. It’s like our mutual friend had to cancel dinner plans with Riggle and me at the last minute, but we both still showed. And we found out, […]



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