Non-Fiction – Page 58 – Cannonball Read 17

“Reading is a pact of generosity between author and reader.”

Literature & Existentialism by Jean-Paul Sartre

January 30, 2025 by Halbs Leave a Comment

I picked up this little curiosity at a bookstore featured in Texas Monthly magazine. You know how people say you eat with your eyes first? The meal starts before you eat? I wonder if you sometimes start engaging with a book in a bookstore before opening the cover. In this case, I felt a little more adventurous while roaming the stacks. My TBR list was nowhere in sight. I was having fun making small talk, eavesdropping on the locals’ coffee circle, and just existing in […]

“Oh Lord, give us the strength to survive the weariness of our lives.”

Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich

January 29, 2025 by Ellesfena 2 Comments

I love oral histories. I’ll read them on any subject, even one I have no interest in. There’s just something about them that fascinates me. I love to hear all the different perspectives on the same topic. I’ve read sad oral histories before, but I’ve never read anything like Voices from Chernobyl. Voice from Chernobyl is hands down the saddest book I’ve ever read. “Sad” isn’t even the word. The grief flies right off the page and envelops you. It’s also incredibly moving and downright poetic. […]

Museum Insecurity

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

January 29, 2025 by jeverett15 Leave a Comment

After reading a very long, fictional account the theft of one piece of art, I decided to follow it up with a short, non-fiction account of one of the most prolific art thieves of all time. Stephane Breitweiser committed around 200 thefts from museums around the world. With his girlfriend alongside to keep watch, he pulled off incredibly daring heists, carefully scouting locations, security systems, and the behavior of museum guards. But the most interesting aspect of the story isn’t how Breitweiser pulled off his […]

Don’t pass on these Passover books

An Invitation to Passover by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, Rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen and Mariia Kolker

Why On This Night? : A Passover Haggadah for Family Celebration by Rahel Musleah and Louise August

January 28, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Both of the Passover books in this review are from February 2024, however, I still had online reader copies of both. The first, An Invitation to Passover by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, Rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen and illustrated by Mariia Kolker was read in full, while the second, Why On This Night? : A Passover Haggadah for Family Celebration by Rahel Musleah, and Louise August was skimmed. With that said, both seem to be really good Passover stories. Olitzky’s story is a younger introduction to the […]

I was going to send all the spider pictures to my sister, but she’d unalive me….

The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid World War II Army by Penny Parker Klostermann

January 28, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: Realistic spiders are drawn in the book The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid World War II Army by Penny Parker Klostermann and Anne Lambelet. It is due early May 2025, and was read via an online reader copy. OMG! Now, if you do not like spiders, you probably should not read this book. However, I wish you would. Yes, there are spiders (a lot of spiders) but the art of Lambelet makes them so darn cute! I mean, I’d cuddle with them…. […]

To laugh at

How to Make a Lion Laugh (How to Make Them Laugh) by Chris Cate

Ho-Ho-Ho-Larious Christmas Jokes (How to Make Them Laugh) by Chris Cate

January 28, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

A while back I wrote a review for a couple of Chris Cate’s kids joke books. The following two are both due in September of 2025, one ready for the Christmas holidays and the other for the child in your life who likes jokes. How to Make a Lion Laugh (How to Make Them Laugh) and Ho-Ho-Ho-Larious Christmas Jokes (How to Make Them Laugh) are two new joke books I read via an online reader copy. They are not the “WOW these are the best […]

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.

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