Non-Fiction – Page 59 – Cannonball Read 17

Pearl Divers Unite! Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States

Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States by Pete Jordan

January 24, 2025 by mcmullenphoto 2 Comments

I started a dishwashing job late last year, and it’s been one of my favorite jobs. I was curious to see what Pete Jordan liked about dishwashing so much that he decided to do it in all fifty states. The book is written as part travelogue, part memoir, with some history of labor movements along the way. Pete’s writing comes alive when he’s describing the working-class struggle and triumph. The best chapter of the book is in New Orleans and Pete learns that restaurants there […]

Bee is for Honey and more

Diary of a Bee by Stepanka Sekaninova

January 22, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I did not know what to expect with Diary of a Bee by Stepanka Sekaninova and illustrated by Linh Dao when I saw the online reader copy (due mid April 2025). I figured it would be something like, “I wake up, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, go to (fill in space), lunch, dinner, snacks and go to bed.” You know, like a kid would do. But instead it is a fictionalized life of a bee. We start with “pre bee” and how they grow, hatch, […]

“Much remains unknown because there is so much to know.”

The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

January 22, 2025 by Halbs 2 Comments

Many thanks to esmemoria for setting the example of how to review a philosophy book in this review of Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus. It inspired me to review Russell. Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy starts simply. As a thought experiment, Russell asks the reader to picture a table. What do you see? What can you really know about what you see? Do you know there is table, or do you know your sense-data, which makes you think “table”? In this way, the book is […]

The moans and groans coming from me were from narrowing down the images I wanted to us

Skeleton Bones and Goblin Groans by Amy E. Sklansky and Karen Dismukes

January 21, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I enjoy poetry, but I prefer children’s poetry to adult poems (unless the poetry is a bit more straight forward and not too “fancy”). In Skeleton Bones and Goblin Groans I figured it would be either overly spooky, or overly silly. Now, it never really got too spooky (but it does mention a vampire having a bite) but it is silly. For the most part it never gets overly silly, but it is silly. You read about skeletons, ghouls, and more. The rhyming and humor […]

A caucus race is real?

Me, the Dodo?: Memoirs of a Dodo by Anders Roseberg and Alex Preyzner

January 21, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I only read books online that I can have for free. And when I got an ad saying there were these books for free that I had never heard of, I went looking into them. Turns out they were Evil Empire books which I do try not to buy from, but hey! Free, right? However, I was surprised at how it grabbed me. So, if you have an interest in a somewhat funny and informative book about the Dodo bird, then Me, the Dodo?: Memoirs […]

What I read to my students this week: Two versions of “We Shall Overcome”

We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song by Debbie Levy and Vanessa Brantley-Newton

We Shall Overcome by Bryan Collier

January 21, 2025 by stegolily Leave a Comment

Every year around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I teach my elementary music students the song “We Shall Overcome,” and we discuss the song’s history in conjunction with the Civil Rights Movement. I use Debbie Levy’s book, “We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song” to introduce the song and spur a discussion. This book traces the history of the song from a spiritual sung by enslaved workers, to a hymn popular in Black churches, to a beloved freedom song of the Civil Rights movement, […]

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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