Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Ibtihaj Muhammad’s stories

The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab and Community (The Proudest Blue, 3) by Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali and Hatem Aly

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The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab and Community (The Proudest Blue, 3) is by Olympic fencer, Ibtihaj Muhammad, as well as S.K. Ali and Hatem Aly. This (as the  title suggests) their third book in the Proudest Blue series. I did not feel it covered the subject of wearing a hijab as fully as the other two books have, but it does bring that into play. What it does focus on is becoming brave with its main character, and bringing in the Islamic culture […]

Great Nature Story; Odd Personal Story

Island of Dreams by Dan Boothby

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Best for: Fans of nature writing that also has a background story. In a nutshell: Author Boothby became fascinated by author Gavin Maxwell and the life he lived in Scotland, and spent time living where he did. Worth quoting: “…a genius doesn’t necessarily make for an easy person to live with or to know.” “For once in my life I knew what it was to have purpose. Up until then, my life had been goal-orientated, which is all very well, but once you achieve a […]

“You could call T. Rex the James Dean of dinosaurs: it lived fast and died young.”

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte

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This, friends, is a dinosaur. I believe Pesto’s ancestors would be confused by him, but that’s the beauty of nature. It’s super weird and always doing unexpected things. This book manages to impart a lot of information about the evolution, time on earth, and extinction of (most) dinosaurs while at the same time being very readable and fun to consume. At one point the author uses the phrase “crow-sized weirdos with wings on their arms and legs” to describe a species of dinosaur that differed […]

During World War Two, in the concentration camp Terezin, something grew

The Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World by Elisa Boxer

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The Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World by Elisa Boxer and illustrated by Alianna Rozentsveig was not what I expected. I think I assumed it would be a lot darker than it was, but oddly enough, it is a hopeful introduction to the subject and one that does offset the darkness of the situation and times.  Perhaps things are a bit more poetic than the actual events were (a teacher in Terezin risks her life to ask another prisoner (also risking […]

Dammit, Jerry!

Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation by Jim O'Heir

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Amy Poehler, Rashida, Jones, Nick Offerman, Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza, and Aziz Ansari. These are just a few of the stars of Parks and Recreation who didn’t bother talking to Jim O’Heir for this book. In both title and jacket copy, Welcome to Pawnee bills itself as a comprehensive, behind the scenes account of the beloved NBC sitcom, which ran for seven seasons and garnered a small but fervent fanbase. O’Heir was, of course, the actor behind sad-sack office punching bag Jerry Gergich. As a […]

Some Carryovers from Last Year and Two from This Year

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

The Cat Who Taught Zen by James Norbury

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

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Muse of Nightmares I was not expecting that. I was not expecting the call-backs to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, and that was so cool. This was already a book I was loving, and that bumped it right on up to 5 stars for me. This isn’t a spin-off or sequel, so you don’t have to have read that trilogy to enjoy this one, but I loved the sense of mild continuity. Muse of Nightmares picks up where Strange the Dreamer left off. Minya […]



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