Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Why do we put these horrible people in positions of power?

A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan

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I read The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan about the American Dust Bowl many years ago, but it has stuck with me. I learned a lot, and I was very impressed by the writing. So when I saw A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Egan on NPR’s 2023 Books We Love, I knew I was going to read it. This book was very well written and eye-opening in many ways. I, of course, knew […]

Was he the weather vane being blown bout? Or was he the wind blowing the art? Or was he just a big hack?

Andy Warhol: A Graphic Biography (BioGraphics) by Michele Botton

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Andy Warhol: A Graphic Biography (BioGraphics) by Michele Botton and illustrated by Marco Maraggi is told from the point of view of Warhol himself. As we go through several sections of his life, the unfolding of his life is chronological and compact. While it is obviously a pro-Warhol graphic novel and honors his work and influences on the people around him, and the historical times (and not just in art and/or pop art, but in music, photography and film as well), the question of “hack […]

Minority Musings

Quarterly Essay 96 by George Megalogenis

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In this Quarterly Essay (available free on Audible!), journalist Megalogenis unpacks the world of Australian politics as we plunge forward to our next federal election in 2025. It’s clear, as one looks at elections around the world, that the rules of the past in elections are gone. Polls no longer reliably predict winners. Incumbents no longer reliably get second terms. People don’t vote in blocks like they used to, and single-issue parties and politics are taking hold. It’s a fascinating (if terrifying) time to be […]

a rare self-help / guidance book

Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues by Carole Robin

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Yes, fine, this is a book I picked up because living in the Bay and having close friends who went to Stanford for business school means that for at least a few years you can’t go too far without hearing someone talk about Touchy Feely and what it means to them and how revolutionary it all was. And yes, if you hear defensiveness in there you’re not wrong–it does seem like a fascinating class. There’s also something interesting about the concept of going to an MBA, […]

Loads of Handy Tips

How to Clean Everything by Ann Russell

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Best for: Anyone who has the ability to clean things. In a nutshell: Ann Russell, professional cleaner (and TikTok cleaning question answerer) shares a collection of her tips for keeping a clean home. Worth quoting: “10-20 minutes every night and 10 minutes before you leave in the morning should keep your space under control.” “Try to pull furniture out to go under and behind, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t – decent people don’t check for dust behind your sofa; ask any that […]

I don’t know what the excitement is all about. It’s not like sharks attack people or anything….

I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916: A Graphix Book by Lauren Tarshis and adapted by Georgia Ball

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I set myself two goals this year. One was to read a book a day (it averages out to that, but I actually didn’t read a book every day), and the second was to do 12 Cannonballs. As of this review I have 26 books to go… We’ll see! So, one of the ways I was trying to read a book a day was to do simple books. Not books that were simplistic (See Jane. See Dick. See Dick and Jane), but easier reads, fun […]



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