Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Stop being so…. gay

Blessed Cure by Mário Oliveira

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Triggers in Blessed Cure by Mário Oliveira include, but are not limited to: homophobia, homophobic language, homophobic actions, beatings, sexual images of genitalia and acts, prostitution, transphobia.  One man’s life from the 1960s to the 1990s (with the potential for a “now” setting) unfolds as he does everything in his power to not be “so gay.” (Which is  the nicest thing he is called in the book.) From parents blaming each other, doctors blaming parents, the church blaming everyone (especially the mother) to the man […]

“You never leave jail, and jail never leaves you.”

I Don't Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup by David Chura

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I honestly don’t remember where I got this, but I think it was at a used bookstore this summer. I Don’t Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine is a collection of stories of David Chura’s time teaching teenagers who were seen as adult criminals legally and were being put into the adult system. He covers a variety of scenarios and tells some very heartbreaking stories that he saw during his tenure as a teacher. His main thesis is that the system is destructive […]

“Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders.”

Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

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For several years, I participated in a local mediation non-profit organization. One of my fellow volunteers was a career coach, and informally, a life coach. She had the calmest, welcoming demeanor. In every interaction, you left feeling that she wanted the best for you. I very much valued her input on my life, as well as her friendship. She was a big reader of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, so I have started reading him, as well. I started with the slim yet dense Being […]

Everything is connected

The Secret Network of Nature: The Delicate Balance of All Living Things by Peter Wohlleben

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CBR16 BINGO: And Also, a repeat of the Earth Day square BINGO: Détente, And Also, Scandal, Tech, Rings Wolves in Yellowstone National Park support the beaver population. Salmon help trees grow. Ravens and wolves form an alliance against bears. Peter Wohlleben’s The Secret Network of Nature is filled with fascinating stories about the interconnectivity and delicate balance of our environment. Wohlleben is a German forestry expert who has written several bestsellers, including The Hidden Life of Trees and The Inner Life of Animals. Given my […]

“If there is any lesson to be learned from the intervention in Afghanistan, it is perhaps the difficulty of learning lessons.”

Losing Afghanistan: An Obituary for the Intervention by Noah Coburn

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I got this through a Stanford University Press sale for a very good deal (they do this sale once a year, I believe, so keep an eye out). Then it sat on a shelf for a while until I finally determined last month to work through the books I got from this sale — the unintended consequences of too good a deal is a bunch of academic books that sit around for a few years. I’m glad that I did finally pick this up because […]

The Strange, Fragile, Beautiful World

Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures by Katherine Rundell

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It’s estimated that there are around 7.8 millions animal species on the planet, many of which we know little about. Unfortunately, some may vanish before we can learn much more – which is a pity, because the variety of life on this planet is far more wondrous and strange than anything our imaginations could conjure up. This is a quiet and contemplative peek at the natural world in easy bite-sized installments. Each essay discusses an animal species which threatened in one way or another, covering […]



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