Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

First (second) Bingo! (CBR12Bingo 2: Red)

The Physics of Everyday Things by James Kakalios

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Due to the Octolet’s obsession with Calvin and Hobbes (raised him right!), I’ve been thinking of a ton of things in terms of Bill Watterson strips. There’s one where Calvin asks his dad where wind comes from, and his dad says “from trees sneezing” which Calvin finds questionable, so his dad explains “no, but the truth is much more complicated.” The last panel finds Calvin telling Hobbes “boy, the trees are really sneezing today.” The challenge in a book like this that explains the scientific […]

I still miss you, Tony (CBR12Bingo 2: shelfie)

Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain

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I love books about cooking, the science behind making food, and the nitty gritty of the restaurant, farming, and food complex industries. So imagine my delight when I saw an Anthony Bourdain book I hadn’t heard about, much less read. I loved The Nasty Bits, I’ve followed Bourdain since Kitchen Confidential, his take no prisoners style and strong opinions never made him fall prey to the elitism of others in the chef cult of personality (looking your way, Michael Pollan). I couldn’t wait to read […]

Nancy Drew for the New Generation……and 2nd Bingo!

Pepper's Rules for Secret Sleuthing by Briana McDonald

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One of my MFA cohorts just published her debut novel, and of course, I had to buy it. Pepper’s Rules for Secret Sleuthing is a middle-grade story about our hero, Pepper, who’s gone with her father to help settle the estate of a late family relative. However, when they get there, Pepper notices some strange behavior from her own aunt and a few facts that don’t seem to add up. With the help of a neighborhood boy and unexpected assistance from her cousin, Pepper tries to […]

An Opera Story that Doesn’t Include Phantoms

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

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I will start this review by saying I DNFed this book at about a hundred pages, but not because I didn’t like it. I really liked it. But I’ve realized I am a bad reader on digital platforms. I tried Hoopla for the first time, hoping to fill the void that’s been the suspension on our county-wide library lending program. I borrowed Queen of the Night from Hoopla and had an immensely hard time reading it on my computer screen. Which seems ridiculous since I […]

“No matter how much you give to this heart, it will never be enough.”

The Story of a Goat: A Novel by Perumal Murugan, trans. N. Kalyan Raman

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CBR12 bingo Reader’s Choice (substitute for White Whale) BINGO horizontal, Fresh Start to Book Club The Story of a Goat is a short novel by acclaimed Indian writer Perumal Murugan. Set amongst the poor farmers and herders of a small village, it provides the points of view of both an older couple and a small black goat named Poonachi as they struggle with the elements, bureaucracy, and the luck that fate throws at them. Like Orwell’s Animal Farm, The Story of a Goat is a commentary […]

Gardening to Victory

Gardens for Victory by Jean Marie Putnam & Llyod C. Cosper

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In a box my grandmother hadn’t opened for probably fifty years, she found a swath of old family documents, and in it was this book, Gardens for Victory, a comprehensive  guide to teach Americans how to  supplement their ration cards during World War II with sustainable gardening. We have no idea how the little pamphlet never got thrown away; the spine was very bent and the pages dog-eared, meaning my great-grandparents probably followed its instructions during the war for their own gardens. The fact that it had […]



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