Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“When they take away your vote, use your voice.” `~Julia Cimafiejeva

Motherfield: Poems & Belarusian Protest Diary by Julia Cimafiejeva

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At first, I had a little trouble getting into Motherfield: Poems & Belarusian Protest Diary. I was reading via my phone from Edelweiss (my go to for online reading as it is the only one I can really get to work on my dinosaur of a phone) and that meant my screen was as small as the Helvetica font at level 9! (That is tiny by the way.) And then I was able to sneak at lunch time a few minutes on my work computer. […]

To Thine Own Self Be True

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

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All Boys Aren’t Blue is George M. Johnson’s memoir manifesto. I’d been hearing about it since it was tragically banned in way too many US states. Well, jokes on those haters who are way too obsessed with censorship. It was picked in September for my Mocha Girls Read book club and our Cannon Book Club. Through a series of essay chapters, we learn about George’s life from childhood to now. We learn about their identity issues that started with their name. In early childhood, the […]

Long Form Articles Brought Together

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe

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Best for: People looking for some quality long-form writing about some interesting and disturbing characters. In a nutshell: Keefe brings together essays he’s written for magazines over the past decade or so. Worth quoting: N/A – Audio book Why I chose it: Loved his past two books – didn’t realize this was a collection of long essays. Review: This is not a bad book. It was not exactly what I was looking for, but I did still enjoy it. I listened to each essay in […]

Hopefully Good for Mothers

I’ll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife & Motherhood by Jessi Klein

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Best for: New moms looking for some solidarity. In a nutshell: Author Jessi Klein shares brutally honest stories from her life raising a tiny human as an older mother. Worth quoting: If I’d had a hard copy I’d probably have underlined a bunch, but it was an audio book, so I didn’t capture any. Why I chose it: I generally like her stuff. Review: I don’t have kids, and I’m not having kids. So this book is not for me, and my review should be […]

Hands-Down My Favorite TITLE of 2022

Please Miss: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Penis by Grace E. Lavery

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Please Miss: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Penis Let that title sink in. It’s so great! Also great: hearing Grace Lavery say it aloud herself. If you have any interest in diving into this piece (and holy moly, you should!) I HIGHLY recommend listening to the audio performance- and I do mean performance! Grace, Danny Lavery, and Marc Vietor do not skimp on the drama and pomp. Grace, in particular, has a lovely elastic and elegant lilt- cliché of clichés, but I do think I […]

Good advice to start the new year: Workers, unite! Take a break! Relax! Read a book!

In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell, with Bradley Trevor Greive

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Bertrand Russell is considered one of the finest academic minds of the 20th century. He was a true polymath who excelled in philosophy, mathematics, and logic. Born an aristocrat (an actual Earl, for heaven’s sake)  and educated at Cambridge, Russell nevertheless championed social causes such as pacifism and rights for homosexuals. In 1935, he published In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays, in which he argues for, among other things, a four-hour workday. The essay “In Praise of Idleness” is barely 5000 words long. However, […]



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