Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Gut-Churning Good Time

The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul by Eleanor Herman

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What a ride! Big thanks to badkittyuno for putting this gem on my radar. Or, in the parlance of this book, allowing me to seek of the poisons of this tome via unicorn horn. We, as humans, have done some pretty vile things to ourselves and others since…pretty much the dawn of time. The Royal Art of Poison illustrates-in graphic detail- the poisonous things that people (mostly royalty, but the common man is capable of critical nastiness as well) have been doing intentionally and accidentally to […]

Please Mary, may I have some more?

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

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Gulp is my second Mary Roach book (I’d previously read and loved Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers) and is a thoroughly entertaining trip through our digestive systems. I do have digestive issues of my own, which no doubt heightened the appeal of this book to me, but as it’s so interesting and entertainingly written, I expect those whose stomachs don’t kick off regularly will also find something to enjoy. Gulp takes you through the whole process – from smell (which actually provides us […]

Naming Your Problems Helps!

8 Keys to End Emotional Eating by Howard Farkas

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Like many professionals, I have to attend annual continuing education sessions. In one recent session I learned that depression and suicide are many times higher in my field than they are in most others, excluding dentists and doctors. This wasn’t shocking or new to me. What was new was finding out that many students and professionals in my field meet the criteria for diagnosis of various flavors of disordered eating. After thinking about it for a few days, I figured out I was one of those […]

Pelvic floor exercises have now been added to my to-do list

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

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This is Going to Hurt: The Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor is important reading for any Brit who’s about to vote without bearing the future of the NHS in mind. I’ve worked in that arena for the last 15 years and the last 10 years of that has been under the banner of ‘austerity’. In that time we’ve seen services go from underfunded to seriously critical, with staff breaking more and more regularly thanks to the increased stresses and strains that go hand in […]

Emmalita was right

The Vagina Bible: The vulva and the vagina - separating the myth from the medicine by Dr. Jen Gunter

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Official book description: Does eating sugar cause yeast infections? Does pubic hair have a function? Should you have a vulvovaginal care regimen? Will your vagina shrivel up if you go without sex? What’s the truth about the HPV vaccine? So many important questions, so much convincing, confusing, contradictory misinformation! In this age of click bait, pseudoscience, and celebrity-endorsed products, it’s easy to be overwhelmed-whether it’s websites, advice from well-meaning friends, uneducated partners, and even healthcare providers. So how do you separate facts from fiction? Obstetrician […]

Very readable despite being a difficult topic

American Overdose by Chris McGreal

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This book was exactly what I expected it would be: a well-written, well-researched dive into the forces that combined to create the American opioid crisis. I knew the basic outline of those forces, but reading in depth was eye opening and I came away pretty angry. Basically big pharma, the FDA, and congress all had a greed fueled opiate money orgy and fucked over Americans in the process. McGreal does a great job of organizing the massive amount of content and complex timeline into a […]



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