Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I have spent a good deal of 2020 in a cadaver-shaped hole.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

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And no, I do not mean an open grave. The more we hurtle towards impending doom- pandemics! global warming! world war!- the more solace I seek in, well, death. I didn’t set out on the morbid marathon on purpose, but here I am! It was not my intention to get down and dirty (ha!) with death this year, but I am enjoying the ride. I have been a long-time fan of Mary Roach since Spook, but for some reason I forgot to start at the […]

Even slime molds find their way better than I do

Supernavigators: Exploring the Wonders of How Animals Find Their Way by David Barrie

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My friends, I have a condition. I suppose the commonly used term for it is “directionally challenged.” When I go back east to visit my family, my husband has to navigate even if we are driving in an area where I grew up, because his ability to remember where we are is so far superior to mine, even though he’d never been to the area before we met. When I go to a shopping mall or a medical complex, the only way I can find […]

Save the Flower Vampires

Tiny Bird:  Hummingbirds’ Amazing Journey by Robert Burleigh

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I think I was in love with Tiny Bird:  Hummingbirds’ Amazing Journey before I even opened this picture book. The illustration that was the cover was as eye catching as the hummingbird itself. I knew that Wendell Minor would not disappoint with the art (or so I was hoping) but could Robert Burleigh create text that would be interesting and as bold as the illustrations? And they did. The result of these two artists was an accessible for multiple ages and levels picture book that […]

A Composition of Decomposition

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

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Last time you, me, and the other Caitlin who spells her name correctly met up, I was asking about what you wanted to happen to your body when you died. Remember?  A good time was had by all. This time I am not going to ask what you want to happen, because while Smoke Gets in Your Eyes does talk about what one can choose for their post-mortem adventures, it also gives a breakdown (cymbal crash) of what happens to a human body when it stops being […]

Different colors “talk” to different pollinators

Flower Talk by Sara Levine

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The cover to Flower Talk was a bit off-putting at first. I had picked it up to process it for an order a customer had placed, but my curiosity got the better of me (I admit it, I look at customers books. I have found a few interesting things that way). A few minutes later I found a new book to enjoy. Sara Levine will now be on my radar for authors to watch for. Flower Talk is an amusing, factual and gorgeously illustrated picture […]

Pre-order a copy today, get your copy in March 2020

Nesting by Henry Cole

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Putting away future publications reader copies to our staff shelves, Nesting by Henry Cole came up. The blue of the cover popped up. I was not sure what was going on. Was it going to be about all birds, robins, hummingbirds? The contrast of the grey/white and blue was (yes, a bit dramatic) mesmerizing. I had put it in my, “Not reading now” pile, but kept thinking I probably should read it. It was not a wasted read. I give this book a five for […]



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