Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“I cannot say this frequently enough: the goal is not to clear your mind but to focus your mind—for a few nanoseconds at a time—and whenever you become distracted, just start again. Getting lost and starting over is not failing at meditation, it is succeeding.”

Meditations for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-To Book by Dan Harris and Jeff Warren

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This book is one part Meditation how to, one part road trip, one part Dan Harris being cantankerous and introspective and just very frank about his own life. I featured it on my podcast “Advice from the Cheerbrarian” in the episode titled “The Power of Yes (Part 3) – Give meditation a whirl: how meditation has helped me and might help you.” Juuust had to get that icky self-promotion outta the way. And now onto the book! Firstly, who is Dan Harris? You may have […]

Sweet Memoir With A Touch of Self-Help

I Haven't Been Entirely Honest With You by Miranda Hart

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Best for: Those who have been going through some things and are looking for some sweet advice delivered by a lovely writer. In a nutshell: Writer and actor Hart updates her story by sharing her struggles with chronic illness, and what she’s found to be helpful in not just facing those challenges but in thriving as a person. Worth quoting: There’s a lot of wisdom in this book, and I wish I had a physical copy to follow along, but alas I didn’t write down […]

“Introduction: In the Long Run, We’re All Dead.”

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

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I first came acorss Oliver Burkeman’s ideas on the podcast NPR Life Kit, episode titled “How To Rethink What You Spend Your Time — And Life — Doing.” He had my immediate attention. And then I forgot about it because you know, life. A different friend said this book was life-changing and I was skeptical because that’s a bold claim but now that I’ve read it I concur. I have almost every other page of this book turned down, and so many lines highlighted it’s […]

“Good for her, not for me.”

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

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In five words: Memoir, Frank, Wisdom, Femalehood, Funny This is my fifth time reading this book and I know it won’t be the last. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are two women I admire for their humor. I had the opportunity to see their live show and it was everything I had ever hoped for, seeing these funny women in person, in their element as friends having spent their adult lives sharing a comedy stage, first at Second City and later on Saturday Night Live. […]

“You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are” – allegedly, at least.

Girl, Wash your Face by Rachel Hollis

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To reach a happier and more fulfilling life, Rachel Hollis advises you must unlearn the lies you’ve been telling yourself and push yourself beyond whatever limits you assume are there. I am not at all a self-help book reader, though I have plenty of friends who enjoy consume this genre in books and podcasts and social media posts. To each their own, I suppose. But listening to true crime podcasts while walking my dog made me start wondering if we’d ever run across a body […]

The Powerful Pivot

Machiavelli For Women by Stacey Vanek Smith

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Machiavelli for Women: Defend Your Worth, Grow Your Ambition, and Win the Workplace is a self-help novel through the lens of The Prince. What can women learn from Machiavelli and apply in the 21st century workplace? A fair bit, as it turns out. Smith has done a decent job here of breaking down the struggles that women face in the professional world and how, with a bit of knowledge, perspective, and strategy, these struggles can be overcome. The book is peppered with real case studies […]



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