Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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I'm left-handed! (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Halbs's Quick Questions interview.)

Halbs's Reviews:

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Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise by Justin Zorn, Leigh Marz

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Golden articulates the zietgeisty feeling that our world and our minds are too daggum noisy. We need less less less, and we need things to quiet down. In this book, authors Zorn and Marz diagnose the problem, look at the benefits of silence, and then provide examples of how to bring more silence into our environment. By environment, I mean internal, communal, and global. First, what is silence? The authors make the point from the very beginning that silence isn’t the absence of noise so […]

I Know Why Manholes Covers Are Circles

A Walk Around the Block: Stoplight Secrets, Mischievous Squirrels, Manhole Mysteries & Other Stuff You See Every Day (And Know Nothing About) by Spike Carlsen

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My interest in neighborhood walks started when I was a teenager and I read Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write. In it, she writes about the value that regular walking does for creative folks. I took to walking based on that. As a young adult, the habit fell off a bit in favor of gym time and other (alcohol-based) pursuits. Once I got married and had kids in strollers, walking was back, baby! Strolls around the block became a great way to get out […]

“The frontier regulars did the job.”

Fort Davis by Robert Wooster

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Last month, my family made our first pilgrimage to West Texas. We stayed at the idyllic Fort Davis State Park, spent some time in Alpine and Marfa, and attended a Star Party at the McDonald Observatory. Quite the weekend! It may not surprise you at all to find out that Fort Davis is named after an actual “Fort Davis.” It was one on a series of forts leading across Texas to help move settlers West. Fort Davis is now a National Historic Site , more […]

On eating compassionately

The Happy Vegan: A Guide to Living a Long, Healthy, and Successful Life by Russell Simmons, Chris Morrow

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It’s a natural time for change: new school year, new season, new job. So, I decided to freshen up my routines across the board. Since I’ve felt sluggish, lately, I’m trying to switch up what I’m eating. Libraries have like a million food books, so I just ran through that aisle and threw all of them in my cart, Supermarket Sweep-style. The Happy Vegan had a great title, so it’s the first one I read. It’s written by mogul Russell Simmons. I don’t know much […]

Good times, bad times; you know I’ve had my share.

Led Zeppelin: The Biography by Bob Spitz

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The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo recently interviewed musician and journalist Bob Spitz’ Led Zeppelin: The Biopgraphy. If Spitz’ name sounds familiar, you may have read his biography on the The Beatles, Ronald Reagan, Julia Child, or Bob Dylan. The writer’s credibility from past books as well as his musicianship seems to have contributed to his ability to get access to Led Zeppelin’s inside circle, including surviving band members. What results is a (relatively) objective look at one of the most revered and at times disgusting popular […]

“The lie tastes bitter, like an ash pretending to be a snowflake.”

Hello, Transcriber by Hannah Morrissey

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Hazel Greenlee is stuck in quiet, rusty Black Harbor. She’s falling apart, just like her surroundings. Hazel is a police transcriber working the night shift.  Her 111 words per minute typing skills astound the office crew. Her husband is some kind of ag scientist, studying why the nearby lake is eroding the shore.  They barely pass one another in their ratty duplex. Maybe that’s for the best. The night shift is like a dream for Hazel. The whole town is like a bad dream – […]



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