Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About KimMiE"

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I love reading nonfiction books, especially ones about nature, zoology, brain chemistry, and psychology. I also love the classics, especially Victorian lit. Mysteries are my go-to relaxing reads, and I read fantasy and sci fi when they come recommended. I'm definitely open to new genres! (Learn more about this Cannonballer: KimMiE”'s Quick Questions interview.)

KimMiE"'s Reviews:

Christopher Moore is always a good option for alleviating pandemic stress

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore

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Many people have asked recently for reading recommendations for when you are just too stressed or tired to focus well. I’m not a social scientist, but I suspect the pandemic has something to do with the intense fatigue everyone is feeling, even when it comes to indulging in the joy of reading. Fortunately, Christopher Moore continues to write during these gloomy times. While every novel of his isn’t necessarily a winner, you can absolutely count on Moore to provide a pleasant diversion, even if the […]

In which I recommend an exceptionally good movie in place of this book

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery

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Scroll all the way to the bottom for movie recommendation! Is anything quite so disappointing as picking up a book that you fully expect to be a five-star read and being met with something you can only generously call mediocre? I was so excited at the prospect of learning about octopuses, those wonderful invertebrates, that I sat down with my beloved book darts, certain that I’d want to permanently tag many interesting passages. Now a few golden embellishments stare up at me from the pages, […]

It’s not easy being a woman in a man’s world

Lady Killer, Volume 1 by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich

Lady Killer, Volume 2 by Joëlle Jones and Michelle Madsen

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Someone in the CBR community recently mentioned that they are curious about how books come into our lives. I’m not typically a comic book reader (with a few exceptions), but I read this one when it came to me in the mail. More specifically, it came to my husband, a recommendation from one of his coworkers. After he read Lady Killer, he passed it on to me, thinking I might enjoy it The cover is the first thing that intrigued me: a stylish Betty Draper-esque […]

Long, yes; lovely, yes

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

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I’m staring at a 771-page novel, replete with sticky notes I’ve placed to mark passages of interest, and I don’t know where to begin. The Goldfinch is an epic tale encompassing themes of loss, fate, friendship, family, love, accountability, and the nature of art. This is a novel for which future teachers of American literature will assign very specific essay topics to their students, such as “Describe Andy’s relationship with water and how it correlates to his relationship with his family,” or “What makes art […]

Underwhelmed

Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman

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I’ve heard positive things about the Netlix miniseries Unorthodox, so I was excited when Deborah Feldman’s memoir was proposed as a possible subject for my “Pandemic Book Club.” Sadly, the promising topic of a woman cutting ties with her Hasidic upbringing didn’t live up to my expectations, largely due to the blandness of the author’s writing, partially due to my absolute lack of shock at anything the book reveals. Feldman’s memoir describes her childhood, in which she’s brought up in a strict Satmar Hasidic household in […]

My 2020 Resolution and a Cannonball!

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin

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In December 2019, before we knew what the following months held in store, I made a New Year’s resolution to read On the Origin of Species. I have a beautiful folio edition that I received for my birthday, and I wanted to check it off my TBR list for a couple of reasons. First, as I’ve mentioned before, I learned as an adult how much I love science. Second, and more importantly, in a country where roughly 20% of adults reject the idea that humans […]



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