Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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octothorp

I buy books faster than I can read them.

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octothorp's Reviews:

The Cult of Ruth

Save me the plums by Ruth Reichl

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It is fairly strange reading a memoir about the height of the subject’s fame and realizing you contributed to it, that you were part of the reason that Reichl’s semi-dreaded “cult of Ruth” took place. But the way that Reichl feels about Gourmet magazine is how I feel about her writing. She writes about the early childhood infatuation with the magazine – the swordfish adorning a 1950’s cover beckoning her to delve deeper and read “the night of lobster” which transports the young Reichl and sets her on a culinary path. Well, that was Garlic and Sapphires for me. I […]

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Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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6/15/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:44 |

Almost wasn’t

I am, I am, I am by Maggie o’Farrell

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Man, life is so flipping fragile it’s a wonder any of us survive past infancy. I work at a children’s hospital and see all the ways that one gene flips or one chromosome is duplicated or deleted and suddenly bam, your lifespan goes from 75 to 14, so I have always been acutely aware of this fact (I was real fun during pregnancy, trust me). My problem is I see the race as having been won. I’ve made it this far and so I’m safe, all the near misses have just been flavor to add to my story.  Maggie O’Farrell […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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6/15/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:43 |

Long tail, long time

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson

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I had a Marie Kondo moment and have been reevaluating my library, realizing how many books I’ve kept that aren’t my favorites, am unlikely to refer to again or reread, or loan to a friend.  It’s been a good purge, but I’ve had a few books I was on the fence about and wanted to reread before they hit the resell/donate pile, and this was the first. I remember liking this the first time through and found its insights valuable. The idea that marginal tastes collectively outweigh the mainstream was appealing in 2006, when I remember vividly wanting comic book […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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6/15/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:42 |

I’m a meek rider on a distracted elephant

Switch by Dan Heath, Chip Heath

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Full disclosure, I’m predisposed to love this kind of book.  Malcolm Gladwell’s rise to popularity was a boon to me as I love research into what makes people behave as they do, en masse and as individuals.  Behavioral economics is my jam. I wasn’t as thrilled by the last Heath brothers book I read, The Power of Moments, as it didn’t feel as substantive as Built to Stick, their expansion on Gladwell’s “stickiness” requirement for ideas to “tip” in The Tipping Point. This is something of a midpoint; it’s meatier and less obvious than Moments if not as much of […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

  • Switch by Dan Heath, Chip Heath

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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6/10/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:41 |

Get Lost

Finding the Flavors We Lost by Patrick Kuh

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In his chapter on Williamsburg artisan food makers, Kuh starts to fall into the “ugh hipsters” trap and dismiss a bar’s row of empty growlers as for decor rather than use before realizing it was he who was acting pretentious. DUH. This was nearly impossible to read due to pretentiousness and dilettantism and I’m the type of person to use the word dilettante.  I have a high tolerance for pretension but this was ridiculous; the author flits from subject to subject without regard for narrative theme or cohesion, and writes like every word out of his pen is gold. The […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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6/6/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:40 |

You’re a PhD!

Why we sleep by Matthew walker

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I’m in the process of reading this still, but had to start my review early because I was so irritated.  It may seem pedantic, but in a scientific book I expect facts to be accurate and held to rigorous standards. Only a few pages after writing that “the data infers” a result (nope, readers infer, data implies.  Unless data has gained sentience it can’t draw conclusions from what’s being reported, interpretation or inference is strictly for humans.  Data can imply, but not infer) this PhD writes about the flu and a cold like they’re interchangeable.  Nope.  I wouldn’t accept this […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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6/4/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:39 |

Despite all my rage I am still just the girl on the train

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

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It’s honestly refreshing to have a book where the main character has actual flaws instead of cutesy “I’m such a klutz!” “I’m just too ambitious!” pseudoflaws. Rachel, our hero, is a straight out alcoholic. And half of the mystery she’s committed herself to solving involves putting her fractured memories of the night of the crime together, a task made more difficult by the wine induced blackout that evening. Rachel isn’t just a heavy drinker, she has an out and out problem, and Hawkins does an admirable job of showing Rachel’s ugly side – you honestly understand why her roommate can […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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6/3/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:38 |

Bandaids don’t fix bullet holes

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

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I enjoyed this book immensely, and appreciated the factual and as unbiased as possible approach the author took, as his investigation of Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos eventually made him a part of the story once Holmes began to view the journalist as a threat.  Carreyrou’s level headed reporting was a necessity given Holmes’ view of him as someone with a vendetta against her personally, and he admirably sticks to what can be factually confirmed, making allowances any time he draws a conclusion that cannot be supported 100%. But man oh man, is this a story that calls for […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Bandaids don’t fix bullet holes"

6/3/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:37 |


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