Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Sadly Still Relevant

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

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James Baldwin writes so beautifully and so incisively. He also writes quite densely, at least in this work of nonfiction (compared to the two novels I’ve read by him). His writing style made it a little hard to fully absorb and retain what he was saying. However, I was certainly able to take away how little has changed in the 60+ years  since Baldwin published this. For example, he writes about how police officers’ treatment of Black individuals affected him: “. . . all police […]

Nothing is more human than imagining the alien

First Contact: the Story of our Obsession with Aliens by Becky Ferreira

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First Contact: the Story of our Obsession with Alien by Becky Ferreira doesn’t address the questions about aliens from outer space existing or visiting the earth. It’s about us caring so much about the answers and what we’ve done to get them. For about as long as humans have existed, we’ve yearned for aliens. People have always looked at the sky to figure stuff out. (How’s the weather? What time is it? Which way is north?) We also have lived with similar but different species like […]

Fascinating Examination & Deconstruction of some Western Body Myths

Decolonising My Body by Afua Hirsch

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I appreciate the work of Afua Hirsch. Her work is usually reflective, involving a level of personal analysis of her own life and heritage alongside her commentary on various issues (race, gender, identity). This reflection is the main narrative through this book as she analyses various dominant Western (European?/Global cultural?) beliefs about the body, looking at beauty, sexuality, skin (tatoos), and even death. It feels like a more personal continuation of her previous work Brit(ish) focusing on her own journey to understand these as she enters […]

Because Nobody Argues Harder Than A Middle-Aged Man

How to be right...in a world gone wrong by James O'Brien

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Alright, #2 of the year. James O’Brien’ How to be Right… I’m never quite sure how I feel about James’s stuff. His talk show on LBC seems to generate enough social media moments, usually involving him dismantling someone’s spurious right-wing argument. I don’t really have a problem with that; and frankly it’s quite useful to see approaches to do it; but sometimes it comes across as a little browbeating with the callers conceding their ground not because of the weight of reason but wanting to get […]

Anyone Got a Spare Kidney?

The Red Market: On The Trail of the World’s Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers and Child Traffickers by Scott Carney

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Rating: 2.5 Stars – a solid ‘fine.’ In a nutshell: Investigative journalist Scott Carney explores the various ways humans sell bodies and body parts. Best for: Those interested in the ethics of these issues and who aren’t squeamish. Lines(s) that stuck with me: N/A Why I chose it: The audio book selection from my local library is ROUGH. Virtually none of the books on my TBR list are available, so I started scrolling non fiction and this seemed interesting. Also … medical things fascinate me, […]

So close but then nope

The Unofficial Harry Potter Vegan Cookbook by Imana Grashuis, Tylor Starr

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Have you ever read a book and started to appreciate it, only for one small detail to ruin the whole thing? When I picked up The Unofficial Harry Potter Vegan Cookbook, it was clearly stated that the book was in no way officially affiliated with the franchise and its author, so that didn’t bother me. The introduction is a little preachy about vegan ethics, but it’s by Evanna Lynch, the actress for Luna Lovegood. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before in vegan cookbooks. The thing […]



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