Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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The Faces Behind the Trials

Valley of Forgetting: Alzheimer’s Families and the Search for a Cure by Jennie Erin Smith

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Guess I’m back on the topic of Alzheimer’s Disease research again. Jennie Erin Smith’s  “Valley of Forgetting: Alzheimer’s Families and the Search for a Cure” is very tightly focused on one particular subset of familial Alzheimer’s being studied in Columbia. This particular form of Alzheimer’s is caused by a mutation in the gene presenilin-1 (PSEN1), E280A. A single amino acid change at position 280 leads to altered protein function. E280A is one of the most common causes of early onset familial Alzheimer’s, and the vast […]

Another Infuriating Debacle.

Doctored by Charles Piller

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This ended up being another one of those books I had to read over an extended period of  time due the stress it gave me. This book shares some similarity to John Carreyrou’s Bad Blood in a way, but it covers a field that I am somewhat less familiar with, which also contributed to it becoming a stressful read. In addition, unlike the Theranos story, you also can’t just lay blame here at the feet of a small number of individuals. The issues here are […]

I’m a little bit of Iveliz

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango

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Iveliz Explains It All is a modern story about coming to terms with depression, grief, growing up, reaching out for help and all that is in between. It is relatable even to adults who have gone through the issues or are even currently going through the issues Iveliz must deal with. While best for ages 10 and up, even someone who is going through issues or for friends of those dealing with these issues will enjoy. Afterall, it is just a good, story. This book […]

When a book is (way) more than just a book.

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This review requires a lot of backstory that isn’t directly related to the actual quality of the book, so bear with me. Some facts pertinent to what I’m leading up to: My husband and I are Catholic adult converts. Our daughter took years and fertility treatments to conceive, and trying for kid #2 has not proven one bit easier. When I finally did get pregnant, I had a difficult pregnancy and good reason to think she might not make it. For the first time I […]

A Tale for the Time Being

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A Tale for the Time Being is a novel about Zen Buddhism, quantum physics, writers and readers, writer’s block and reader’s block, hate and love. It moves fluidly through the past and present and involves some dynamic and admirable female protagonists. Small wonder it was nominated for the 2013 Man Booker Prize (and should have won instead of The Luminaries). The narration moves back and forth between Ruth, a present-day middle-aged writer living on a remote island off the coast of British Columbia, and Nao, […]



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