Cannonball Read 16

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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The Strange, Fragile, Beautiful World

Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures by Katherine Rundell

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It’s estimated that there are around 7.8 millions animal species on the planet, many of which we know little about. Unfortunately, some may vanish before we can learn much more – which is a pity, because the variety of life on this planet is far more wondrous and strange than anything our imaginations could conjure up. This is a quiet and contemplative peek at the natural world in easy bite-sized installments. Each essay discusses an animal species which threatened in one way or another, covering […]

“Don’t stop beginning. Begin and begin and begin. Begin endlessly—that is, without the taint of even eventual ending.”

All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess by Becca Rothfeld

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Literary critic Becca Rothfeld argues against the modern inclination toward minimalism, and insteads advocates embracing all the messy and irrepressible things that make the human existence so rewarding. I am this book’s target audience, because like Rothfeld I wonder if in the process of streamlining our world we have reached an unpleasantly bland and bloodless zeitgeist. I enjoy colorful and unusual clothes and furniture. I find the aesthetic of minimalism boring. I love the over the top pulp literature of yesteryears. I don’t want the […]

“Whatever that story meant, it was mine to tell.”

Adult Drama: And Other Essays by Natalie Beach

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CBR16 Bingo – Liberate: In this exploration of her early adulthood, Beach liberates herself from the petty dramas of her past – especially when it comes to closing the chapter of her toxic friendship with Caroline Calloway. Natalie Beach might have shot to viral fame with her confession to being the ex-best friend and ghost-writer for an infamous influencer, but in this book she takes us on a tour of various other facets of her coming of age, from working in a pencil store to living […]

“This Book is Dedicated to Klonopin”

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. by Samantha Irby

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A whopping 6 years ago, teresaelectro reviewed this book of humor essays, and it’s been on my TBR list since then. I finally got around to it, and Irby had me from the dedication. She covers a variety of topics, but a lot of the focus is on relationships and tracks the progression of her romantic relationships from the gross guys who essentially think she should be grateful to have sex with them, up to her current relationship with her long-term partner. She also speaks […]

Found in a fog

The Unreality of Memory: Notes on life in the pre-apocalypse by Elisa Gabbert

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My first review of 2024 is going to be a bit generic and sub-par, because I made the rookie mistake of starting this book many moons ago, getting distracted, and then returning to it. And it’s entirely my fault. My name is Caesar’s Wife, and I’m a Kindle Addict (‘Hi Caesar’s Wife!’). This collection of essays was gifted to me by my boss last year, and I dived into it with relish. But you see: it’s a paperback, and I’ve become hopelessly reliant on my […]

Meaningful conversations

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire by Jehad Abusalim

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Full disclosure, I did not finish Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing and Mike Merryman-Lotze. I did read a few of the essays in full, a few I skimmed and one was mostly read. There are around five or so poems, but they did not “pop” for me.  There are a handful of  photographs and each essay covers events, detailed facts and much more. It is a technical read a lot of the time. While the publisher’s description […]



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