Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill

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The Manson Family murders loom large in the annals of crime history, with prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi’s book Helter Skelter laying out the official story that’s long been accepted as fact by the general public. This book basically kicks Helter Skelter into a fire, but while the cover of mine says it reveals the truth behind the murders, what it actually does is raise lots and lots of questions. Chaos isn’t really even about the murders. Instead, it’s the story of Tom O’Neill’s decades long obsession […]

The Only Winner Here is Corn.

The Scientist and The Spy by Mara Hvistendahl

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On one hand, I enjoyed reading The Scientist and the Spy, really. Mara Hvistendahl has given us a really compelling account of economic espionage. But Christ, this book is a sticky one. It covers multiple topics I’m interested in: genetics, agriculture, international relations and intellectual property, and politic shit-storms. But it also makes me want to bang my head against the wall while crying out ‘everyone’s a pack of arseholes’ because that was basically the only conclusion I could come to. But with a story […]

Rugby stories I couldn’t put down

What a Flanker by James Haskell

Loose Head by Joe Marler

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I’m an armchair rugby fan, and have been for nearly 30 years, but its only in the last few that I’ve read some autobiographies of coaches and players.  The two books I’ve just read back to back are by two England players, one former and one current, and were both so good that I read each one in one sitting. The first, What a Flanker, was written by the retired James Haskell.  I’m going to openly admit that I had bought into the public image […]

“Charlie was always preaching love. Charlie had no idea what love was. Charlie was so far from love it wasn’t even funny. Death is Charlie’s trip.”

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi

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I’m a fan of true crime and thus used to a certain level of uncomfortableness in books and documentaries, and I have a pretty high tolerance for most things, but I was not prepared for this book. I think it’s because Vincent Bugliosi, who was the prosecutor who tried Manson and most of his followers, takes you through everything in unbelievable detail (a couple members of the Family had a separate trial for murders committed before the Tate-LaBianca crimes, and Bugliosi was only a witness […]

If you are getting another cat, read this book. Heck, if you have a cat, get this book.

Total Cat Mojo by Jackson Galaxy, Mikel Delgado

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In November, a friend of mine, who works with a feral cat rescue in LA (Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats), fostered a litter of kittens that included this charmer and we fell in love (lookit dat face 😍 ) I was initially staunchly against getting a third animal, we already have a 7 year old corgi (Wall-E) and a 2 1/2 year old cat (Sosuke), and the rule in our house has long been only two pets.  However, the pandemic had me reassessing […]



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