Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


In Search of the Green Fairy

The Absinthe Forger: A True Story of Deception, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Dangerous Spirit by Evan Rail

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Among all liquors, absinthe, a high-proof anised-flavored spirit known for its green hue, has a special mystique for its alleged mind-altering properities, its association with the art and literature of the 19th century, and a nearly century-long ban in many countries in Europe and America. However, one unscrupulous enthusiast took advantage of its cult following to swindle collectors out of thousands of dollars. Last spring, in a small bar in Seattle, I was regaled by the story of how absinthe came to be banned. A […]

Losing Oneself in Art

Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama by Yayoi Kusama

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Yayoi Kusama is one of the most prolific and successful artists of our time. This Japanese born creative genius was a major force on the New York art scene in the sixties, producing interactive installations, performance pieces, and a variety of other artistic offerings. Yet most people are probably more familiar with her contemporaries, like Andy Warhol. In this autobiography published in 2002 (English translation in 2012), Kusama provides some information about her childhood and upbringing, but this is mostly the story of her art […]

Doppelganger

Doppelganger by Naomi Klein

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Are y’all watching Severance? Did you watch Dark Matter? Could I recommend Counterpart with J.K. Simmons and Olivia Williams? Have you seen Mr. Klein with Alain Delon? Surely you’ve seen Vertigo? How about Coherence? Look, what I am saying is that I love a doppelganger story. Published in 2023, Doppelganger is not exactly an under-the radar book. Naomi Klein, already a well-known author, has won several well-deserved awards for it. and I think it’s in a lot of people’s periphery, at least. In Doppelganger, Klein […]

Sit up and take note

Thick and Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom

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Tressie McMillan Cottom is an academic (Sociologist) who also writes for the New York Times and has appeared on The Daily Show. Thick was published in 2019 and was a finalist for the National Book Award. It is a collection of essays on race, gender, politics and culture that are meticulously researched and brilliantly argued. This is the kind of collection that bears taking your time to read. McMillan Cottom gives the reader a lot to think about and made me rethink things I thought […]

Pearl Divers Unite! Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States

Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States by Pete Jordan

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I started a dishwashing job late last year, and it’s been one of my favorite jobs. I was curious to see what Pete Jordan liked about dishwashing so much that he decided to do it in all fifty states. The book is written as part travelogue, part memoir, with some history of labor movements along the way. Pete’s writing comes alive when he’s describing the working-class struggle and triumph. The best chapter of the book is in New Orleans and Pete learns that restaurants there […]

“You could call T. Rex the James Dean of dinosaurs: it lived fast and died young.”

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte

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This, friends, is a dinosaur. I believe Pesto’s ancestors would be confused by him, but that’s the beauty of nature. It’s super weird and always doing unexpected things. This book manages to impart a lot of information about the evolution, time on earth, and extinction of (most) dinosaurs while at the same time being very readable and fun to consume. At one point the author uses the phrase “crow-sized weirdos with wings on their arms and legs” to describe a species of dinosaur that differed […]



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