Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

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I try to go to yoga two or three times a week. The instructor for early Wednesday runs an insurance/financial advising office outside of the studio, and is fond of bringing in the self-help/improvement kinds of things that can be made to work for both the business side of things as well as the yoga. This is how I first heard of The Four Agreements. I saw the book itself, and in need of retail therapy, I decided to see what the whole thing was […]

Who Owns the Moon? In Defence of Humanity's Common Interests in Space by A.C. Grayling

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I came across this book while thinking about modern philosophy/ethics writers I’d appreciated before. I read a few of his books several years ago, The Meaning of Things, having a particular impact on me as a guide for applying philosophy to life. His argument for vegetarianism “You’re eating carrion!” has especially rattled around in my head ever since. I was also reading Alain de Botton around the same time and it’s interesting to see how they’ve grown in different ways,de Botton with his “atheist church” while Grayling […]

https://cannonballread.com/2026/01/who-owns-the-moon-in-defence-of-humanitys-common-interests-in-space-matt_thac/

Allegory of power

Pigeons!: A Fable For Our Times by Marc Chalvin

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If I have one complaint about Pigeons!: A Fable For Our Times by Marc Chalvin (due December 2025, read via an oline reader) is that the people who need to read this book, won’t. This is the commentary about what is happening today. It comes out and tells us how the Dictator will use anything he can to stay in power. It comes out and tells us there are well meaning people, but they are missing a few pieces of the puzzle. And those who […]

Hmmm

You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh

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Best for: Those looking for some reminders related to the Buddhist approach to live and being present. In a nutshell: Prolific writer on Buddhism Thich Nhat Hanh shares some thoughts on positivity and presence. Worth quoting: “You need to recognize that these kinds of positive elements exist and that you can benefit from their refreshing and helpful presence.” “We must always ask ourselves the question, ‘is my perception accurate?’” “The future is being made out of the present, so the best way to take care […]

“Reading is a pact of generosity between author and reader.”

Literature & Existentialism by Jean-Paul Sartre

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I picked up this little curiosity at a bookstore featured in Texas Monthly magazine. You know how people say you eat with your eyes first? The meal starts before you eat? I wonder if you sometimes start engaging with a book in a bookstore before opening the cover. In this case, I felt a little more adventurous while roaming the stacks. My TBR list was nowhere in sight. I was having fun making small talk, eavesdropping on the locals’ coffee circle, and just existing in […]

“Much remains unknown because there is so much to know.”

The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

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Many thanks to esmemoria for setting the example of how to review a philosophy book in this review of Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus. It inspired me to review Russell. Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy starts simply. As a thought experiment, Russell asks the reader to picture a table. What do you see? What can you really know about what you see? Do you know there is table, or do you know your sense-data, which makes you think “table”? In this way, the book is […]



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