Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Random and Clever

How To by Randall Munroe

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Best for: People who like science and humor. In a nutshell: Author Munroe takes on everyday problems like ‘How to Move’ with increasingly absurd advice like ‘get a bunch of helicopters to do that’, and then explains the science behind it. Worth quoting: When discussing using trained birds of prey to knock drones out of the sky: “…but any plan that calls for countering rogue machines by training animals to hurl themselves at them is probably a bad one. We wouldn’t enforce speed limits by training cheetahs to leap onto motorcycles.” Why I chose it: I enjoyed his previous two […]

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Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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12/8/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:46 |

This is (almost) the end

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

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Mary Roach’s Stiff is a paean to dead bodies. She notes in the introduction that “Cadavers are our superheroes: They brave fire without flinching, withstand falls from head-on car crashes into walls. You can fire a gun at them or run a speedboat over their legs, and it will not faze them. Their heads can be removed with no deleterious effect. They can be in six places at once. . . .  What a shame to waste these powers, to not use them for the betterment of humankind.” I wholeheartedly agree with her perspective, which is why I found it […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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11/29/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:51 |

Red Rover Red Rover roll right over Mars

Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars by Richard Ho

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Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars by Richard Ho, is one of those books that is cool. Yet I still feel lackluster about it. There was something missing. Katherine Roy’s illustrations are a combination of realistic and a hint of whimsy. The text itself, however, has a more artistic then “serious” scientific element, but still has all the information needed. As we explore the planet of Mars, we learn about the planet and the machines that came before Curiosity. This information will grab the space nut but is not for the casual lover of space. It also could grab the attention of […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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11/20/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:498 |

A wonderful surprise-an intelligent, articulate science graphic novel

The Dialogues by Clifford V. Johnson

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I attend a science fiction/fantasy convention every year and during one of the panels on the Physics of the Avengers this past year, the speaker recommended this graphic novel, which was written by a friend of his. Hard science explanations in a graphic novel format intrigued me, but I was unsure if it would actually work over the entire work. While it drags in some places, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. There isn’t a coherent story, but rather the author chooses to use the ancient technique of simply two people talking to illustrate points he is trying to make. […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "A wonderful surprise-an intelligent, articulate science graphic novel"

11/16/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:19 |

“I see poisoners—so calculating, so cold-blooded—as most like the villains of our horror stories.” (CBR11 Bingo)

The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

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I don’t know what it says about me that I quite enjoy medical history and historic New York, but I do know that it says that The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York is right up my alley. It also wins the prize for longest title of the books I’ve read this year. Blum’s book tracks the time when a pair of forensic scientists, Charles Norris and Alexander Getler began the chemical detective work that forensic science has become known for and fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons let many […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "“I see poisoners—so calculating, so cold-blooded—as most like the villains of our horror stories.” (CBR11 Bingo)"

10/29/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:49 |

A Love Letter to Our Little Lords and Masters.

First in Fly: Drosophila Research and Biological Discovery by Stephanie Elizabeth Mohr

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I think Stephanie Elizabeth Mohr has done us all a great service by writing this book. As a drosophilist myself (or in more common parlance, a fly-pusher) I understand completely why Drosophila is such a great model organism to work for genetics. It’s a damned shame though that this understanding has not really trickled down to the rest of the population, who just don’t get it the way we do. Mention that you’re being paid by the government to study flies, and people look at you all askew. I should know – I’ve been at the receiving end of it […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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10/27/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:19 |

It’s all about that data-base

Ava in Code Land by Jess Hitchman

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Ava in Code Land is obviously, from the cover and title, a modern story about computers and coding. It is also a classic story about not giving up and trying even if all seems hopeless. This is all wrapped up with a girl main character called Ava.   Jess Hitchman, Gavin Cullen and Leire Martin put together a picture book that is set in a computer game. A game that Ava loves living in as all she has to do is hit a few keys and what she needs and wants pops up! However, like all good games there is […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "It’s all about that data-base"

10/23/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:440 |

What’s your book about? Stuff.

Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik

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This book is meant to make you think about all the stuff that surrounds you.  Not the clutter, but the stuff that that clutter is made of. The metal in your chair, the cloth of your clothes, the paper of the book you’re reading.  We take the materials in our world largely for granted, but there was a lot of time and effort put in to discovering and inventing all of the materials that we encounter in our daily lives.  The book is divided into chapters, and each one has a different structure to it, much like the different structures […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "What’s your book about? Stuff."

10/16/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:61 |


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