Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


A weekend and a lunch read

Origin of a Hero (She-Ra Chapter Book #1) by Tracey West

What Will I Discover by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

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Two books that found their way to my reading pile were a middle reader chapter book and a short, but ultimately fascinating picture book. While they are both radically different and not exactly completely available (She-Ra looks like it is out of print and the picture book is due May 2023) they are ones that made a weekend a little less unproductive, and a lunch less solo. Origin of a Hero (She-Ra Chapter Book #1) by Tracey West (illustrations by Amanda Schank) is a short […]

I like reading about not popular people

The Fire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of by Kirsten W. Larson

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Do you know Cecilia Payne? Well since she passed in 1979 so the odds are you do not/did not know her, but in The Fire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of you can meet her on the page. Due in February 2023, I read Kirsten W. Larson’s book via online through Edelweiss. The story was a little confusing at first as there are two parts going on simultaneously. The first is a star is born […]

“The real villain is love: an unstable isotope, constantly undergoing spontaneous nuclear decay. And it will forever go unpunished.”

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

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This book was a really fun time and I liked it a lot, but I did feel there were a couple of things that didn’t fully work, so no five stars on this one. While Ali (we have met so I can call her Ali) is so good at dialogue and at characters, and character interaction, there were a couple of tropes and individual incidents that happened that made me stop reading and think to myself, really? But they didn’t hurt the overall story for […]

“Their path to advancement might look less like a straight line and more like some of the pressure distributions and orbits they plotted, but they were determined to take a seat at the table.”

Hidden Figures by Margo Lee Shetterly

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I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I did. It was just okay. Very informative; kind of dull. I feel like a big jerk saying I liked the movie better, but I liked the movie better. I know this is an unfair comparison because the movie takes just a portion of the information in here and dramatizes it, but it’s the best bit, and the compelling narrative and much easier to follow cast of characters just makes for better story. Yes, […]

Strange, Interesting Little Book

The Unseen Body: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy by Jonathan Reisman

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Best for: Those interested in the human body, but also books that can’t quite be categorized. In a nutshell: Author Reisman discusses different parts of the human body while also sharing his experiences with it, his experiences with patients, and … sometimes food? Worth quoting: “Empathy is not always easy, but it always matters.” “The medical community’s ignorance, as well as our biases, means that the nutrition advice we give to patients changes constantly.” Why I chose it: I like kind of weird little books […]

I’ve got taste in buds

Pebble and Wren by Chris Hallbeck

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Pebble and Wren by Chris Hallbeck is an adorable story of friendship, finding yourself and your talents. And pancakes. Along the way we are educated on some fun science facts (at least one of I am with the dad: I am the adult and HOW did I not know that????) Granted, as an adult reader these science breaks did cut the flow of things, but most kids will not have a problem with this. Because of this, this graphic novel could work well in a classroom […]



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