Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Doomsday with a Smile.

The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack

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Every beginning has an end, and every end has a beginning. For some of the more mundane everyday things around us, their existence from conception to completion is not too much of a mystery. However, things are not so straightforward when it comes to the cosmos. The universe may be one of the biggest and most complicated thing that we can conceptualise. So is it really that surprising that trying to understand both its beginning and it’s end is also big and complicated? I loved […]

True life is often much more interesting than fiction

The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb by Sam Kean

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In the author’s note to The Bastard Brigade, Sam Kean responds to the question, why has he never written a book about physics before? His previous books (which are all fabulous and highly recommended by me) focus on genetics, chemistry, neuroscience, and the atmosphere, even though the author studied physics in college. He explains, “What I really love doing is telling stories, and when I’m planning a book, I look for rip-roarin’ stories first and foremost. I want heroes and villains, conflict and drama, plot twists […]

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Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife

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Years ago, I mentioned in the CBR comments that I was interested in learning more about the beauty of math, but that I was awful at math.  Some benevolent commentator told me that Charles Seife’s Zero was a great book about the beauty of math for a lay person. I can’t remember the person who told me that, but I’m appreciative of the recommendation. After years of sitting on my digital shelf, late last year this piece of niche non-fic finally got its time in […]

https://cannonballread.com/2022/02/zero-the-biography-of-a-dangerous-idea-halbs/

Regardless if they like to dig, dance or jive…. I mean dive… these birds move!

Dig, Dance, Dive: How Birds Move to Survive by Etta Kaner

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All the birds in the illustrations of Dig, Dance, Dive: How Birds Move to Survive are goofy, spooky, creepy (some of those birds have evil or at least mischief planned), or just plain odd. And I loved it. I wanted to know what could I learn about birds when the black egret looks like it dropped on big old dirty birdie on the head of some unsuspecting human? (And really its just smirking because dinner is to be served in a bit due to the […]

Before I grow up I want to read all the books in the world!

Before I Grew Up by John Miller

The Snail with the Right Heart: A True Story by Maria Popova

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Picture book time! The roundup of two different but equally marvelous books are below. They are for all ages, but best for the older (at least five and up) child, but adults please note that these two books are a must read for you. Maybe you will not learn something (though the second does have a bit of gender commentary) but you should find something to be in awe over. The artwork alone is worth the price of admission! Before I Grew Up has some […]

Not a bad ending but a little uneven with the science and the story

Cells at Work! vol. 6 by Akane Shimizu

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There’s seems to have been some drama behind the scenes before Cells at Work! Vol. 6 came out; a few years ago (pre-pandemic I think) it was listed for pre-order then disappeared. Now, it’s out as the final volume of the original series that’s now got a few spin-offs and an animation. Overall, the basic premise of real biology science presented through manga/anime tropes is still here and fun, although maybe worn a touch thin in places. This volume feels a bit more episodic than […]



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