Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Amen for the Good Book

The Vagina Bible by Dr. Jen Gunter

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Dr. Jen Gunter is a Canadian gynecologist who is on a mission to save the world, and its vaginas, from misinformation and mistreatment.  She has gained a platform through Twitter, NYT posts and a CBC show, Jensplaining, but I knew about her from her vehement refutations of disastrous ‘GOOP-approved’ recommendations (see: jade eggs and vagina steaming). I read The Vagina Bible cover to cover and wasn’t disappointed, although like any reference book some chapters are sure to be more interesting when you have an immediate […]

Visceral Glory

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

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Gulp is Mary Roach’s pop-science journey into the human (and occasionally non-human) digestive track, beginning with all things mouth related (saliva, chewing) and ending up exactly where you’d suspect, although with angles you I didn’t anticipate (Elvis’ megacolon; drug smuggling). I’ve previously read Stiff, Roach’s look at the afterlife of cadavers, and although I enjoyed Gulp, I liked Stiff more.  Because it has been some time since I read Stiff, I can’t remember exactly what is less enticing about Gulp, but I suspect it may […]

I have spent a good deal of 2020 in a cadaver-shaped hole.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

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And no, I do not mean an open grave. The more we hurtle towards impending doom- pandemics! global warming! world war!- the more solace I seek in, well, death. I didn’t set out on the morbid marathon on purpose, but here I am! It was not my intention to get down and dirty (ha!) with death this year, but I am enjoying the ride. I have been a long-time fan of Mary Roach since Spook, but for some reason I forgot to start at the […]

Even slime molds find their way better than I do

Supernavigators: Exploring the Wonders of How Animals Find Their Way by David Barrie

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My friends, I have a condition. I suppose the commonly used term for it is “directionally challenged.” When I go back east to visit my family, my husband has to navigate even if we are driving in an area where I grew up, because his ability to remember where we are is so far superior to mine, even though he’d never been to the area before we met. When I go to a shopping mall or a medical complex, the only way I can find […]

Save the Flower Vampires

Tiny Bird:  Hummingbirds’ Amazing Journey by Robert Burleigh

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I think I was in love with Tiny Bird:  Hummingbirds’ Amazing Journey before I even opened this picture book. The illustration that was the cover was as eye catching as the hummingbird itself. I knew that Wendell Minor would not disappoint with the art (or so I was hoping) but could Robert Burleigh create text that would be interesting and as bold as the illustrations? And they did. The result of these two artists was an accessible for multiple ages and levels picture book that […]

A Composition of Decomposition

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

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Last time you, me, and the other Caitlin who spells her name correctly met up, I was asking about what you wanted to happen to your body when you died. Remember?  A good time was had by all. This time I am not going to ask what you want to happen, because while Smoke Gets in Your Eyes does talk about what one can choose for their post-mortem adventures, it also gives a breakdown (cymbal crash) of what happens to a human body when it stops being […]



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