Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Archives for December 2021

Alcohol is bad for you

Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker

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I first heard of Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol (2020) by Holly Whitaker from a Cannonball review, and I was intrigued. It wasn’t the first time I’d read a book on this topic, either. Back in 2016, I found Drink by Ann Dowestt Johnston on 21 Books From The Last 5 Years That Every Woman Should Read. Johnston struggled with alcohol abuse for many years before finding her way to sobriety. She talks openly about how alcohol affected her, […]

Quick Questions with a Cannonballer: Jenna

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Your bio says your favorite genre is “takes place in an old hotel.” I love the specificity of that! Do you have a favorite “old hotel” book, or one that you think best represents the genre? I think anything Agatha Christie wrote set in a hotel or boarding house (most recently, I read N or M?) exemplifies what I love about hotel stories. There are always secret nooks and crannies, everyone knows more than they let on, and time is always of the essence because […]

A little bowl, a big message

A Bowl Full of Peace: A True Story by Caren Stelson

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A Bowl Full of Peace: A True Story is a book that I can tell you: it is a beautiful book about survival, family, and beauty within the ugliness of war. A family heirloom survived the bombing of Nagasaki, but some of the family did not. This based on a true story testament to the why we should never let this happen again. Lovely illustrations accent and compliment the text. I can say that it is written by Caren Stelson and those lovely illustrations are […]

Oh wait, have you heard this one before?

The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

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One year ago. They were pissed, to begin with. A little. Not nearly as much as Horatio is now. Only a shared Viognier bottle over fresh pasta, then a pair of whiskeys so they wouldn’t have to leave the restaurant, abandon the silk ribbons of wind. All the sharp corners sanded off their inhibitions. It was the sort of perfect-weather night that saddens New Yorkers because there are only ten or twelve per year. The city becomes an hourglass, precious grains lost every second. – […]

Frustrating and disappointing on the whole

The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff

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Ever since I read Animal Wise by Virginia Morell, I’ve been looking for more of the same. Morell’s book was eye-opening and fascinating. I hoped I had found something similar when I saw The Emotional Lives of Animals (2008) by Marc Bekoff. With a foreword by the amazing Jane Goodall, and a topic right up my alley, I began it with high expectations. Unfortunately, I still have not found a book that rivals Animal Wise. Although I agreed with most of Bekoff’s arguments, I was often frustrated by a lack […]

Another hate-to-love Romance

Love at First by Kate Clayborn

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I can count on my friend for good book recommendations, so when she told me that she’d really enjoyed Love at First (2021) by Kate Clayborn, I did not hesitate. We both read many different kinds of books, but we often pass along our romance recommendations. I had high hopes for this book. This book takes place in Chicago. Dr. Will Sterling has just inherited a unit from his estranged uncle in a six-unit building filled with very eccentric, close-knit owners. Conditions of the will prohibit Will […]



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