Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About Jake

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I love reading! (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Jake's Quick Questions interview.)

Jake's Reviews:

It’s A Plane! It’s a Plane!

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

December 5, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

There are three things I want to touch on: the book itself, one I loved, and one I didn’t like at all. I can’t do the third without dropping a spoiler. It won’t spoil the end but will reveal the purpose of the hijacking so if that’s something you want to avoid, skip the final 3rd. But please engage with the other two. In terms of the book itself: it’s an entertaining thriller. This is my third one from Clare Mackintosh and she really knows […]

Filed Under: Suspense Tagged With: Clare Mackintosh, flying, hijack thriller, hostage

Jake's CBR15 Review No:167 · Genres: Suspense · Tags: Clare Mackintosh, flying, hijack thriller, hostage ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

November 2023 Leftovers

Catch and Release by Lawrence Block

We Do This 'til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba

The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched an Empire by John Eisenberg

Ghosts of West Baltimore by David Simmons

Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci

Hit Me by Lawrence Block

Donnie Brasco by Joseph D. Pistone

November 30, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving to all who observe! Catch and Release *** Been angling to read more LB lately so I figured I’d knock out this short story collection for my monthly HCC read. Sadly, the results were predictable: a repetition of serial killers, hit men and un-sexy sex. I just can’t sink my teeth into books featuring short stories and this one was no exception. I enjoyed visiting Matt and Mick at Grogan’s again and the last story was fun but beyond that? Who lotta eh and […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Short Stories, Sports Tagged With: #memoir, Baltimore, Catch and Release, crime, Criminal Justice, David Simmons, Donnie Brasco, football, Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci, ghosts of west baltimore, hard case crime, hit me, hitman, horror, John Eisenberg, John Gotti, Joseph D. Pistone, Keller, lawrence block, mafia, Mariame Kaba, Mob Star, New York City, nfl, organized crime, Prison Abolition, Racism, short stories, sports, the league, true crime, We Do This Til We Free Us

Jake's CBR15 Review No:166 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Short Stories, Sports · Tags: #memoir, Baltimore, Catch and Release, crime, Criminal Justice, David Simmons, Donnie Brasco, football, Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci, ghosts of west baltimore, hard case crime, hit me, hitman, horror, John Eisenberg, John Gotti, Joseph D. Pistone, Keller, lawrence block, mafia, Mariame Kaba, Mob Star, New York City, nfl, organized crime, Prison Abolition, Racism, short stories, sports, the league, true crime, We Do This Til We Free Us ·
· 0 Comments

Kansas City Confidential

Kingdom Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, The Kansas City Chiefs, and how a once Swingin' Cow Town Chased the Ultimate Comeback by Mark Dent and Rustin Dodd

November 25, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

I think I have a thing for books like this and want to read more of them. I visited Kansas City twice. It was fine. Unmemorable. I mean, I didn’t dislike it. I just didn’t get a good grasp for it. And I don’t think I have an east coast snob’s bias against midwestern cities. I enjoyed my time in Cincinnati and Indianapolis respectively. I just didn’t find much going on in KC outside of great barbecue and the excellent Negro League Hall of Fame. […]

Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction, Sports Tagged With: #history, football, Kansas City, Kansas City Chiefs, Mark Dent and Rustin Dodd, nfl, Patrick Mahomes

Jake's CBR15 Review No:159 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction, Sports · Tags: #history, football, Kansas City, Kansas City Chiefs, Mark Dent and Rustin Dodd, nfl, Patrick Mahomes ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Institutionalized

Boodroot by Bill Loehfelm

November 22, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

For the life of me, I will never understand why Bill Loehfelm isn’t a bigger name in crime fiction. I first came across his Staten Island trilogy by accident, having seen The Devil She Knows on some random list or another. There aren’t many crime novels set on the Island so I figured I’d try it. It was one of my favorite reads of the year. I didn’t know at the time that it was his third Staten Island-set book featuring characters that were loosely connected a […]

Filed Under: Suspense Tagged With: Bill Loehfelm, bloodroot, crime, Mental Health, New York City, Staten Island

Jake's CBR15 Review No:158 · Genres: Suspense · Tags: Bill Loehfelm, bloodroot, crime, Mental Health, New York City, Staten Island ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Back and Forth In the Day

Brooklyn Crime Novel by Jonathan Lethem

November 15, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

Widows is one of my favorite movies from the last few decade, a criminally underrated mismarketed gem of a flick that should have not only got more commercial love but awards love as well. I won’t say what it’s about, you should watch it. Don’t even Google the plot, just watch. It’s excellent. Anyway, there’s a great tracking shot that is not only my favorite scene in the movie but one of my favorite scenes of all-time. Colin Farrell’s nepo baby city council candidate character gets […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: Brooklyn, crime, historical fiction, Jonathan Lethem

Jake's CBR15 Review No:157 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery · Tags: Brooklyn, crime, historical fiction, Jonathan Lethem ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Footballin’

About Three Bricks Shy of a Load by Roy Blount, Jr

November 14, 2023 by Jake 1 Comment

Something tangential to the book before I address the book itself… I’ve read several tongue-in-cheek books written by white men in the 1970s, of which this qualifies as one. America was dealing with the fallout from the 60s; Black people had made leaps and bounds in their rights but counterrevolutionary political forces stymied full growth. As such, the early-to-mid-70s presented a sort of post-transition time when white people were trying to understand an integrated world. And thus, many of the white male writers I read […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Sports Tagged With: 1970s, football, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Steelers, Roy Blount, Jr, sports books

Jake's CBR15 Review No:156 · Genres: Non-Fiction, Sports · Tags: 1970s, football, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Steelers, Roy Blount, Jr, sports books ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment
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