Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Jake

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

Jake's Reviews:

Take Me To Church

The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the Kennedys―and One Senator's Fight to Save Democracy by James Risen, Thomas Risen

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Read as part of CBR15Bingo: politics. Frank Church was a Senator from Idaho and the famous committee that bears his name was a Senate committee investigating the dirty deeds of America’s surveillance state. I’ll say this much for The Last Honest Man: the writers know why you’re here. I didn’t pick this one up to learn about the classes Frank Church took in college or what his favorite restaurant was when he was dating his wife. I picked this up to learn about Frank Church and […]

The Circle Is Complete

The Autobiography of Matthew Scudder by Lawrence Block

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Read as part of CBR15Bingo: nostalgia. This is the final book of a favorite series and it takes me back to when I began the series, as well as taking me back to a New York City that no longer exists. Fifteen years ago (fifteen!), I passed a rainy afternoon while on internship to read a Matthew Scudder book by Lawrence Block. I didn’t know it was the second in a long-running series; I had just grabbed it off a cart. It was fine. I […]

Himsanity

The Sense of Wonder by Matthew Salesses

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Read as part of CBR15Bingo: Oceania. The writer is of Korean descent, the two POV characters are of Korean descent, and the book is about the experience of Korean-Americans and Koreans in diaspora.  I was in New York for Linsanity. Not a fan of the Knicks but it was an out-of-body experience at the time. You were glued to your tv every night and every night for almost two weeks, it delivered. Even my father-in-law — a lifelong Knicks Hater — was inclined to root […]

The Past Is Never Through

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Crosby

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Good better best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best. This was a popular sports chant when I was playing little league baseball. It’s also a great way to describe S.A. Crosby’s career. I have yet to read his first book My Darkest Prayer. I should remedy that soon. At any rate, his first big hit was his sophomore effort Blacktop Wasteland, which I thought was a fun, southern take on the first Fast and Furious movie. His second one Razorblade Tears was a […]

Pregnancy Blues

Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott

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First and foremost: if pregnancy and/or pregnancy loss triggers you in any way, give this one a hard pass. The best thing that can be said about Beware the Woman — another great tale from the great Megan Abbott — is that you can easily classify it in multiple genres. Domestic suspense, noir, even horror. This is definitely a book about body horror and the horror of women living under the shadow of patriarchal violence. It is so many things but most of all, it’s a helluva […]

MehBron

LeBron by Jeff Benedict

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I should say up front: I’m a diehard LeBron James fan to the point of irrationally defending him no matter what. I’ve rooted for him since he came in the league and loved his game ever since. And being a big fan, I’ve consumed thousands of words on his life and career. So I wouldn’t say I know better than Jeff Benedict because I definitely don’t. I don’t know anything about LeBron’s personal life save that he’s a proud husband and father. But I was […]



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