Jake – Page 42 – Cannonball Read 17

Bringing L.A. to the Water (and movies, and church)

The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles by Gary Krist

December 6, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

My Los Angeles kick continues with a good one. Being a big fan of Chinatown, I’ve always been curious about the truth behind the actual story to hydrate Los Angeles. Throw in the stories of the founding of the movie industry and the story of Aimee Semple McPherson’s controversial life and I’m in. Gary Krist delivers. He doesn’t get too bogged down in the technical aspects of the respective fields he’s describing. I felt like I got a healthy picture of each particular person involved: McPherson, city engineer […]

November 2022 Leftovers

The Golden Cage by Camilla Läckberg

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

The Hot Beat by Robert Silverberg

Your Book, Your Brand: The Step-By-Step Guide to Launching Your Book and Boosting Your Sales by Dana Kaye

Nineteen Seventy Seven by David Peace

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy

Nineteen Eighty by David Peace

Ex Machina, Book Three by Brian K. Vaughan

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Destroy All Monsters (Reckless, Vol.2) by Ed Brubaker

The Ghost in You (Reckless, Vol.3) by Ed Brubaker

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

December 3, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

A happy and blessed Thanksgiving to all who observe! Here is my list of readings that I got to in November that didn’t merit a longer review… The Golden Cage*** Part 1: Ma’am, wyd? Part 2: Good for her! Part 3: Good for…her? Also, kinda sad. Epilogue: Good for her! This is a good, trashy beach read. I just wish there had been less on Faye’s shady past- which wasn’t filled in well-and more on the machinations to destroy her husband’s business. Also, I’m not […]

Thanks So Much to My Cannonballer!

November 28, 2022 by Jake 1 Comment

Thanks so much to my awesome cannonballer for getting me two items off my list! Unlike years past, I didn’t have a good idea of what I wanted so I decided to list two books that sounded fun but also weird. I’m hoping they’ll take me out of my comfort zone a bit while hewing close to genres I like. Those books are: Reptile Memoirs by Silje Ulstein High John the Conqueror by Tariq Goddard Thanks so much to whoever got me these two. I’m incredibly grateful and […]

Blonde Assassin

The Blonde by Anna Godbersen

November 27, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

The fun thing about this book is that few of the individual subplots work and yet, Anna Godbersen creates such a vivid re-imagination of Marilyn Monroe as a person that I really didn’t care. Monroe is often depicted—mostly by but not limited to men (looking at you, Joyce Carol Oates)—as a wide-eyed naifish mentally damaged sex doll. I have to imagine there is more to her life than going around speaking in innuendo and substance-induced rage but rarely have I seen this depicted. Blonde is the latest […]

In the City of LA

The Empty Glass by JI Baker

A Student of History by Nina Revoyr

Friend of the Devil (Reckless #2) by Ed Brubaker

November 23, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

By both design and coincidence, I read three consecutive books on Los Angeles over the last 48 hours. The first two were good 4-star reads and the third was an excellent 5-star one… The Empty Glass Oliver Stone’s Blonde. This got poor reviews and I guess I get it? I suppose it depends on what your expectations are. Me personally, I enjoyed this wild romp through Los Angeles as a low level county morgue guy tries to unravel a government conspiracy around Marilyn Monroe’s death. […]

Hold On Tight

I Let You Go by Clare MacKintosh

November 22, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

Note: I’m not going to spoil this book but I am going to give away something about the plot machinations regarding this book. If you want to go into this book tabula rasa, skip this review (and really, all reviews because I have no doubt they will inevitably mention what I’m about to mention). If you don’t mind knowing something specific with regards to the plot, even though it is not at all a spoiler, read on. Nest… … There’s nothing I hate more […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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