Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Instagram
  3. Follow us on Bluesky
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • Getting Started in CBR17
    • Rules of Respect
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
    • About Cannonball Read
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • Participant Interviews
    • Cannonballer Location Maps
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
    • Star Ratings
    • Featured Review Archive
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Suggest a Review
    • 2025 Registration
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Social Media

About Jake

CBR10 participant
CBR11 participant
CBR12 participant
CBR13 participant
CBR14 Participant
CBR14 Bingo Badges
CBR15 Participant
CBR16 Participant
CBR17 Participant
CBR17 Levels

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

Jake's Reviews:

Crime, Punishment, People

Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey

March 2, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

I picked this one up in part because it was blurbed by Megan Abbott. That makes sense as it reads like a story Megan Abbott would write. And it helps that it’s a story put in the right hands of a writer such as Rebecca Godfrey, who examines the victim and those involved in her death with a critical but compassionate eye and an evocative writing style. I appreciate true crime that doesn’t wallow in violence or intrigue, but instead paints a full picture of […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: Canada, Rebecca Godfrey, Reena Virk, true crime, Under the Bridge

Jake's CBR13 Review No:31 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: Canada, Rebecca Godfrey, Reena Virk, true crime, Under the Bridge ·
· 0 Comments

I Wonder Indeed

And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley

March 1, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

I understand that as readers, we bring our own perceptions and biases to books in ways authors do not intend. Such is the exchange between creator and those indulging their creation. I genuinely try to connect with what writers are saying in books despite my own bullcrap. I hate it when readers/reviewers talk about reading or watching something and say “I’m just going to pretend its this instead.” But with Walter Mosley’s Leonid McGill series, I can’t help it. In the early aughts, Mosley turned […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: And Sometimes I Wonder About You, Leonid McGill, mystery, walter mosley

Jake's CBR13 Review No:30 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: And Sometimes I Wonder About You, Leonid McGill, mystery, walter mosley ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Sorry Pal, That’s Politics

The Coyotes of Carthage by Steven Wright

February 27, 2021 by Jake 1 Comment

Why is it so hard to write decent political fiction? Can someone answer that question for me, please? There’s a glut of mystery, romance and science fiction novels. Why is it so hard to write about politics? Is it just because we often read for escapism, and politics is part of what we are trying to escape? Perhaps. But given the drama, high stakes, and many opinions contained in stories about politics, I don’t understand why it isn’t a more fertile ground for fiction. Steven […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: politics, South Carolina, Steven Wright, The Coyotes of Carthage

Jake's CBR13 Review No:29 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: politics, South Carolina, Steven Wright, The Coyotes of Carthage ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

Urban Blues

Paper Gods by Goldie Taylor

Violent Spring by Gary Phillis

February 26, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

I read two great gritty urban mystery reads this past week. Both uniquely told in their own way but both addressing the politics and social systems of Atlanta and Los Angeles respectively in a way that I found compelling… Paper God (TW and minor spoiler: Book has a trans character in which a threat of violence is implied and a tragic love story is involved. Nothing happens to them but it’s also not the most trans-positive story) I’ve read a lot about Atlanta this past […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Atlanta, Gary Phillis, Goldie Taylor, Ivan Monk, los angeles, mystery, Paper Gods, politics, Rodney King, Violent Spring

Jake's CBR13 Review No:28 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Atlanta, Gary Phillis, Goldie Taylor, Ivan Monk, los angeles, mystery, Paper Gods, politics, Rodney King, Violent Spring ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

The Book For The Moment

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather C. McGhee

February 22, 2021 by Jake 1 Comment

It was wild reading this book and following the climate catastrophe unfold in Texas. It’s almost like it was published for this exact moment. While it’s understandable that Texas wouldn’t be accustomed to a snowfall and deep freeze, it’s not understandable, at least in the abstract, that its power grid wouldn’t be able to accommodate. But I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Conservative Texas politicians immediately went on the offensive. Former Governor and energy secretary Rick Perry said the state would freeze before it […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: economics, Heather C. McGhee, Racism, The Sum of Us

Jake's CBR13 Review No:26 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: economics, Heather C. McGhee, Racism, The Sum of Us ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

Sunset Strip

Little Green by Walter Mosley

February 18, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

One of my all-time favorite movies is Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye. Featuring Elliot Gould in a great star turn as Phillip Marlowe who is deposited in the 1970s as a fish-out-of-water cynical private eye, Altman does a fantastic job of contrasting the post-war male angst of the 50s with the post-60s hypershift in American culture. And oh yeah, there’s a mystery to solve. Chronologically, there’s no gap between Little Green and Cinnamon Kiss, Mosley’s previous Easy Rawlins book. The former picks up a few months after where the latter […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: 1960s, Easy Rawlins, hippies, historical fiction, Little Green, los angeles, mystery, walter mosley

Jake's CBR13 Review No:25 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: 1960s, Easy Rawlins, hippies, historical fiction, Little Green, los angeles, mystery, walter mosley ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • …
  • 142
  • Next Page »


Recent Comments

  • 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.
See More Recent Comments »

Support Our Mission

  • Support Our Mission: Donate Today!
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo

The reviews and comments posted on this site reflect the opinions of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Cannonball Read.

© 2025 Cannonball Read Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) | Log in