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:

Black Feminism Expressed

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper

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Should be clear from the beginning as Dr. Brittney Cooper is in her book: this is a book written by a black woman for black women. It’s diametric opposite target is a white guy like me. I knew that going in but you should know that as well. That being said, most bestselling books, even non-fiction essay collections, are targeted to white men. But white men can’t teach other white men about Black women, Black feminism, etc. I’ve appreciated Dr. Brittney Cooper’s work from afar, […]

About Those Kids

The Evidence of Things Not Seen by James Baldwin

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When writing about James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates said that Baldwin had the ability to talk through you. What I took that to mean is that Baldwin’s words were such a focused fury, combining intellect and rhetoric that it connected with the reader in a deeper way than most. I felt that somewhat in The Fire Next Time, but I especially feel it in this one, which is almost more personal. Baldwin doesn’t let his foot off the gas for this book-length essay. Drawing on American history, […]

Through the Chasm of Time

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley

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This book is really tough to qualify and really easy to appreciate. It seems like since the aughts, almost 20 years since he published Devil In a Blue Dress that Walter Mosley wanted to write less about whodunnit mysteries and more about the mystery of memory, time, and life. He’s quite good at it. The Socrates Fortlow books, the Leonid McGill books, Debbie Doesn’t Do It Anymore, The Man in My Basement….Mosley really has a habit of making existentialism sound entertaining when wrapped up in a story. Aside from Always […]

Bondage

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness by Michelle Alexander

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I feel like I’m the last person in my circle to have not read Michelle Alexander’s landmark work The New Jim Crow. It’s one of those books I’d always meant to get to but never had the chance. I borrowed it from someone in my family over a year ago and since I’m going to see them this weekend, I figured there’s no better excuse than that to finally read it. I’ve heard a lot of arguments adjacent to it in favor of ending the drug war […]

Them Kids

Not Long For This World by Gar Anthony Haywood

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Gar Anthony Haywood’s Aaron Gunner series is very good and also a great example of the racism inherent in the publishing industry. I read a lot of books, as my archive on this site can attest to. I’ve read hundreds, maybe thousands of mystery/thriller type books. Admittedly, the vast majority of writers I’ve read are white. I’m not exculpating myself in the problem here. But what does frustrate me, and what I think is worth nothing, is that Haywood’s books are so much better than […]

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

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A Simple Favor is one of my favorite movies from the last few years. I love quirky crime comedies and the leads have great chemistry. But I also enjoyed how it depicted female relationships, especially in an unconventional manner. A Simple Pod, hosted by three journalists who also love the movie, unpacks this a little, talking about the queerness of the movie and the de-centering of men in its tale. We Ride Upon Sticks isn’t a crime story but it still hits a similar sweet spot for me. […]



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