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:

Crime and Criminals

Recoil by Jim Thompson

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I liked this one better when it was Wild Town. The Year of Jim Thompson continues and I’m reminded that an author’s lesser works are considered “lesser” for a reason. While you can occasionally find a diamond in the rough, for the most part, they probably deserve to stay in a lower tier of rankings. This one isn’t nearly as bad as The Alcoholics, it’s just a recycled plot: ex-con leaves prison, finds work with shady folks, hijinks ensue. These hijinks are entertaining and, in true Thompson fashion, […]

Been Here The Whole Time

Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis

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If you look at a bestseller list at this particular moment, it’s stacked top-to-bottom with black writers and white antiracist educators. That’s good, it shows that white Americans want to learn how to identify their racism and eradicate it. However, I’ve heard from multiple black people and other antiracist educators some frustration that Angela Davis’ work hasn’t been centered more. Most of the books purchased have come out in the last few years, while Dr. Davis has been doing antiracism work for five decades. Her […]

Let It Burn…Wanna Let It Burn…

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

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Steph Cha has a hell of a tightrope to walk with this one. A fictional retelling of the murder of Latasha Harlins, she breaks down the impact of it between both families impacted: the black family that mourned her and the Korean family that produced her killer. Writing black characters, specifically in a context such as this, is a tall task for a non-black writer. But Cha is successful. She navigates this with a less-is-more approach, focusing on how grief and racial trauma impact both […]

White Like Me

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

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Warning: I’m a white guy reviewing this from my perspective. Totally understand if you want to skip this review or call me out on my crap. If you have ever taken, and internalized, seminars and/or courses on racism, specifically addressing white supremacy, much of this will be familiar. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t read it. Robin DiAngelo does a great job breaking down the substance of what makes white people so angry when it comes to addressing racism, while talking about how harmful […]

…but you’re bringing me down.

New Yorked by Rob Hart

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I need to start with the good because there’s a lot of goodwill built in this book or else I wouldn’t have been able to stomach it for 20 pages. Rob Hart knows New York City. Knows it. Not in a way a smarmy lifer traipsing through endless aristocratic watering holes knows it. But the way a native does. Favorite bars, corner stores, slice stops…he brings it alive in a real way. I could see and feel the city, one I’m missing right now with everything shut […]

Thinking On It

How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

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This isn’t going to be a conventional review because it’s a book I’m going to be processing for a while. Some background info: I’m a cishet white guy. Aside from economics, I’m at the top of any privilege chart (and being middle class in the States, I’m pretty high up there too). I’ve done some reading, most of it theologically based, on racism, antiracism, and specifically the black experience in the States. I’m maybe more well versed than most people who share my skin color. […]



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