Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About jeverett15

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39 years old. New Jersey resident. Fan of mystery novels, classic literature, and non-fiction about movies, television, sports, and American history.

jeverett15's Reviews:

Far From the Caribbean

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

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For a book that bills itself on the cover as “The Classic Tale of Romantic Suspense” this isn’t very romantic or suspenseful. This is the third book of Du Maurier’s I’ve read, and the second one to be a massive disappointment for such a big fan of Rebecca. Jamaica Inn follows Mary Yellan as she moves to the north of England after the death of her mother to live with an aunt she hasn’t seen in years. The vibrant, loving woman Mary remembers from her […]

King Plays it Straight

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King

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Dolores Claiborne is a remarkably straightforward story by Stephen King’s standards. There is little of the mystical or macabre involved, just a teensy bit of supernatural phenomena which has little bearing on the plot and serves only to connect this novel to another within the Stephen King universe. Otherwise, Dolores Claiborne is a first-person narrative about a housekeeper making a statement to the police after the death of her employer. For nearly 400 pages Dolores details practically her whole life story in an attempt to […]

What, No Bubblegum?

The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball's Afterlife by Brad Balukjian

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The premise is irresistibly simple. Eager to reconnect to his childhood passion for baseball, author and college professor Brad Balukjian opens a pack of 1986 Topps cards at random, pops the disgusting rock-hard bubblegum in his mouth, and sets out to track down each player to see what they’re up to, long after their playing days are over and their fame has receded. He sets off on a cross-country road trip on which he’ll learn a lot more about life than he does about baseball. […]

What Does a Deacon Do?

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

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James McBride’s The Good-Lord Bird is one of my favorite novels of the last decade and one I’ve recommend to countless people. So that makes the disjointed, formless Deacon King Kong all the more disappointing. A book without a strong sense of its characters, setting, or plot, this new novel meanders from one incident to another in a dissembling prose style sure to alienate the reader. The title character is an old drunk named Cuffy Lambkins, “Sportcoat” to his friends. Sportcoat is a resident of […]

What Mighty Fools These Red Sox Be!

Mortal Stakes by Robert B. Parker

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While Netflix’s recent Mark Wahlberg-starring Spenser Confidential was at best mildly diverting, it was enough to prod me into finally checking out Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. Mortal Stakes is the third entry starring the tough-guy ex-cop. Spenser is definitely a fists-first type of detective, and the plot of Mortal Stakes calls for little in the way of deduction or following the evidence. Spenser is hired by the general manager of the Boston Red Sox to investigate a rumor that the team’s star pitcher is […]

How to Write a Novel, Or Not

Pity the Reader: On Writing With Style by Suzanne McConnell, Kurt Vonnegut

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This book is marketed as a collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s lessons on writing from his career as a teacher. In reality, it’s more of a guide to writing written by Suzanne McConnell, one of Vonnegut’s pupils at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop in the mid-1960s. McConnell quotes from her famous teacher often, but anyone expecting a book in any way “written” by Kurt Vonnegut should be forewarned. Frankly, it feels dishonest that he is presented as a co-author on the cover. McConnell presents a lot of […]



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