Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About MarkAbaddon

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Somehow I have turned into a real life Ross Geller, having now been married 3 times. Otherwise, just your normal Jewish geek living in MN. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: MarkAbaddon's Quick Questions interview.)

MarkAbaddon's Reviews:

Fragile Things A Solid Collection of Stories from Gaiman

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

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So, and interesting story on why I re-read this collection. Being the Gaiman nerd I am, I purchased a 1st edition immediately when it came out and then had Neil sign it for my son who was very young at the time. That son is going to college in a few weeks and I decided to read the collection again before he leaves as a reminder of days gone by. My impression of the work has not changed, it is a good short story collection […]

The Lost World by Arthur Conan

The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

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As a huge fan of Doyle, and knowing the influence this book has had on fantasy, I saw an edition of The Lost World from a printing in the early 1970s at a used book store and immediately purchased it. Oy, what a mistake. I am aware that Holmes has been accused of being misogynistic and there are elements of racism within those books but man did Doyle let his id out of control in this novel. I literally hated every single one of these […]

Becoming – a beacon of hope in dark times

Becoming by Michelle Obama

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There are books one reads for enjoyment, others to intellectually challenge yourself, others for education. This is a book that can fill you with hope and just make you feel better about the world. I knew a bit about Michelle prior to reading this autobiography but after reading it, I had one thought “There really are legitimately good people in politics, who knew?” This is not to say the woman is a saint or a paragon of perfection, she is quite candid about some of […]

Children of Dune – a worthy successor to the original novel

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert

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It has been probably over 30 years since I last read Children of Dune and I did not remember it being this complex or political. Of the first 3 books in the series, it is the one that is most focused on politics (yes, even more than Dune). The intrigues between Jessica and Duncan, between Alia and the twins, between the Preacher and Alia, basically everyone is scheming against everyone else. The religious subtext takes a backseat, with one notable exception, to the plotting of […]

Wheel of Time – much different than the show

Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

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While I have been aware of the Wheel of Time series since the 90s, I avoided reading it as I had my fill of Tolkein wannabe stories growing up and had been generally avoiding them since then. With the series premiering on Amazon Prime, my teenager had started reading them and had been pressing me to read them but I resisted. After watching the first season, which I enjoyed greatly, I decided to give the books a shot and I am glad I did. Reading […]

Caste – A book that may change how you view society

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

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There are books one reads for pleasure or diversion. There are books one will read for school or for work. Then, there are some books one reads because they are important and can provide new insights into the world. Caste falls into the latter category. I read this because a close friend asked me to do so, she was putting together a group to discuss the book and asked me to join (and I honestly felt flattered by the request, considering the intellects of the […]



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