Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About Mrs Smith Reads

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Gin-soaked, mildly European democratic-socialist popinjay and avid curator of esoteric ephemera. I work in the future. US passport, Netherlands resident, global citizen. My goal this year is to read authors from diverse backgrounds, especially women, and non-western writers, particularly speculative fiction, political analysis and historical memoirs. (Occasional cursing.)

Mrs Smith Reads's Reviews:

You wouldn’t say that in a room full of strangers, why say it on social media?

January 2, 2018 by Mrs Smith Reads 4 Comments

In October 2017 I went to the Episodic conference, where Jon Ronson was one of the featured speakers. He was scheduled to go on just after the lunch break, and I was slightly late getting back in, which turned out not to be a problem, because instead of actually being at the conference, he was Skyping in to be interviewed by the moderator, Anna Higgs and the connection wasn’t working. This was quite weird, as Ronson actually owns a home not far from the London venue where the conference […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: Jon Ronson, Non-Fiction, social media

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR10 Review No:2 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: Jon Ronson, Non-Fiction, social media ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

It’s such a relief when a childhood favorite stands the test of time.

January 1, 2018 by Mrs Smith Reads 7 Comments

I probably read A Wrinkle in Time for the first time when I was about eight or nine years old, and I have to say that for a book born the same year I was, it seems to have aged quite well. I was pleased to remember so much about the characters and the main story, though as a shy, young misfit myself, somewhat like Meg Murry, I imagine her personality resonated with me quite a lot at the time. As an adult, and a parent now, […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy Tagged With: Children, classic, fantasy, Madeline L'Engle

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR10 Review No:1 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy · Tags: Children, classic, fantasy, Madeline L'Engle ·
Rating:
· 7 Comments

Why did I wait so long to read this book?

September 14, 2015 by Mrs Smith Reads 3 Comments

I’m almost ashamed to admit that until this year, I had never read any Octavia Butler. When I went through my original SciFi reading phase in high school, she was never even mentioned amongst my nerd-kin friends, and now, though I’m late to the party, I know I have found one of the best writers, of any kind, of the modern age. Kindred is Butler’s best selling novel and is still required reading for many university and college writing and gender studies programs. The story […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Science Fiction Tagged With: African-American, feminism, kindred, Mrs Smith Reads, octavia butler, science fiction

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR7 Review No:12 · Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction · Tags: African-American, feminism, kindred, Mrs Smith Reads, octavia butler, science fiction ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

One of those dystopian futures that really could happen.

September 13, 2015 by Mrs Smith Reads Leave a Comment

  If I had read this book three years ago, I would have wept my way through to the end. Since things have improved a bit for my family since then, I was able to read The Subprimes with a much clearer eye toward the outer extremes of wealth inequality which Carl Taro Greenfield imagines for the United States of the future. Greenfield does manage to put a humorous spin on a rage-inducing topic, and for that, he deserves kudos. While I have no doubt […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: dystopia, Fiction, Karl Taro Greenfield, Mrs Smith Reads, The Subprimes, US Financial disaster

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR7 Review No:11 · Genres: Fiction, Speculative Fiction · Tags: dystopia, Fiction, Karl Taro Greenfield, Mrs Smith Reads, The Subprimes, US Financial disaster ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A sadly disappointing mystery by an author I really like.

September 8, 2015 by Mrs Smith Reads Leave a Comment

I’ve just realized that I really need to keep up with my reviews, as I opened this draft and had to think long and hard about the book to remember what it was about. That might actually be my review, right there. Mrs Smith’s actual review of The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: Female Detective, Fiction, Mrs Smith Reads, murder mystery, Val McDermid

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR7 Review No:10 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery · Tags: Female Detective, Fiction, Mrs Smith Reads, murder mystery, Val McDermid ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Why that 4.0 GPA isn’t going to get you anywhere.

July 26, 2015 by Mrs Smith Reads 3 Comments

“Colleges should remember that selecting students by GPA more often benefits the faithful drudge than the original mind.” ― William Deresiewicz, Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of America’s Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life I found William Deresiewicz’s Excellent Sheep through reading one of his early articles which formed the basis for this book. As someone who attended state universities, then went to art school, I have felt the sting of feeling comfortable with my well-rounded education and intellectual curiosity, then slowly realizing that […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: Excellent Sheep, Mrs Smith Reads, Non-Fiction, William Deresiewicz

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR7 Review No:9 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: Excellent Sheep, Mrs Smith Reads, Non-Fiction, William Deresiewicz ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments
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