octothorp – Page 18 – Cannonball Read 17

I may have read too many books, you guys.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

March 20, 2020 by octothorp 3 Comments

I remember reading Roger Ebert’s movie guide as a middle schooler (yes, I was quite popular, why do you ask? All my teachers loved talking to me. Peers? Well, won’t you look at the time.) and one sentence ruined most thrillers for me – I’m giving you an out here, because this isn’t a spoiler for this book, but pretty much any whodunit ever written or filmed – SPOILER ALERT. He wrote that nothing in a movie is introduced for no reason, and if there’s […]

I for one, welcome our new fungus overlords

Cold Storage by David Koepp

March 18, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

There’s a lot of theory about what various monsters represent about our collective fears. Obviously we have Frankenstein’s monster as a representation of science without morality or consideration for the outcome of their tinkering. Godzilla was the modern version of that with a nuclear twist. Vampires are black mirrors of seduction; Wolfmen are cautions against reverting to our primal nature. And, of course, zombies. Zombies are so ripe for metaphorical interpretation, from concerns about consumerism (hey there Romero) to a concern that others aren’t who […]

Tacoma calls, it’s waiting there to get rid of us all, when the big one comes better hope the car don’t stall.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

March 18, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

Weirdly, my cannonball thus far has been strongly apocalyptic, which has been… interesting in light of current events. You’d think that this would make me more anxious, but paradoxically I’m looking at the real world and thinking “eh, people are hoarding toilet paper, but every grocery store I’ve been to has been relatively full if you’re not hyper specific about what you want. No one is stealing out of each others carts or housejacking like in The Mandibles” (Lionel Shriver’s book about the financial collapse […]

Here’s to you, Mrs. Mazid-Stillman

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

March 17, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

I had a hard time with this book because Amina, the main character, a Bangladeshi woman who marries a man she meets online, didn’t seem to have any idea what she wanted (which makes it hard to invest in whether she gets it or not). Amina joins the website where she meets and falls in love with the American George in part due to higher aspirations than her small town in Bangladesh can afford her, and they wed despite judgement from Nasir, a former potential […]

The past is not dead, the past is not even past.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

March 9, 2020 by octothorp 1 Comment

Boy was it weird checking off that trio of categories: history, biography, and comedy for a book that opens with Trevor Noah being thrown out of a moving car by his mother to save his life, but they’re all accurate. This is hilarious – Trevor Noah didn’t get the Daily Show for no reason, – and he pokes fun at the absurdities of racism while acknowledging their damage. Discussing a childhood in Apartheid South Africa, race is obviously going to factor in, but he draws […]

Sugar, we’re going down

Sweetness #9 by Stephan Eirik Clark

March 9, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

There’s an episode of the Simpsons that opens with a parody of Garrison Keillor where the family is watching A Prairie Home Companion and wondering why everyone is laughing. I try referencing it but need my husband to repeat the parody because it’s so close to Keillor’s “humor” that I had Poe’s Law trouble distinguishing the mockery from the real thing. In any case, after a peal of laughter about the men being pink cheeked, the women being robust, and the children being pink cheeked […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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