Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Pooja

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Ardent reader of pretty much anything, including the backs of shampoo bottles. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Pooja's Quick Questions interview.)

Pooja's Reviews:

Coming to America

The Next Ship Home by Heather Webb

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CBR 14 Bingo: New I’d left my knowledge of Ellis Island behind in fourth grade; I’ve never read any book about it before this. Alma is a matron on Ellis Island; Francesca is a young woman hailing from Sicily. They become friends, but when as efforts to reduce corruption on the island come to the forefront, they must choose whether they will step forward or stay silent to protect themselves. Long ago in elementary school, our teacher decided that a good way for us to […]

Came For The Recipes, Stayed for the Memoir

Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora by Reem Assil

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CBR 14 Bingo: Star The author is a well-known, award-winning chef. I am on a cooking spree these days – what can I say? It relaxes me. And I especially enjoyed this cookbook, not the least because I love Middle Eastern cuisine. Arabiyaa is a mix of cookbook and memoir, telling us the stories of the recipes but also of Assil’s life and her path toward becoming a chef (hint: it’s not straightforward). The book is divided into five sections that cover all the basics of […]

The Story the Torn Gown Told

The Sewing Girl's Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America by John Wood Sweet

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CBR 14 Bingo: Question Lanah Sawyer was questioned again and again in an effort to get at a truth she had already told. One evening, a teenage girl and a man who called himself a lawyer went for a walk on the Battery. But Lanah Sawyer refused to stay silent about what he had done to her – and charged Harry Bedlow with rape. I have heard of Lanah Sawyer before, briefly, though I cannot recall whether it was in history class or in Gail […]

And she was never ours to claim.

Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert

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CBR 14 Bingo: Rec’d Katee Robert is probably not an author I would have gotten into without all the hearty recommendations of her that I have read! Helen Kasios wants to be more than a pawn, and competing in the trials to become Ares seems to be her way out. But her family has other plans for her, and her brother offers her hand in marriage to whoever wins. Of course, I love Katee Robert’s books, and I really enjoy her more plot-heavy Olympus books. […]

Tonight on the Titanic

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

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CBR 14 Bingo: Cold It’s cold out on the water, cold enough for icebergs – which is half the trouble. Lord recounts the last night of the Titanic, for the moment just before it hit the iceberg to how the rescued passengers were picked up by the Carpathia. I know about as much about the sinking of the Titanic as I’ve gleaned from the movie, but it was fascinating to see myths set straight and learn more in this short book. Lord meticulously gathered firsthand […]

Maiden, Friend, Wife, Counselor, and Queen

Esther by Norah Lofts

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CBR 14 Bingo: Snake There are several snakes in the grass who lie in wait for the king, most of all his favorite Haman. Esther is Jewish, but her husband the king of Persia doesn’t know it. Which is rather a problem, as he has allowed his courtier Haman to order the massacre of all the Jews in his empire. Did I really need to give a summary? It’s in the Bible! This was a short, swift read, starting with the casting out of the […]



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