Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Sophia

CBR 3
CBR 4
CBR 5
CBR 6
CBR 7
CBR 8
CBR 9
CBR10 participant
CBR11 participant
CBR12 participant
CBR13 participant
CBR14 Participant
CBR15 Participant
CBR16 Participant
CBR17 Participant
CBR17 Levels

I love to read, and I love to learn. I wish I were retired so I could spend more time on my random hobbies!

Sophia's Reviews:

Cannonball in the nick of time

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

by 3 Comments

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alex E. Harrow was on NPR’s Best Books of 2019 List, but despite my avid perusal of that list every year, it didn’t catch my attention. I’m not a big fantasy reader, and there are so many books on that list it’s inevitable that I’m going to miss out on some. However, my book club chose Ten Thousand Doors to read. Honestly, I was dreading it. One book club friend is a big fantasy reader, and she’s made me read so many […]

Someone’s leaving Weekend Update (maybe)

A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost

by Leave a Comment

Weekend Update has been my favorite part of SNL for awhile. I absolutely loved Tina Fey and Amy Poehler back in the day. It took me a little while to warm up to Colin Jost and Michael Che, but now I enjoy their banter and political jokes. I’m also a fan of memoirs written by comedians. They are usually smart, interesting writers who are funny and surprisingly insightful. So, when I saw A Very Punchable Face (2020) by Colin Jost, I thought it would be entertaining. Even […]

“Just for the record: happiness is not bullshit.”

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

by 1 Comment

I was searching through my local library catalog trying to find a good audiobook for commuter listening when I saw Less (2017) by Andrew Sean Greer. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and backed up with an intriguing blurb, it captured my attention. I quickly downloaded the book and began, but I almost immediately turned it off again. This book was too clever and well-written for simple listening. Although this isn’t my favorite book of the year, I’m glad I found it, and I thought it […]

“Immigrants–they get the job done.”

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

by Leave a Comment

I learned from watching an interview with Lin Manuel Miranda that he was inspired to create the musical Hamilton after reading Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton (2004) while on vacation. I had been sucked into all the hype surrounding the new musical and was looking into reading the book myself. Then I saw how long it was and changed my mind. However, a couple of things made me reconsider. First, the movie of the stage production of Hamilton came out on Disney+ so I was able to see it all for the […]

“Anybody want a peanut?”

As You Wish by Cary Elwes with Joe Layden

by Leave a Comment

Although I cannot recall the first time I saw it, I remember The Princess Bride from when I was a kid. It definitely made an impression on me. I was sucked in by the romance of it and had a crush on Cary Elwes for a number of years. And Robin Wright was so beautiful and regal, I wanted to be her. Inigo Montoya was also a favorite character of mine, and my brothers and I repeated lines constantly. In middle school, I even searched out the original […]

Disappointing

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

by Leave a Comment

I love animals, I love learning about animals, and I love reading books about animals. My main interests are animal behavior and animal intelligence. One of my favorite and most illuminating books on this subject was Animal Wise (2013) by Virginia Morell. Morell went into detail about some of the amazing, often unknown, talents of animals from ants to rats to birds. I have looked for similar books since and found nothing quite like it. So I was pretty excited when I discovered The Soul of an Octopus (2015) […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo