Travis_J_Smith – Page 3 – Cannonball Read 17

Not where I saw that going at all

Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke

January 17, 2024 by Travis_J_Smith 1 Comment

Butts isn’t what I expected, but (pun unintended) I don’t know what I expected, to be quite honest. I remember wondering how anybody could sustain talk about butts for the length of a full book, which is why I had avoided buying/reading this one, in spite of the hype. When it came time for my birthday, though, and I had the opportunity to do the book store challenge, where you get a set amount of time to run rampant in a book store and the other person […]

This is what happens when you pick a book based on the title

But You Don't Look Autistic At All by Bianca Toeps

January 16, 2024 by Travis_J_Smith Leave a Comment

The audiobook was recommended to me in Spotify, so I put a pin in the audiobook for Never Let Me Go (my wife insists the book is better than the movie, which I couldn’t get into, but the audiobook is a slog too) and started on this one, seeing it was short. It being short was its only saving grace, I must say. I mean, this woman punched a man for blowing a whistle too much. I kinda lost all interest in her viewpoint after she […]

Worth it for the story, not so much the pop-up part

A Charlie Brown Christmas: Pop-Up Edition by Charles M. Schulz

January 16, 2024 by Travis_J_Smith Leave a Comment

Yeah, I know I’m a little late on this one. My wife bought me this in December and I kept meaning to read through it, but silly, absent-minded me put it up on display with my other Peanuts Christmas decorations and forgot about it. As a result, it wasn’t until just a couple days ago that I finally read it, using our dog Winston as my stand-in for the human child we don’t have yet as I read it aloud. He was very interested in the […]

If you want a no-holds-barred look at growing up as an undiagnosed autistic, you can’t really do better than this

Strong Female Character by Fern Brady

January 12, 2024 by Travis_J_Smith 3 Comments

Having never had even a passing interest in Taskmaster, only watching one episode and not getting it (my wife’s obsession with Taskmaster TikToks had led to us searching out episodes on YouTube), I knew nothing about Fern Brady going into this. All I knew of her was that she was autistic and a comedian, and all I knew of the book was that it was about her experience as a woman with autism. Suffice it to say, I was surprised by all the different turns her […]

I wish I’d read this as a kid instead

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

January 11, 2024 by Travis_J_Smith Leave a Comment

Knowing my love for her other book, The One and Only Ivan, my wife picked this up for me at a recent trip to the thrift store. The concept behind it sounded cute enough: what if a tree, as well as all the creatures that live in and around it, could (secretly) talk? And I’m sure, had I read this as a kid, I would’ve found it a charming and funny read, what with all the dad jokes and weird naming-conventions for the different creatures. As […]

Seems to sorta be missing the “other developmental disorders”…

My Brain Is Different: Stories of ADHD and Other Developmental Disorders by Monzusu

January 10, 2024 by Travis_J_Smith Leave a Comment

On Reddit, I follow the ADHD Memes subreddit, which is where I stumbled across this one. It sounded interesting enough in concept, so I impulsively ordered it from Target. This, though, is one of those times I should’ve reigned in my impulsiveness a little. This isn’t to say the book is bad, rather that it’s nothing extraordinary. We get numerous different stories, yet they can all kinda be summed up with “probably ASD/ADHD and Strattera,” and “life sucked until the lightbulb moment when they found out […]

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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