vel veeter – Page 13 – Cannonball Read 17

David Halberstam (1)

The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship by David Halberstam

March 23, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

“Ted was dying, and the idea for the final trip, driving down to Florida to see him one last time, was Dominic’s.” This book is a follow up to David Halberstam’s book Summer of 49, which follows the American league pennant race in 1949, which primarily involved a showdown between Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. Joe DiMaggio was a very consistent hitter, not expressly a power hitter, and an excellent fielder. Ted Williams was a little more consistent and definitely more of a power hitter, […]

Edith Wharton (13)

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

March 22, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

“Selden paused in surprise. In the afternoon rush of the Grand Central Station his eyes had been refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart.” If a lot of literature in the early 1800s, especially Jane Austen, is concerned with people finding themselves in the right kind of marriage, by the end, with Thomas Hardy, Henry James, and Edith Wharton leading the way, it’s about seeing what happens when you end up in the wrong kind of marriage. Here we have Lily Bart, a woman […]

Ira Levin (1)

This Perfect Day by Ira Levin

March 22, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

“A city’s blank white concrete slabs, the giant ones ringed by the less giant, gave space in their midst to a broad pink-floored plaza, a playground in which two hundred young children played and exercised under the care of a dozen supervisors in white coveralls.” On the one hand, I feel like this novel basically got plagiarized by the early 2000s movie “The Island” which has an almost identical dystopian vision about the world, and a similar plotline. But on the other hand, I swear […]

Daphne du Maurier (2)

The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

March 21, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

“The first thing I noticed was the clarity of the air, and then the sharp green color of the land.” This novel is kind of like Kindred, but where not much happens. Or rather, the focus is very different. Dick is visiting his friend Magnus’s country house, and he’s asked to sample a potion that Magnus has concocted. They’ve been friends since college and I guess this doesn’t seem too crazy, so he does. Soon he’s transported back to the middle ages where he witnesses […]

Robert Middlekauff (1)

The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 by Robert Middlekauff

March 21, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

“‘The use of travelling,’ Doctor Johnson wrote Mrs. Thrale ‘is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking about how things may be, to see them as they are.’ Johnson spoke for the age in this desire to see things as they are and to avoid the dangerous imaginings of how they may be.” This is a large catch-all history of the English colonies and eventually the United States from 1763-89 (from the end of the French and Indian War to the ratification of […]

Hugh Laurie (1)

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

March 19, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

“Imagine you have to break someone’s arm.” Is this a satire? I don’t know! Part of the issue of this book is that people keep claiming it’s a satire. I am not so sure. Years ago I read Linda Hutcheon’s A Theory of Parody, which gets into the question of parody, satire, and spoof, in art and writing, and thinking about the venn diagram that defines all these terms. The basic idea is that parody is imitation, and sometimes comment (usually comment), but that that […]

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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