Wanderlustful – Page 31 – Cannonball Read 17

This is a man’s world

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez

October 24, 2019 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

I first heard about this book when the author, Caroline Criado Perez, was interviewed on the podcast 99% Invisible. I was intrigued from first listen and paid an exorbitant amount to order it on Amazon (US$30 plus shipping from the UK!). Perez’s book is about two things: 1) the ways in which Western societies were founded on and continue to promote ‘maleness’ as the normative centre; and 2) how maleness at the centre is not just inconvenient for women- statistically 51% of humanity- but in […]

Middle of the (surface) road

Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly

October 21, 2019 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

Another installment in Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series, this recent (2017) book follows Bosch through two plot lines: 1) the re-opening of an old murder file where a convicted killer alleges Bosch framed him; and 2) a recent double murder tied to the opioid epidemic. This was the fourth Harry Bosch novel I’ve read, and for the first 75 pages I swore I’d read it before (I actually flipped forward a little to see if I recognized the plot points). I think part of déjà […]

I’m going up the country, baby don’t you want to go?

Roadtripping: On the Move with the Buffalo Gals by Conni Massing

October 21, 2019 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

I find I like the idea of literary travel books more than I usually like the books themselves. Travel books have a tendency to veer into stories of someone else’s vacation- fascinating and possibly life changing for the traveler, less so for the listener/ reader. In addition, travelogues can lack the themes or narratives that pull a fictional novel along and, likewise, can be short on the cohesive conclusions that a good non-fiction book draws. Given that they’re not my favourite genre, why did I […]

Literature was the passport to enter a larger life

At the Same Time by Susan Sontag

October 9, 2019 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

Before I read this book I had a lot of name recognition for Susan Sontag (thank you liberal arts degree) but wasn’t that familiar with her actual writing. At the Same Time is a collection of her essays and speeches, published posthumously in 2007, and comprising three categories: 1) essays about obscure literature; 2) essays about 9/11; and 3) speeches Sontag gave on varied themes (literature, courage, etc.). Given that the major unifying thread for this collection is loose- essay or speech- my opinions on […]

Holmes and Watson and… Mary Russell?

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

October 8, 2019 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

This is the first installment in Laurie R. King’s series retelling of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The series is set after Holmes’ supposed retirement from detective work, and begins when Mary Russell, a teenage orphan who lives on the farm next to Holmes’ retirement pad, literally runs into Holmes on the moor. Over time, Mary becomes Holmes’ defacto apprentice, and this first novel is really concerned with laying the groundwork for the series (Wikipedia tells me there are 17 books after this first installment, which […]

Weird but not wonderful

The Buenos Aires Affair by Manuel Puig

October 3, 2019 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

Puig’s most successful novel is generally viewed as The Kiss of the Spider Woman, which was given the Hollywood treatment in the 1980s (John Hurt won an Oscar for Best Actor and the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director Oscars). The Buenos Aires Affair pre-dated Kiss, and was Puig’s first foray away from ‘safe’ novels and into seedier topics and more experimental narrative techniques. I can appreciate that he was trying for something different but this was an uncomfortable and not particularly […]

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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