Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“At some point it is no longer a question of whether we can learn this history but whether we have the collective will to reckon with it.”

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

by 2 Comments

When I was growing up, my parents rarely took us on “vacation.” But every summer, we would pile in the station wagon and drive some number of hours to visit family, in Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, New York. My mother was both a US history buff, and operating on a shoe-string budget. This, my friends, means that my brother and I have visited almost every Revolutionary or Civil War battle ground or relevant historic home within a 50-mile radius of Baltimore, DC, or Wilmington, DE. Plus […]

The Yugo was a lemon, but this lemonade is more Country Time powder than fresh-squeezed

The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History by Jason Vuic

by 6 Comments

I wanted to love this one, I really did! Much like my affinity for the dopey little Yugo, I thought I could at least love this book ironically. Unfortunately, I found myself feeling like no Yugo customers found themselves feeling: bland pleasantness. I love a good micro-history, and I love a good world-wide failure, and while this book is well-researched, it just could not hold my attention. Perhaps it was because I listened as opposed to reading, but I frequently felt like I had somehow […]

Marriage and friendship in middle age

Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

by Leave a Comment

This book crept up and grabbed me by the heart, in the best possible way. Good Company centers around the relationships between four friends, in two married couples. Flora and Margot, were roommates in New York in their twenties, both working actors. Flora meets and marries Julian, another actor. Margot marries David, a pediatric surgeon. “Good Company” is the name of the small theater company that Julian and, to a lesser extent, Flora, run. Twenty years later, Flora and Julian have moved to LA with […]

Cool premise, questionable tone

Midnight Riot / Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

by 4 Comments

The “Rivers of London” series has been on my TBR for a long time. It’s billed as X-Files meets Harry Potter in London, and you might as well call it RaRa Catnip and be done. A work assignment relating to Mysteries in May finally gave me the push to read it – well, to listen to the audio on Libby. Peter Grant is a Probationary Constable, waiting for his long-term assignment after training. He’s hoping to be a detective with the Met, but the odds […]

A few good motivational ideas

It Takes What It Takes: How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life by Trevor Moawad, Andy Staples

by 1 Comment

I found out about Trevor Moawad through NFL quarterback Russell Wilson. Moawad was kind of a mental coach for Wilson, as he also was for many other professional and collegiate athletes and programs. Moawad’s dad was a big leader in the motivational speaking and proto-self-help world, with a focus on self-esteem. Unfortunately, Trevor Moawad recently died from a terminal illness. I thought it would be nice to read his book as a kind of show of respect. It Takes What it Takes comes from the […]

Cute fantasy romances that avoid being saccharine

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher

by 5 Comments

For the last year, my favourite books list has included a mixture of “cozy” and “weird”. It’s hard to get me in the mood for something too traditional; I’m enjoying books with romantic elements but get frustrated by lack of non-relationship plot; and I think nothing will ever live quite up to my euphoric feelings of “wtf” with Harrow the Ninth. A friend recommended Paladin’s Grace to me and I am so grateful for that! I devoured it and the sequel, Paladin’s  and am disappointed Scribd and […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo