Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Radiation is Not Great, Folks

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

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Best for: Folks who are interested in how man-made disasters come about, and how governments and individual people respond to them. In a nutshell: During a test of the cooling system, one of the reactors at the Chernobyl plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, USSR, explodes, leading to some immediate deaths, some short-term deaths, many longer-term deaths, and the complete abandonment of an entire city. Worth quoting: “We have to be seen to be doing something.” Why I chose it: I watched the recent miniseries and given […]

Meet my emotional support Canadian cop turned contract killer

Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong

Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong

Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong

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In a recent conversation, someone mentioned that they were revisiting Kelley Armstrong’s Nadia Stafford series because they needed some bananas distraction and a series about a hit woman with a moral code worked. And then I found the first book, Exit Strategy, available in my AudiblePlus catalog. It was perfect. Disconnected enough from reality to be distracting, but not so disconnected that I had to pay attention to deep world building. The narrator of the three books, Jennifer Ikeda, does a great job. Exit Strategy […]

Meh

I am a Hitman by Anonymous

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Best for: I can’t really recommend this book. It’s fine, but not something I’d recommend even to those who have a curiosity about such things. In a nutshell: The author claims he worked as a hit man, and details how he came into that world, and how he eventually got out. Worth quoting: Nothing. Why I chose it: Wanted an audio book to read while running and as someone who finds details and specifics fascinating, I was interested in HOW contract killing actually worked. Review: […]

How did it get made?

MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards

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For lovers of Lord of the Rings, you’ll be aware of the cache that comes with having not only seen the extended editions (multiple times), but to know of the many stories and background trivia that comes with the trilogy. I am 100% this person. The one who, on a visit to Disneyland, bores her comrades with park trivia. The one who pops up in office convos with random pop trivia, or obscure factoids about random nonsense. Some may find it annoying, and I couldn’t […]

Fun and satisfying

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

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I’ve read a couple of books by Jojo Moyes now, and I’ve found them interesting and fun to read. So, I decided to listen to Someone Else’s Shoes (2023) as my next audiobook. The book takes place in London. Sam Kemp, a hardworking, frazzled mom, accidentally picks up the gym bag of Nisha Cantor, a rich and privileged woman. This accidental switch has pretty drastic consequences for both of them. Sam is headed to an important work meeting, and her only shoes are now the six-inch Louboutin […]

“I don’t want it if I can’t have it with you.”

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall, Will M. Watt (Narrator)

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I blasted through three Alexis Hall books in relatively quick succession in 2022 and then sputtered out in 2023 when I borrowed Husband Material from the library and never got around to reading it and had to return it. Last year was a slump year, but the bummer of not being able to get into a book that I had been so excited about following reading Boyfriend Material has sort of kept me away from Alexis Hall books since. That is, until I saw narfna’s […]



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