Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Can You Detect a Lie?

Tremors in the Blood by Amit Katwala

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Best for: People who enjoy a mixture of history, true crime, and ethical discussions. In a nutshell: Author Katwala explores the creation and first two decades of the ‘lie detector’ (polygraph). Worth quoting: N/A Why I chose it: I like books like this usually – it feels like a subject Patrick Radden Keefe might have taken on. What it left me feeling: Educated. Review: In this book, author Katwala looks at the creator of the Polygraph, John Larson, who was a medical student interested in […]

Dash and Davis star in Reno Rendezvous!

It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker

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He’d shown her that there was another way than what she’d always believed love to be. That love could be quiet and mysterious. That a person could be her port in a storm rather than the hurricane itself.” It Happened One Fight It Happened One Fight is Entertainment Weekly columnist Maureen Lee Lenker’s debut novel. Patti Murin narrates well, giving each character a distinctive voice. Joan Davis and Dash Howard are gold together on the screen, but they hate each other off screen. Well, Joan […]

It Was Fine

Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

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Best for: Maybe people who liked the DaVinci Code? In a nutshell: Clay gets a job in a bookshop in San Francisco, which turns out to be the front for something else entirely. Worth quoting: N/A Why I chose it: I love a bookstore, and I love a good mystery. What it left me feeling: Ambivalent. Review: This book was absolutely fine. I think it might be one that was better suited for the page than audio book, so if this is on your list […]

Watch This Space

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

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The first question in my mind when I finished listening to Wil Wheaton’s excellent narration of The Collapsing Empire was “this had better be a god damned trilogy!”. Thankfully, it is, and I will get to spend many more hours listening to the plight of the young Emperox Grayland II as she navigates the untimely collapse of The Flow, the method by which humans of the future overcome the limitations of light speed travel. The Collapsing Empire opens with a prologue that sets the scene […]

Clever and Funny

How to be Champion by Sarah Millican

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Best for: Fans of the comedian; those who enjoy witty but not overly snarky humour. In a nutshell: Comedian Millican shares her life experiences and what she’s learned from them in a fairly light-hearted but sincere and funny book. Worth quoting: I listened to this while running so while there were definitely times when I laughed out loud, I didn’t stop to write them down. Why I chose it: I’ve now lived in the UK for over five years, and am exposed to many more […]

Still not caught up on my reviews, but I’m working on it.

Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

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I’m doing terribly at keeping up with my reviews this year, so I’m going to do a review dump. Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry (4.5/5) (Spoilers abound.) Lonesome Dove was a revelatory experience for me. It was that rare experience that I knew to appreciate while I was reading it. Rather than devouring the book and then mourning it’s end, I was able to savor the novel and drag it out a little bit. I was still a little skeptical about reading the follow-up, […]



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