Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Take a Trip

Grandad’s Camper by Harry Woodgate

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I use the phrase “cozy read” a lot, but Grandad’s Camper by Harry Woodgate is a cozy read. Even if it is not always a happy read. You could substitute any gender of the two grandfathers of the story, and you have “this” story, as the loss of a spouse or partner is universal. Everyone will grieve, everyone will remember the connections they had. I enjoyed how everything is just “normalized” and not “in your face” about the subject. The two grandfathers of the child […]

The Courage to Start Running

The Courage to Start by John Bingham

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I found The Courage to Start by John Bingham an incredibly inspiring read. Bingham is well known for his writings about runners who are “penguins.” A penguin is a runner that might be slow, have an unusual stride, is often in the far back of the starting line, but is fulfilled. Bingham talks less about the technical aspects of running and more about the psychological and emotional growth that comes from regular practice. While he doesn’t frame it as such, he has a Buddhist way […]

Move over RuPaul there are new queens (and kings) in town

Kings, Queens and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteiu

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I read two radically different books this weekend. The first was Kings, Queens and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteiu and the second, Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech. If you know Sharon Creech, even her “edgy books” are tame. Especially tame compared to drag queens and kings. And there are kings, queens, and in-betweens galore in the book of the same name. Boteiu has characters that flow naturally even if some of them tend to be a bit of a cliché. But it works. This is a book […]

Let’s Go

Letting Go of Gravity by Meg Leder

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Letting Go of Gravity is a book with a very teen romance without some of the usual teen romance (she barely kisses the love interest, but there is a spark between them), and a book that is also dealing with family and expectations that they place on us and that we place on ourselves. Not all characters are a 100% likable as they can be typical characters; sometimes even almost stereotypical, but they are not horrible people either. There are several obvious plot points and […]

Being informed is so much better than not being informed.

What Fresh Hell is This?: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You by Heather Corinna

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I received What Fresh Hell is This? as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It publishes June 1, 2021.  What Fresh Hell is This? Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You came to my attention following emmalita’s positive review of it earlier this month. The title alone intrigued me, what fresh hell is this is something I say in my day-to-day life, so an author that chose to use it as their title would very likely be an author I’d want to […]

I don’t think Bill W. saw this gal coming!

Other Broken Things by C. Desir

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Oh boy! Did I hate this book by C. Desir for the first few chapters: Natalie is a spoiled rich girl and is a “drunk” and of course thinks she does not have a problem; that everyone parities. Her character was a cliché from the first word. She, of course, blames everyone else for her problems, but does not admit they are problems. Even during a cliched moment (that I had really hoped was not going to happen) near the end of the book, she […]



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