Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Why do we put these horrible people in positions of power?

A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan

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I read The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan about the American Dust Bowl many years ago, but it has stuck with me. I learned a lot, and I was very impressed by the writing. So when I saw A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Egan on NPR’s 2023 Books We Love, I knew I was going to read it. This book was very well written and eye-opening in many ways. I, of course, knew […]

Was he the weather vane being blown bout? Or was he the wind blowing the art? Or was he just a big hack?

Andy Warhol: A Graphic Biography (BioGraphics) by Michele Botton

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Andy Warhol: A Graphic Biography (BioGraphics) by Michele Botton and illustrated by Marco Maraggi is told from the point of view of Warhol himself. As we go through several sections of his life, the unfolding of his life is chronological and compact. While it is obviously a pro-Warhol graphic novel and honors his work and influences on the people around him, and the historical times (and not just in art and/or pop art, but in music, photography and film as well), the question of “hack […]

Medieval Lady Pirate Cruising the Indian Ocean? Hot Damn.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Shakraborty

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So I found a second new favorite genre this year.  The first is Mexican (actually Latin American) Gothic, and the second is now medieval Middle Eastern lady pirates.  One might think this is a narrow category, but there was The Stardust Thief, which I read a few books back.  This promises to be the first of a trilogy, and the author has a previous trilogy, The City of Brass, which is on its way from Powells even as we speak.  In other words, I am […]

I don’t know what the excitement is all about. It’s not like sharks attack people or anything….

I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916: A Graphix Book by Lauren Tarshis and adapted by Georgia Ball

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I set myself two goals this year. One was to read a book a day (it averages out to that, but I actually didn’t read a book every day), and the second was to do 12 Cannonballs. As of this review I have 26 books to go… We’ll see! So, one of the ways I was trying to read a book a day was to do simple books. Not books that were simplistic (See Jane. See Dick. See Dick and Jane), but easier reads, fun […]

Family and Monsters

Family Force V: Book One by Matt Braly

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Part Power Rangers, part Transformers, part Voltron and all superheroes and space monsters is how I describe Family Force V: Book One. Matt Braly’s graphic novel (read via an online reader copy, due mid June 2025) will be worth the wait for you or your preteen/teen reader. This coming of age story is one we know (your destiny is forced on you, but you choose the path that takes) is not new, but the way it’s presented is fun, humorous and cute. It is not […]

Boy: Part Two

The Boy From Clearwater: Book Two by Yu Pei-Yun, Jian-Xin Zhou and Lin King

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About a month or so ago I read The Boy From Clearwater: Book One by Yu Pei-Yun, Jian-Xin Zhou and Lin King (Translator). At the time I didn’t think I would go onto book two, The Boy From Clearwater: Book Two, but something said I should and located an interlibrary loan copy from my local library.  Usually sequels are not as strong as the first book, but while I feel the first book was stronger in many aspects, this second book has strong pieces of […]



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