Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Not that Warren Ellis, yes that Nina Simone, maybe that Nick Cave

Nina Simone's Gum by Ellis, Warren

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Bingo Row 2 – Purple (There were three names on the cover of Nina Simone’s Gum that attracted me to the book. I put a disambiguation at the end of this review if that’s helpful.) One day, a five-ish year old Warren Ellis woke up to see his yard was full of clowns making burgers. His father acts like raccoons got in the yard again and grumbles about dealing with them when it’s time to hang the laundry. This is nonfiction. Nina Simone’s Gum, by […]

One For The Culture

The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture by Grace Perry

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Read as part of CBR17 Bingo: culture. This is a collection of essays about queerness and pop culture.  I’m a few years older than the author so I experienced some of her references differently but I loved this collection of essays form Grace Perry. She perfectly captures a late-generation millennial’s experience with sexuality at a time when things were slowly starting to change. And with the reflections about Gossip Girl and Katy Perry, her willingness to be vulnerable about her growth, how difficult it was, and […]

“What must it be like to grow up that beautiful / with your hair falling into place like dominoes”

Gwyneth: The Biography (2025) by Amy Odell

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This is for bingo square ‘favourite’, partly because celebrity memoir/biography is one of my favourite genres, but also because Gwyneth Paltrow has, in one way or another, been the favourite her whole life–favoured of fate and fortune via her parents, acclaimed actress Blythe Danner and producer Bruce Paltrow, cynosure of critics, muse for Calvin Klein and Anna Wintour, tabloid and arty celebrity scene It Girl, Academy darling for her Oscar win at 26 for Shakespeare in Love (1998)—and more chillingly, for a while, as journalist […]

I liked this book, but can’t do it justice and F- Cancer!

Kimiko Does Cancer: A Graphic Memoir by Kimiko Tobimatsu

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While not a perfect read, Kimiko Does Cancer: A Graphic Memoir has several good reflections of what is happening to the author and has strong relatability. You might not have had cancer (or a serious illness) but you can relate to her struggles and journey. I found myself realizing I have thought/felt some of the things she talks about with my own health issues, as much of what she says and does is universal. It really isn’t about cancer, that is just the starting point […]

“I was fifteen when I decided to go to America and make a name for myself,” Allen Say

The Inker's Shadow by Allen Say

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When I learned that Drawing from Memory by Allen Say had a sequel called The Inker’s Shadow I went into “Find This Book” Mode. And interlibrary loan did not let me down. Now, this book is a lot like the first, but deals with his years in the states. It moves a bit faster, covers more ground and years and fills in the information that shows how he was shaped into the author and illustrator that he would become. It is not just a great […]

She ain’t no Pretty Pink Pretty princess

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

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I almost did not read the graphic novel, Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir. I had seen it on lists, at the library, and other places. But it never said, “Read me.” Then one day I was looking at my library’s online catalog of titles to request a book. When I clicked “place hold” and it was complete, a list of suggested books appeared to read while waiting for the request you put in. One was Tomboy. I figured that if I had been getting signs saying […]



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