Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“What is the correct collective noun for us..? Maybe ‘a repugnance of twats’ is most apt?”

The Twat Files by Dawn French

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I am a big fan of British humor, whether on TV, film or the page. While I haven’t seen a lot of the French-Saunders comedy team’s sketch work, I know who they are. I am more familiar with Jennifer Saunders due to Ab Fab, but I was aware that Dawn French had a series called The Vicar of Dibley and I recognized her as “The Fat Lady” in the HP movie franchise. French has written several books, and this latest one The Twat Files got […]

Life is always happening and has happened and will happen

Question 7 by Richard Flanagan

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One of Chekhov’s earliest stories was a parody of mental arithmetic questions asked of schoolchildren, of which Chekhov’s question 7 is typical: Wednesday, June 17, 1881, a train had to leave station A at 3am in order to reach station B at 11pm; just as the train was about to depart, however, an order came that the train had to reach station B by 7pm. Who loves longer, a man or a woman? Who? You, me, a Hiroshima resident or a slave labourer? And why […]

In the Early 1980s Fujiwara Maki began a picture diary

My Picture Diary by Maki Fujiwara

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My Picture Diary is an odd little book. It is a day-to-day/day in the life of the author, Maki Fujiwara (also illustrated by) and her family. Things are fairly dull on the surface, but a lot is going on nonetheless. You can see the era (the late 1970s/early 1980s) and the culture and country (Japan); and of course, the husband and wife and the parent(s) and child relationships. The illustrations are simple, but deceptively so. The style itself is not overly detailed, but they do […]

Great Reporting, But Not My Favorite

Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus

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Best for: People interested in the history of hot dogs in the US, told through a sort of travelogue / memoir hybrid. In a nutshell: Author Loftus travels the US to taste all manner of hot dogs, while sharing the stories and history of those who sell them. Worth quoting: N/A Why I chose it: I adore Loftus’s podcast ‘Sixteenth Minute.’ Review: I wish I liked this book more than I did. I only became aware of Loftus’s work this year, when her podcast ‘Sixteenth […]

A funny thing happened after my dad died

Talking to My Father's Ghost: An Almost True Story by Alex Krokus

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While I am giving Talking to My Father’s Ghost: An Almost True Story by Alex Krokus a five, it is more of a 4.5 to 4.75 as I had a few issues with things. Such as I am not a direct fan of the illustrations; though I appreciate the time, effort and work that goes into them. I would like to see the final product to see if color is being used and have explained to me how our characters are a daddy penguin and […]

She got the picture

Imogen: The Life and Work of Imogen Cunningham by Elizabeth Partridge

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Imogen: The Life and Work of Imogen Cunningham was written by her granddaughter, Elizabeth Partridge and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. I read via an online reader copy and the book is due later in August 2025. That is a dull introduction but Imogen Cunningham’s life was anything but dull. She was a younger child who was beloved by her father, who does seem to maybe spoil her a little bit, but also believed in her. He made sure she had paints all for herself when […]



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