Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Whitewashed Histories and Walls

White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port by Kate Storey

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CBR16 Bingo: Cult – The Kennedys have rather a cult following, and in this book particularly we learn how many people were so fascinated they swarmed their homes in Hyannis Port. When the Kennedy family decided to make their summer home in Hyannis Port, MA, they little suspected how strongly associated the place would become with their aspirations and their scandals. I’m a Massachusetts native, but my family’s roots there don’t go back long enough to have really witnessed the heyday of the Kennedys in […]

Someday, He Will Be President

The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro

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Robert Caro’s Lyndon Johnson series has always been honest about what it is. Ostensibly, this is true about every biography. A book about the life of Amelia Earhart should be just that. Only, every biographer, no matter how well-intentioned, objective, clear-eyed or distant brings with them an angle. Perhaps a person was under appreciated in their time. Maybe they were overrated by the laudations of historical standard. Possibly they had a hidden back story that impacted their life. Caro has been clear that these books […]

No bird brain here

Clever Crow by Chris Butterworth

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I had this online reader link in my keep files for ages. I looked at the title (Clever Crow) and thought, so I want to read it? It seems like it might be a bit slow. And then I clicked on it, saw a few illustrations by Olivia Lomenech Gill and figured I would give it a shot. This artwork was giving off darker vibes that I didn’t think a traditional picture book crowd would be the audience for.  The picture book Clever Crow has […]

Life Could Be Different

Vulture Capitalism by Grace Blakeley

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Best for: Anyone who is interested in the ways capitalism is bad for individuals and society; how it is propped up by the state; and crucially, what alternatives exist that we can fight for. In a nutshell: Author Blakeley shares her thesis that capitalism is an inherently undemocratic system with illustrations of corporations and states acting poorly while adhering to the very essence of capitalism. Worth quoting: “Most people are denied autonomy over their lives, yet we are told we are free to choose how […]

Now She’s Just Somebody

A Woman I Know by Mary Haverstick

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Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: celestial. Admittedly, this is a stretch but my rationale is that Jerrie Cobb participated in a women’s flying program in which they SHOULD HAVE been the first American women in space but were denied because…well, because they were women. So the celestial tag is a nod to their hard work and dedication, despite the sexism they faced. I’ve read plenty of books on the Kennedy assassination, fiction and otherwise. This is a different take. It started out really well. […]

What did the banana say to the dog? (answer at end of review)

The Huge, Hysterical, Never Terrible Book of Jokes for Kids (Silly Jokes) by Carole P. Roman

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The Huge, Hysterical, Never Terrible Book of Jokes for Kids (Silly Jokes) by Carole P. Roman and Corinne Schmitt is a busy book that covers probably everything known to man, women, child, elephant, salamander, mountains and Martian about jokes, puns, riddles and humor in general. The contributors have taken three different books and combined them into one collection. This makes some of the jokes be repeated in another area. And of course, a theme can be used in more than one type. There are answer […]



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