Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Look at God looking at you…and smiling.” -de Mello

Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life by James Martin

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I bought this book last fall at a Jesuit retreat center. The only thing better than lakeside solitude is lakeside solitude with its own bookstore. Mostly, I picked this book for the cute cover. Additional bonus: Richard Rohr of recent enneagram fame and Stephen Colbert wrote the blurbs on the back. In this book, joy is defined as “happiness in God…a deep-seated result of one’s connection to God.” A lot of the book is about how it’s ok for believers to enjoy life. Specifically, how […]

East and west style and story blended together for one bada$$ read

Monstress Volume 1: Awaking by Marjorie M. Liu

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Do you like gut wrenching, WTF was that crazy ride reading? Do you like your science fiction and reality mixed? Or a mixing of a historic feel and magic at every turn? Then give Monstress Volume 1: Awaking by Marjorie M. Liu a try. I stole these pieces of reviews from Good Reads: This book is “Asian inspired/art deco/classic steampunk horror/high fantasy/talking cats’ graphic novel.”  “The art is dark and lovely.” And, “stellar manga nouveau artwork.” Sana Takeda is in the top ten of my […]

A review for some but not for all

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman

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We talk about books that are not for everyone, well, this is a review not for everyone. I bring up feelings, more than facts here. I have thoughts that you probably do not say today. But I am telling you, the review reader, this book affected me in ways I did not expect. This is my journey being introduced to a story I thought I knew, but came away with a different outlook about it. I have never read The Diary of Anne Frank. Though, […]

Losing His Religion

The Black Mass of Brother Springer by Charles Willeford

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The Black Mass of Brother Springer is a tough book to classify…or even recommend. A biting satire of organized religion, a send up of civil rights through the white gaze, a testimony on the consequences of fragile masculinity. There’s a lot going on here for such a short book. The book’s writer Charles Willeford is one of my favorites. He writes crime novels with a unique voice that’s tough to compare. No less than Quentin Tarantino has said that Willeford is the biggest literary inspiration for […]

Sex, drugs and a little rock-n-roll in Iran

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

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Interestingly, in several ways I liked Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return better than the first book. And yet, I enjoyed the first book more. I put this towards Marjane Satrapi’s continuation of the first book by picking up where she left off but this time showing more growth. Literally (she has a growth spurt and puberty hits hard) and figuratively (learning about “new” authors, ideas, respect different cultures seem to have, values, drugs and more.). Though about the same amount of years go […]

Picture it: Iran 1979 and the world will never be the same

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by  Marjane Satrapi

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#cbr11bingo #banned Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1) by Marjane Satrapi (translated by Matia Ripa), was not what I expected. On one hand, I really had no idea what to expect; on the other hand, I had preconceived notions. But what it boils down to is, I am not sure I really liked this book. Or liked Satrapi. Many books I have come away with a feeling of, “I could be friends with that author.” Or at least, we could have a conversation as we […]



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