Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I need to go back there

The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko

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“He then offered one of the most infamous pronouncements that has ever been made about the Grand Canyon: ‘Ours has been the first, and will doubtless be the last, party of whites to visit this profitless locality. It seems intended by nature that the Colorado River, along the greater portion of its lonely and majestic way, shall be forever unvisited and undisturbed.’” In October of this year, (2022) I was able to go on a rafting trip down the upper section of the Grand Canyon. […]

The World’s Game

Soccer Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper

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More travelogue than polemic, Soccer Against the Enemy, or Football Against the Enemy if you prefer, is Simon Kuper’s account of his journey around the world in search of universal truths and local particularities about the world’s most popular sport. It’s an audacious project for Kuper, one he undertook in his early 20s and on a shoestring budget, staying in youth hostels and traveling as cheaply as possible. Everywhere he goes, Kuper finds all sorts of people willing to talk to him about soccer and […]

Be a Duck and go with the flow

Slug Days Stories V03 Duck Days by Sara Leach

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Slug Days Stories V03 Duck Days might be the third in the series but is a slightly standalone story. However, it would probably be best to read the others first. Sara Leach created a modern story about a girl on the Autism spectrum. Lauren tells her story about being a third grader, her best friend Irma, learning about how friendships have many forms and what it means to be brave. The tone of the story is classic, even slightly old fashioned, but is still set […]

This Kitty has claws

Catwoman: Soulstealer Graphic novel by Louise Simonson

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The graphic novel adaptation of Catwoman: Soulstealer confused me at first. There are several of the Batman villains but no Batman. There are the people we know, such as Lucius Fox and Commissioner Gordan but not really “there” just “Oh yeah by the way…” And though she is a villain that we all know and love (or hate) Catwoman is the new gal in town, with Poison Ivy and Harley already established. We have Luke Fox as Batwing (yeah, I’m with Selina Kyle/Catwoman, what’s up […]

The Rise and Fall of Total Football

Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer by David Winner

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Before cracking open this book I could have told you the following things about Dutch football: that there was a famous player named Johan Cruyff who has some kind of “turn” named after him, that the best team in the country is named Ajax but it’s not pronounced like you’d think, and that the national team wears orange. I was also familiar with the name “Total Football” but I couldn’t have described it in any detail. Winner’s book is only sort of a history of […]

It smells like teen spirit

Bounce Back by Misako Rocks!

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I picked up Bounce Back by Misako Rocks! several weeks ago, while I was in the vehicle waiting for someone to leave the grocery store. I did not get very far, so when I picked it up again a few days ago, I skimmed to remind myself what was going on. I realized I had missed pages and a couple plot points. So, not off to a good start for this cute book with diversity and contemporary themes. But I got into the swing of […]



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