Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

One Life

One Life by Megan Rapinoe

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Megan Rapinoe has lived an amazing life, and she documents it in a way that it feels like she’s having a conversation with you in her autobiography, One Life. The book goes through her childhood, learning to play soccer, going to college, making the US Women’s Junior and then National teams, and then kicking butt and winning the World Cup. She also talks about her decision to kneel before games while the Anthem plays. What I love about her (I tried to lobby to get […]

Not your usual celeb autobiography

Becoming Johnny Vegas by Michael Pennington

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Just as Johnny Vegas isn’t your usual comedian, Becoming Johnny Vegas isn’t your usual celebrity autobiography. Most of those I’ve read tend to be a collection of funny anecdotes interspersed with achievements and name-dropping. While Becoming Johnny Vegas includes all of that, it’s also so much more – the introspection and self-reflection here goes deeper than in any other celebrity autobiography I’ve ever read, as Pennington (Vegas’ real name) tries to get to the bottom of just how he became Johnny Vegas. Recounting his happy […]

In Plain Sight

I Had A Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story by Hank Aaron

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Years ago, I used to watch the painfully obnoxious sports commentary show Around the Horn while waiting for Tony and Mike to duke it out on Pardon the Interruption. ATH has since incorporated much better guests, and host Tony Reali is a prince of a guy, but at the time, it was just a bunch of white guys whining about Barry Bonds and tongue bathing Brett Favre. During yet another Bonds session, one of the guys, I think it was Bill Plaschke, contrasted Bonds with Hank Aaron, the man […]

Q&A With Dolly Parton

Dolly on Dolly Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton by Randy L. Schmidt

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I went to the library with a specific title to pick up but then I saw the book next to it and thought that looked better. I was looking for the Dolly Parton memoir but ended up with Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters. I don’t regret this. As the title suggests, the majority of the book is transcripts of interviews Dolly Parton has given starting in 1967 and running through 2014. Most come from major publications like Playboy, Rolling Stone, and Ladies Home Journal. […]

I still miss you, Space Mom

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

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3.5 stars On the 27th of December 2016, Carrie Frances Fisher, probably best known worldwide as the actress who portrayed Princess Leia Organa in six Star Wars movies died of heart failure. I bought this audiobook on the same day in honour of her memory, but haven’t really felt up to listening to it before now. Carrie Fisher is probably the celebrity whose death has hit me the hardest. Heath Ledger, Alan Rickman, and David Bowie all upset me, but with Carrie Fisher, I felt genuine and […]

Not all rainbows in these celebrity memoirs

We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union

Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair) by Rosie Perez

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I read We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union for my last in-person Mocha Girls Read meeting in March. This memoir is a collection of moments that are mostly linear with some flashbacks. Unlike Becoming, the chapters are not as detailed about her early childhood. The book is all about keeping it real and reflecting on her past with levity. We learn about her family and how she at a young age she looked after herself. With no supervision, Gabrielle got up to some […]



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