Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

No Surprises

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler

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Bingo: Red I read recently that people who tend toward anxiety prefer to watch TV shows and movies that they’ve already seen, because then there’s no anxiety about how things turn out. I think this is true for books, too. I would always, always, prefer to read something I’ve read before–even if I didn’t love it the first time around. I think this is one reason I always return to Anne Tyler–even if it’s a book of hers that I’ve never read before, I know […]

Bawlmer

Four Kinds of Rain by Robert Ward

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One of the more memorable things I’ve read in the last few years is Robert Ward’s Red Baker. It’s your typical blue collar male midlife crisis story, only it’s set in Baltimore and is hardcore devoted to the city. Being a native, I love Baltimore tales. When I mentioned to someone that I really enjoyed Red Baker, they suggested I pick this one up. I’m glad I did. This one is an actual crime story set in Baltimore and it’s twisty. In the first fifty or so pages, […]

Freaks, Geeks, and Automobiles

Role Models by John Waters

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Oooh mama, this is not for the faint of heart! If you aren’t already a fan of John Waters and his coterie of misfits and outsiders then this is NOT the place to start! I first became aware of John Waters through the 1990 film Cry-Baby. It used to be on TV fairly frequently in the late 90s/early Aughts, and I would secretly watch bits and pieces of it when my parents weren’t in the room. I had the “flashback” button on the remote primed and […]

Read It Here First

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman

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I won a free ARC from Goodreads in exchange for this review. Thanks Goodreads! Laura Lippman’s been on a bit of a roll with her standalone novels. Wilde Lake was really good and Sunburn is, in my estimation, the best thing she’s ever done. Most of what I loved about reading Lippman’s Tess Monaghan novels growing up was the Baltimore tourism. Being a native of the city, it’s fun to see a bestselling author talk about places I know like they’re real. But her standalone works show how she […]

You Come at the King, You Best Not Miss

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If you’ve seen The Wire, you should read this book. If you haven’t seen The Wire, you should go watch it and then read this book. What are you doing with your life?!   For All the Pieces Matter, author Jonathan Abrams spoke to almost every person involved in creating The Wire, from David Simon and Ed Burns to directors, casting agents, and writers, to almost every actor you could think of. It’s fantastic. There is so much information in here, it could have been five […]

Keeping an Eye on Her Abandoned Former Self

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I am the resident Anne Tyler apologist here at CBR. I know she’s rather unpopular in these parts, but I love many of her books. Her prose and her characters’ inner lives often resonate with me. Her books comfort me, and I find them great company during difficult times. BUT–all that being said, I cannot and will not stand up for Ladder of Years and the truly despicable actions of the main character, Delia Grinstead. Delia, mother of three children (2 college aged and one […]



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