Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Pay the Players

The City Game: Triumph, Scandal and a Legendary Basketball Team by Matthew Goodman

April 7, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

March Madness concluded last week. I can legally say that I had some financial skin in the game (which sadly didn’t pay off). I also enjoyed the games on the March Madness app, brought to me by whatever sponsor the NCAA is using these days. Oh yeah, and the players got zero dollars. Zero. Big time college sports has always been a con where self-righteous (mostly) white men bleat about scholarships and academia while collecting money hand-over-fist off unpaid labor. There’s truth to what legendary […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Sports Tagged With: basketball, CCNY, College Basketball, College sports, Matthew Goodman, New York City, The City Game, true crime

Jake's CBR14 Review No:53 · Genres: Non-Fiction, Sports · Tags: basketball, CCNY, College Basketball, College sports, Matthew Goodman, New York City, The City Game, true crime ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A Wonderful Exploration of an Unlikely City

Boom Town by Sam Anderson

February 5, 2022 by GentleRain 7 Comments

This was another suggestion by Emmalita and I really loved it! I didn’t know much of anything about Oklahoma City beyond the basic facts and this was such a fascinating read. I like history that shows how important every little thing is, and how many interesting stories are everywhere. I also like the attempt to break through the East/West coast’s cultural hegemony and show what’s happening elsewhere and the ripple effects things have. Boom Town follows the histories of Oklahoma City from its founding, the […]

Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction, Sports Tagged With: basketball, city planning, narrative nonfiction, professional sports, Racism, sam anderson, social history

GentleRain's CBR14 Review No:32 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction, Sports · Tags: basketball, city planning, narrative nonfiction, professional sports, Racism, sam anderson, social history ·
Rating:
· 7 Comments

They’re Playing Basketball?

Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks by Chris Herring

February 4, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

This book has been years in the making. And it did not disappoint. I wasn’t a big NBA fan in the 1990s. College was more my thing (Let’s goooooo Murr-Land!/clapclap). To the extent that I followed the league in that time, I was aware of two things: 1. Michael Jordan’s Bulls won everything, 2. Patrick Ewing’s Knicks were the toughest ticket in Manhattan. As I got older and read more about the league, I began to be fascinated with the Knicks of that time: their […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Sports Tagged With: basketball, Blood in the Garden, Chris Herring, NBA, New York Knicks, Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing

Jake's CBR14 Review No:25 · Genres: Non-Fiction, Sports · Tags: basketball, Blood in the Garden, Chris Herring, NBA, New York Knicks, Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“When it seems like brown lives don’t matter “

Barely Missing Everything by Matt Mendez

October 12, 2021 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Barely Missing Everything has a few bumps and bruises in the writing style and subject matter. Matt Mendez has a “this a not an easy read” story for several reasons. First, the points of view can be a little off putting, though they are usually from Juan’s and the subject is how the town Juan, his family, and friends lives in treats people with Mexican backgrounds. Clichés and stereotypes come up often with what happens to the characters (Juan mother is a teenage mom, Juan’s […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: basketball, family, friendship, gangs, Matt Mendez, Mexican Americans, Prejudice & Racism, prison & prisoners, Social Themes, Texas, United States - Hispanic & Latino

BlackRaven's CBR13 Review No:312 · Genres: Fiction, History, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: basketball, family, friendship, gangs, Matt Mendez, Mexican Americans, Prejudice & Racism, prison & prisoners, Social Themes, Texas, United States - Hispanic & Latino ·
Rating:
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Basketball & Life

The Second Season by Emily Adrian

August 8, 2021 by J Leave a Comment

So much of Ruth Devon’s life has revolved around basketball. After her college ball career ended in injury, she married her coach, and took to the floor as a sideline commentator on games. Sometimes, she’d fill in in the announcing booth. It’s only fitting that she would reach a crossroad in her life during the NBA finals. The Second Season explores how Ruth attempts to juggle her desire to be a “better” mother with her professional ambition. She lives and breathes basketball, and her daughter […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: basketball, Emily Adrian, NetGalley

J's CBR13 Review No:5 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: basketball, Emily Adrian, NetGalley ·
Rating:
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Vacation Reading

Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America by Martin Doberman

The Pursuit of Pearls by Clara Vine

Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

The Rocksburg Railroad Murders by K.C. Constantine

March Violets by Philip Kerr

Can't Knock the Hustle: Inside Brooklyn's Season of Hope: How Basketball Helped Us Survive Power, Politics, and a Global Pandemic by Matt Sullivan

The Lime Pit by Jonathan Valin

July 6, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

I was on vacation last week and, as you can tell from the stack in the header, I read a LOT… Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America **** I wish this had focused more on the Uprising itself, as opposed to being a semi auto-biography on those who were involved in it. But it’s still a fascinating story at the nascent days of the LGBTQIA+ Movement, the challenges and complexities, and what emerged from it. A good gateway into learning […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: #history, basketball, Berlin, Bernie Gunther, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Nets, Can't Knock the Hustle, Cincinnati, Clara Vine, Eileen Chang, espionage, historical fiction, Hong Kong China, Jonathan Valin, K.C. Constantine, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, LGBTQIA, Lust Caution, March Violets, Mario Balzic, Martin Doberman, Matt Sullivan, mystery, NBA, New York City, paris, Pennsylvania, Philip Kerr, politics, sports, Stacey Abrams, Stonewall, The Lime Pit, The Pursuit of Pearls, The Rocksburg Railroad Murders, thriller, While Justice Sleeps

Jake's CBR13 Review No:102 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: #history, basketball, Berlin, Bernie Gunther, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Nets, Can't Knock the Hustle, Cincinnati, Clara Vine, Eileen Chang, espionage, historical fiction, Hong Kong China, Jonathan Valin, K.C. Constantine, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, LGBTQIA, Lust Caution, March Violets, Mario Balzic, Martin Doberman, Matt Sullivan, mystery, NBA, New York City, paris, Pennsylvania, Philip Kerr, politics, sports, Stacey Abrams, Stonewall, The Lime Pit, The Pursuit of Pearls, The Rocksburg Railroad Murders, thriller, While Justice Sleeps ·
· 0 Comments
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