Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Life with (and without) Bunty

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

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A bleakly funny look at two generations of a British family, each shaped by the two world wars.  The reader bounces back and forth between the two, as one sees why the characters from the older generation act the way they do (i.e., the “behind the scenes” motivations).  But no matter which generation, it’s a hard-knock life to be sure, and disaster is always just around the corner.  Money is always tight, and rationing is for real.  And then we end up with the soul-draining […]

This is a HORROR book for adults

The Ecstasy of Agony by James "Wrath" White

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I had been debating about finishing The Ecstasy of Agony by James “Wrath” White after the fifth or so story/chapter. I was reading it online and that was answered for me when my link expired. I have been working on it slowly for at least all of 2023 so far (if not started late 2022) so it did not surprise me I had timed out.   But the reason I was not too excited with it was that White’s book is a collection of horror works. […]

I prayed this was not the doctor. “I’m the doctor!” he said, waving to the children.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

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I thought it over. Dollywood. “Islands in the Stream.” That body. She was the best thing that had ever come out of Tennessee. Jesus Christ, it wasn’t even close. ― Kevin Wilson, Nothing to See Here I’ll admit it. I chose this book because of its cover. The combination of the title plus a cartoon wrapped in flames immediately made me curious to see if the author shares the same dark sense of humor as I do. It turns out, they do. Nothing to see […]

While none of the work we do is very important, it is important that we do a great deal of it

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

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You know, that might be the answer – to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of. That’s a trick that never seems to fail. ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22 “There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, […]

Wait for it, wait for it. . .

Good Behavior by Molly Keane

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As we meet Aroon St. Charles, she has just served a lovely luncheon of delicate rabbit’s broth to her very elderly mother.  Alas, the elder Mrs. St. Charles can’t abide even the scent of the stuff, and promptly keels over and dies.  Not to let such a delicious treat go to waste, Aroon finishes it off.  Well, now, that seems a little cold-blooded, no?  Ah, but richly deserved. Aroon was been born into the impoverished Irish gentry.  They are down to slowly selling off the […]

‘Because nobody should have to feel like a pointless little weirdo alone’

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

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The long-awaited follow-up to Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half dropped last month, and I think everyone’s first reaction was not so much ‘Oh, new book!’ but a mixture of deep concern and relief. Solutions and Other Problems had been originally slated for what I believe was a 2016 release, but there was nothing but radio silence as the year came and went. And the next few years as well. Allie’s blog hadn’t had a new entry since 2013 or so, and posting had been […]



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