Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

One of My Top Books of the Year

The Quest for Queen Mary by James Pope-Hennessy (edited by Hugo Vickers)

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CBR15Bingo — History I love, love, loved this book. This is a highlight of my reading year so far and a real keeper for my library of royal books. I do wonder what it is about royalty that tends to attract gay men — glamour? — because I felt very in sympathy with Pope-Hennessy’s fascination with royalty as a separate species of human beings throughout (I related very much to him being described as unremittingly homosexual in the introduction). As someone with a not insubstantial […]

Weird Set-up, Great Story

Below the Salt by Thomas B. Costain

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cbr14 lion I was so sure this had been made into a movie (starring Walter Pigeon, I was guessing) back in the 50s, but no. apparently not.  But it has such an odd plot structure I suspect Costain had his hopes. So we have elderly retired Senator Richard O’Rawn, Lion of the West, summoning young John Foraday to his vast Wyoming ranch on mysterious business.  John is a promising writer, and apparently indirectly connected with the Senator.  Turns out the Senator wants to take him […]

Mostly a history of sex work in London, actually.

The Sexual History of London by Catharine Arnold

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I’m finding it a little tough to write about this one, because I’m not sure exactly what didn’t work for me. I can draw a rough circle around it, but pinpointing seems to be beyond me at the moment. Maybe because I’m not a historian. (Worth noting, I can clearly identify the parts I did enjoy.) This is a book entirely about sex! Sex throughout history in a specific geographical location! I have always liked reading about sex, and the history of sex, and here’s […]

“Men were too often nervous to learn of things that contradicted their dearest falsehoods.”

The King at the Edge of the World by Arthur Phillips

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You know that feeling you have when an author you love has a new novel out? When you scoop it up and get to reading, because previous novels have dazzled you? When you dig in with excitement and anticipation because you know it’s gonna be great? And then you get to the last page and realize it was. . .  fine? Arthur Phillips has written two of my favorite novels of the 21st century: The Egyptologist and The Tragedy of Arthur. Granted, Kim’s Favorite Novels […]

How does one describe this book?

Freedom & Necessity by Steven Brust & Emma Bull

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I’m having the hardest time writing this review, but I just need to suck it up and word vomit out something, because I read this back in March. The problem is, I have no idea how to describe this strange, strange book. And also, not sure how I feel about it? Like, I enjoyed it? I gave it four stars (well, 3.5)? But I also still find it confounding. By the way, Steven Brust and Emma Bull teaming up to write this somehow led me […]

Sexxxxy History

Royal Harlot by Susan Holloway Scott

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Barbara Villiers Palmer was a nineteen-year old newlywed when her husband, Roger Palmier and his group of fellow-conspirators sent her to Brussels with a message to the king-in-waiting, Charles Stuart, and a fortune of gold coin sewn into the hem of her dress.  Witty and reckless and a renowned beauty, she immediately caught the eye of the much older king, and it was mutual attraction immediately.  She became his mistress and held that position for a turbulent decade.   The Puritan regime of Cromwell was […]



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