Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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California Love

The Drowning Pool by Ross Macdonald

June 25, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

I’ve developed a recent habit of revisiting old books; some favorites, others not. I wanted to see how they held up after all this time and if my notions of them were still true. Many list The Drowning Pool as one of Ross Macdonald (Kenneth Millar)’s greatest works. I am a Lew Archer diehard. I’ve said many times in this space that it’s my favorite detective mystery series of all-time. But I’m also lucky that I unintentionally began it later in the series, when Macdonald had already […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: california, Lew Archer, mystery, Ross MacDonald, The Drowning Pool

Jake's CBR11 Review No:47 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: california, Lew Archer, mystery, Ross MacDonald, The Drowning Pool ·
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The Dreamers – Wait, What?

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

May 18, 2019 by cheerbrarian Leave a Comment

A mysterious sleeping sickness hits a small town in California. This is the first act of an apocalyptic novel that doesn’t quite get off the ground, or at least, doesn’t get off the ground in the way I have come to expect from an apocalyptic novel. I couldn’t put this down and read the whole thing in two days because I was excited to see what happened.  I picked it up to begin with because the front cover has praise from Emily St. John Mandel, […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: apocalypse, california, Karen Thompson Walker, the dreamers

cheerbrarian's CBR11 Review No:20 · Genres: Fiction, Speculative Fiction · Tags: apocalypse, california, Karen Thompson Walker, the dreamers ·
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Get out your drapes and rumba

Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots by Margarita Engle

May 3, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Get out your drapes and start to jump, leap and swing to the beat! You will Rumba the night away! Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots by Margarita Engle is a prose poetry book that reads like a novel. Each character (and there are several, some named and some just their occupation) has a story to tell about California in the early years of the Untied States time in World War Two. American born sisters, 16-year-old Marisela and 14-year-old Lorena just want […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History, Poetry, Young Adult Tagged With: 20th century his, california, Dance, Los Angeles history, Margarita Engle, Race relations, Racism, Rudy Gutierrez, Zoot Suit Riots

BlackRaven's CBR11 Review No:150 · Genres: Fiction, History, Poetry, Young Adult · Tags: 20th century his, california, Dance, Los Angeles history, Margarita Engle, Race relations, Racism, Rudy Gutierrez, Zoot Suit Riots ·
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“All tyranny is abominable.”

Zorro by Isabel Allende

April 16, 2019 by Halbs 2 Comments

As a kid growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, The Family Channel’s “Zorro” was must-watch-tv. While “Batman: The Animated Series” would eventually take over as my favorite hero show when I became a hardened and cynical fourth grader, Zorro has always held a special place in my soul. Yes, my soul. Zorro is hero descended from Spanish and Native Americans, born to help. And, to help with panache. You can imagine the impact that would have on a little Hispanic boy. In a way, […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: california, heroes, Isabel Allende, Zorro

Halbs's CBR11 Review No:12 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: california, heroes, Isabel Allende, Zorro ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Some Early Steinbeck

The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck

February 7, 2019 by thewheelbarrow Leave a Comment

If you have noticed a lot of Steinbeck reviews the last few months, that’s on me.  I currently live in the Monterey Bay Area and decided that while I live here, I should read the works of the man who was so inspired by this place.  Steinbeck is from Salinas, CA, the largest city in the area but many of his books take place in and around the county.  The famous Cannery Row of Monterey is actually named for his book, which popularized the nickname […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: california, cannery row, Ed Ricketts, john steinbeck, Monterey, short stories

thewheelbarrow's CBR11 Review No:8 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: california, cannery row, Ed Ricketts, john steinbeck, Monterey, short stories ·
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Living in Steinbeck’s World

December 18, 2018 by thewheelbarrow Leave a Comment

Save your drafts as you go! I lost a really long double review for these books due to my own negligence.  Ugh….   I moved to Monterey a year and a half ago, the home of Steinbeck and the setting for both of these novels.  Both take place at real locations in the greater Monterey area, though Tortilla Flat is a fictional neighborhood, which added to my interest.  Both novels follow a few main characters who live together and experience the effects of their shenanigans. […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: california, john steinbeck, Monterey

thewheelbarrow's CBR10 Review No:45 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: california, john steinbeck, Monterey ·
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