Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Provocative, uneven collection of essays (Bingo!)

The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist by Richard P. Feynman

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Cbr11bingo Science. BINGO! These essays are by turns provocative and exasperating. Richard P. Feynman, who died in 1988, was a brilliant physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1965. He also was part of the Manhattan Project, was a distinguished lecturer at Cal Tech, and served as a member of the Rogers Commission which investigated the Challenger disaster. The Meaning of It All is a short collection of three lectures that Feynman gave in 1963. In these lectures his goal was to discuss the impact […]

I’m not sure Alyssa Cole’s contemporaries are my kind of thing

A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole

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#CBR11 Bingo: Birthday (Alyssa Cole’s birthday is August 12th) From Goodreads: Nya Jerami fled Thesolo for the glitz and glamour of NYC but discovered that her Prince Charming only exists in her virtual dating games. When Nya returns home for a royal wedding, she accidentally finds herself up close and personal—in bed—with the real-life celebrity prince who she loves to hate. For Johan von Braustein, the red-headed step-prince of Liechtienbourg, acting as paparazzi bait is a ruse that protects his brother—the heir to the throne—and his […]

Tartan Noir

Laidlaw by William McIlvanney

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Read as part of CBR11 Bingo: First in a series. This is perhaps the best 3-star book I’ve ever read. A quick explanation of my star system: 5 I give out semi-frequently to books I genuinely consider to be great. I’m not snobby with it, plenty of 5 star books are better than others but it’s my ratings system and I can do what I want. 4 is my most frequently distributed number, that’s for books that simply rise to the level of good. 3 […]

What makes a writer?

Just Write: Here’s How! by Walter Dean Myers

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#cbr11bingo #birthday  Myers birthday was August 12, 1937.  Just Write: Here’s How! is a non-fiction practical guide with easy tips, accessible language and perfect examples for the teen who wants to learn how to write. In fact, this book maps out these tips so well, adults could benefit from them. Just Write could easily be adapted for classroom use or used by the individual writer.  However, I read the ARC from 2012 and wondering if any updates have been done between then and his death or […]

Change Waits for No Man

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

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This is the story of Okonkwo, a member of the Ibo people in the lower Niger delta in pre-colonial Nigeria. He is the head of his family which consists of three wives and numerous children, a highly respected leader and warrior in his village, and a staunch supporter of the old ways and traditions. When Christian missionaries arrive, everything he knows and understands is threatened. To have the impact of European colonialism described from the perspective of the people being colonised is incredibly powerful and […]

I Don’t Know What to Say

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

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This book floored me the other day. First off, thanks to Pajiba for highlighting this book in it’s best of the bunch year for 2018. The Best and Worst of Cannonball 10 article had this book as the best by Mrs. Smith Reads. It looked interesting based on her description, “Carmen Maria Machado’s collection of short stories is nothing short of perfection, and brings everything I was looking for in a year of reading mostly feminist, female-identified, and woman-positive fiction writers.” That sounded right up my alley […]



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