Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“The world feels safer somehow if we share our pain. It becomes more manageable. And by sharing our pain, we inspire others to share theirs. We are so much less alone if learn to wear our imperfections proudly, like tarnished jewelry that still shines just as brightly.”

Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson

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Reading about loss, grief, and love in Harrow: The Ninth  while grieving the loss of my dog was perhaps not the best choice.  After reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for Cannonball Book Club, it seemed best to keep the comedy going and The Bloggess’s Broken (in the best possible way) was sitting on the shelf waiting.  I  thought I knew what I would be getting in a Jenny Lawson book.  Raw openness about her mental and physical health, along with side splittingly funny stories.  […]

“Sometimes, there’s a story we tell ourselves. And sometimes a story is told about us.”

Cyclopedia Exotica by Aminder Dhaliwal

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I first read about artist/writer Aminder Dhaliwal in this NYT piece, then started following her Instagram account. The premise behind Cyclopedia Exotica and Dhaliwal’s art led me to purchase the book, whose message is pertinent in the current xenophobic climate in the US. Through characters who are Cyclopes in a world of the two-eyed, Dhaliwal examines the daily micro aggressions and prejudices that minorities encounter, as well as the Cyclopes’ responses to them. Anyone who does not fit the WASP-y cis/het norm will probably be […]

Women in science, 19th century edition

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

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I’m on a roll with splendid historical fiction featuring strong female characters. What I didn’t know until I was about half-way through this novel is that Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures is based on real women in science about whom I’d never heard. I suppose I should say “real women on the outskirts of science” because, as females, they were barred from having a meaningful place in scientific discussions in 19th century England. Mary Anning, now recognized as the finder of the first known ichthyosaur skeleton […]

Remarkable women in a remarkable time

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

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Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, especially when it teaches me about a piece of history or culture that was previously unknown to me. Pair that with beautiful writing, strong female characters, and a moving story, and you have a 5-star novel. The Island of Sea Women tells the story of two girls, Young-sook and Mi-ja, from the South Korean island of Jeju. Mi-ja is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle and, because her father allegedly collaborated with the Japanese, is an […]

Douglas Adams was brilliant and gone too soon

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

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I don’t remember the first time I read, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (HGttG), I suspect sometime in middle school.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read it since.  HGttG is probably responsible for much of my sense of humor.  When Adams suddenly passed away in 2001, I felt a profound sense of loss, he was brilliant, ahead of his time, and his writings (fiction and non) were so very funny.  Every so often it will pop into my head, “What would Adams think […]

Two novels, two different tv series

The Wench Is Dead by Colin Dexter

Dead Simple by Peter James

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I’ve decided to combine these two into one review as I came to both books via the TV. Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse has long been a staple of mine on Sunday nights and afternoons as has the spin off, Lewis.  I was less familiar with Peter James Superintendent Grace novels, but they too are now a tv series with John Simm, perhaps more familiar to people from Life on Mars. I remembered the episode of Morse called The Wench is Dead but couldn’t remember the […]



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