Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Rule Britannia

Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens by David Mitchell

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David Mitchell (the comedian, not the author of Cloud Atlas) takes readers on a walking tour through the history of England’s monarchy, up to around the start of the 17th century. Or maybe I should stay running tour. Covering hundreds of years of history in this few pages of course means that there isn’t a lot of time to devote to any particular ruler or era. Thus, I wouldn’t say that Unruly makes for a good read for anyone actually looking for a serious history […]

Yeah, I see why the Wachowski’s were interested in this book

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

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Cloud Atlas is one of those books that has been sitting on my shelf for years. A book I find at a used book store and I am excited to buy and bring home and not read. Every time I go to look at my shelf to pick out a new read, it sits there, judging me. “You bought me five years ago, and all I’ve done is sit here between Ulysses and Great Expectations. Are you ever going to, you know, read me?” ‘Sure, […]

The Swining Sixties

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

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Yeah, I made a typo, but it’s staying. London, 1967. Bass player Dean Moss is flat-out broke, homeless, and ready to give up on his dreams and head back home to find some dreary menial job for the rest of his life, when he meets a music producer named Levon. Levon hasn’t had much luck so far and this is his last stab at success, so he sets Dean up with folk singer and pianist Elf (short for Elizabeth Frances), drummer Griff and guitarist Jasper. […]

Who died and made you king?

Unruly: A History of England’s Kings and Queens by David Mitchell

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Cbr15bingo Europe I’m not sure how my husband got his hands on the official UK version of this book; the US version is out tomorrow (Oct. 3) with the subtitle as shown in the photo, not the subtitle on the UK version which I have put in the title bar. But he knew I would love it because we are both fans of David Mitchell from the various British panel shows he has been on. Mitchell describes himself as a comedian, and he is, but […]

Let Down…But Not Disappointed?

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

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Have you ever read a book that was super hyped and thought it was…good but not as good as advertised? And you weren’t disappointed you read it but it still didn’t match the exaltations from others? Cloud Atlas is such a book for me. I appreciated what it was trying to do; I definitely got the 2666 vibes and 2666 is one of my favorite books of all-time so that’s a good thing. I like how it looked at the scope of history and the human experience. I like the […]

Deep Cuts

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

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Utopia Avenue comes into Dean Moss’s life at just the right time. He’s broke and newly homeless when Levon Frankland approached him at a bar and offers him a job. Levon needs a bassist for a rock group that he’s putting together. Dean’s so desperate he joins in despite the fact that there’s no one else in the band. Soon he’s joined by Pete “Griff” Griffin on drums, Elizabeth “Elf” Holloway on vocals and piano, and Jasper de Zoet on lead guitar. They are four […]



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