Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Dublin Soul

The Commitments by Roddy Doyle

by Leave a Comment

Cbr12bingo Music, BINGO ~ 4 corners and center square Also an “adaptation” possibility Irish writer Roddy Doyle’s first novel (published in 1987) is set in 1980’s Dublin and centers on a group of working class teens/20-somethings (and one geezer) who come together to form “the world’s hardest working band,” The Commitments. The Commitments is a short, humorous novel that tracks the group’s rocky development and ambitions. Its lively colloquial dialog makes the characters come alive and keeps the novel moving at a rapid clip. Jimmy […]

2 Perspectives, 1 Great Story

I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal

by Leave a Comment

Cbr12bingo Friendship I’m Not Dying With You Tonight is a perfect book for the times we live in and would make a great pick for a book club, a community read, middle school and high school students, and their parents. Lena and Campbell are seniors at an Atlanta high school, and other than that they have little in common. They would probably have never had more than cursory interaction with one another if not for the fight and ensuing riot that started at a football […]

“… it’s not we who control money, it’s the money that controls us.”

Ghachar Ghochar: A Novel by Vivek Shanbhag

by Leave a Comment

Cbr12bingo Uncannon — but this could also fit for “money” or perhaps “debut” if “English language debut” counts for that category From a review in The Guardian: “Ghachar Ghochar is the English-language debut of a writer already established as a leading figure in both the pan-Indian and Kannada-language literary scenes. Once again, reading beyond our tiny borders shows us what we’ve been missing, and proves the necessity of translation for a dynamic literary culture…” I first heard about this 2017 novel a few months ago […]

She’s fine but I’m a mess

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

by Leave a Comment

Cbr12bingo Book Club Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine begins with the premise of many a romantic comedy but takes the reader into serious and unexpected territory. Gail Honeyman’s debut novel, which garnered numerous awards, tells the story of 30-year-old Eleanor from her unique and often hilarious point of view as she plans to win over the man of her dreams. Yet Eleanor’s romantic aspirations are only a small part of this entertaining and thought-provoking novel which examines depression, abuse, and the power of true friendship. […]

The Root of All Evil

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump, PhD

by Leave a Comment

Cbr12bingo Money Mary L. Trump’s book has been called a Trump family “tell all,” but this is less a family history than an analysis of the family dynamics that created Fred Trump’s little monster, Donald. There are some interesting family details there, most of which have already been revealed in the media hype surrounding its release, but Mary L. Trump spends much of her book (which is less than 250 pages and a pretty quick read) trying to explain how Donald became the self aggrandizing […]

“This is Afghanistan …. What do you want — a happy ending?”

My Name is Parvana by Deborah Ellis

by 1 Comment

Cbr12bingo Red In this final novel of Deborah Ellis’ The Breadwinner series, we are reunited with Parvana, the young girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to support her family and survive in war torn, Taliban controlled Afghanistan. Several years have passed, Parvana is now a teenager, and Afghanistan is still rocked by war. US troops and bases are nearby, and the Taliban is still terrorizing the people, especially women and girls. Through her YA novels, Ellis shows the perspective of a girl, […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo