Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Delightful Gem of a Novel

Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins

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Wilkie Collins is best known for The Moonstone and The Woman in White, but I highly recommend this enjoyable social issues novel. The action keeps moving and the morals come quick and fast. Collins knew how to write a fully realized character and how to keep the reader’s attention continuously engaged. Man and Wife involves a tangle of relationships and social questions of the day. The main issue Collins is dealing with here is unfair marriage laws and the horrible situations women would be left in due to their […]

“Winston was the only person Randolph truly loved.”

Churchill & Son by Josh Ireland

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If I say “this book was a lot better than I thought it was going to be,” I definitely run the risk of sounding rude, but I was very pleasantly surprised by Churchill & Son. I’m not a politics book type of person, as I tend to find them too dry, but Ireland has written a very engaging and interesting book that deals with a lot of politics in a readable and nuanced way. I was never bored or forcing myself to push through a section […]

“Fighting a one-man war against the twentieth century:” Jane Ridley’s Attempt to Make George V Interesting

George V: Never a Dull Moment by Jane Ridley

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For the general reader who’s curious about Royal history and will only read one book about George V, this is the best pick. Jane Ridley is a great writer and puts lots of interesting details in here. She has a real gift for summarizing complicated topics and synthesizing them into very readable prose. One of my most intense special interests is Edward VII, so I’ve read a lot of books about him and his family. I have a collection of coronation memorabilia and a pretty […]

A Worthy Prequel to Bone

Rose by Jeff Smith and Charles Vess

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Wrapping up my Bone series re-read with the prequel graphic novel, Rose. This is written by Jeff Smith but illustrated by Charles Vess, so you’re not getting Jeff Smith’s cartoony style here, despite the misleading cover. Instead, you get Vess’s beautiful full-painted art, which is unfortunately a little squashed and hard to make out the fine details in the edition I got. I think it would have been better served by a full trade binding, but I ended up with a library edition with a “Kidproof Cover,” […]

Island Time

The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama

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I’ve been to Hawaii twice in my life: once in my early 20s, and the other time a family vacation about 5 years ago.  And both times I was fortunately to be able to spend some time in Hilo, on the big island.  It is absolutely my favorite place on the islands – old school, totally laid back, and very few tourists.  I don’t think it changed a whit during the forty-odd years in between my two trips.  And that is probably why I enjoyed […]

Meet the Plumbs

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

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My memory from the last few years is hazy but if I recall correctly, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s 2016 novel The Nest was one of the breakout hits of the literary year. I remember seeing it everywhere and hearing about its existence, even if I didn’t know the plot. A little research confirmed at least some of this: the book sold for 7-figures to a publishing house and there were like a billion (very available) copies at my local libraries. This no doubt was a hit with the […]



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