Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Prince Sebastian would like to introduce you to himself, Lady Crystallia

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

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The Prince and the Dressmaker most likely was pretty cutting-edge when it came out last year. We were started to talk about sexual identity and gender fluidness and the issues that come from that. Using the graphic novel format also is a bit different. But this publishers imprint seems to be the one to go to for cutting-edge stories in this usually more approachable format. However, a year later, having a young man dress in woman’s clothing as sometimes he feels male and sometimes female, […]

Take the World by Storm

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This was such a “Wow!” book for me. I did not know the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, though I am somewhat familiar with the style of her time. A style that she helped create. Again, in this day of looking for books to inspire girls to go out and try (especially when they are told they should not because of their economic status, it is “unlady like” or they are not “fill in the blank”) this is another to add to the list. However, some […]

“A man becomes the creature of his uniform.”

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I’ll provide two quotations from this book. If you agree with them, you’ll enjoy this book and find it useful. If you don’t agree with them, skip this book! First:  Every grown-up man should own a dinner jacket, just as he should own a dark suit, and those who do not prize such old-fashioned values may sanctimoniously decline invitations to any fabulous party people by handsome men and dazzling women with bare shoulders and cleavage. Take your pick of value systems. And: Dress: It’s not […]

More name dropping and designer brands

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I read Crazy Rich Asians a few years ago while on a cruise because it seemed like the perfect book for that type of setting. Despite enjoying it, I was in no rush to read the sequel China Rich Girlfriend because it seemed like a good stand alone novel, and I wasn’t sure I saw the need to continue. While China Rich Girlfriend continues the story of Nick and Rachel, their story isn’t the main plot of this novel. Instead it introduces a few new […]

Pearls of wisdom

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This is a fictionalized telling of the life of Coco Chanel, and it strives to give a complete picture of the legendary designer.  I admit to knowing next to nothing about her before I read the book, and it was quite fascinating to read how she managed to rise from poverty to become an icon in fashion.   Born Gabrielle Chanel, she and her siblings were split apart after the death of her mother and abandonment of her father.  During her schooling by nuns, she […]

“Amory Lorch, Cersei Lannister, Chiswyck, Dunsen, Gregor Clegane, Ilyn Payne, Joffrey Baratheon, Meryn Trant, Forel Polliver, Raff the Sweetling, The Hound, The Tickler, Weese”…

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They broke the mold after Dumas wrote “The Count of Monte Cristo.” There will never be a revenge plot as ambitious, as smooth, as Rube Goldbergian, as violent, as tense, or as passionate as this. This is the Ur Revenge Plot. I devoured this book. Inhaled it. And it’s partly because my brain melted a bit after the election, and then I was doggedly rebuilding my spirits with Solnit’s “Hope in the Dark” (TBR) (GET OFF MY BACK), and then it was Thanksgiving, and I […]



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