Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

‘To their dismay, he replied that he may as well do a course on Roman dogs.’

A Rome of One's Own by Emma Southon

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Conventional Ancient Roman histories may be dominated by men, but that tells an incomplete story. Emma Southon tells the stories of twenty-one women who made their mark on the empire. While I enjoy reading about history, ancient history is usually not my jam – with one major exception. I will read anything Emma Southon writes, and wish fervently every time I finish one of her books that I hadn’t already read all of her older ones. It’s the conversational tone, the clear pleasure with which […]

March 2023 Leftovers

The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion by Eliot Brown, Maureen Farrell

The Terra-Cotta Dog by Andrea Cammalleri

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

Tina, Mafia Soldier by Maria Rosa Cutrufelli

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

An Assassin in Utopia: The True Story of a Nineteenth-Century Sex Cult and a President's Murder by Susan Wels

Every Man a King by Walter Mosley

The Triumph of the Spider Monkey by Joyce Carol Oates

Robert B. Parker's Lullaby by Ace Atkins

The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker

Play the Fool by Lina Chern

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Man, that month went fast The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion**** I might have a lot more to say about this one had I finished it weeks ago but I’ll be honest, I’m starting to hit my limit on books about tech geniuses that the public discovers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be only after they’re handed billions of dollars. Theranos, Uber and now WeWork all run by self-glorifying con artists. This book is as well done as the […]

Some Tips to Remember

The Power of Rude: A Woman’s Guide to Asserting Herself by Rebecca Reid

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Best for: Women who are tired of being polite to their own detriment. In a nutshell: Author Reid offers tips on how to be ‘rude’ in different life situations as a means to stop putting everyone else’s needs above our own. Worth Quoting: “My desire not to be rude made me the absolute worst version of myself.” “…all of this advice comes with a great honking caveat, and that is to keep yourself safe.” “However, there is a tendency for women to use ‘sorry’ as […]

“Is memoir therapy? Or is it vengeance?”

Motherwell by Deborah Orr

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I was very sad to see that Deborah Orr died in 2019 of cancer when I was doing some googling after reading this book. It’s always so strange to be in someone’s point of view reading their memoir and picturing them alive, and then realizing that this is the only book they’ll ever write. Cancer really robs the world of so much infinite potential. Motherwell is Orr’s memoir of growing up in the titular steel mill town of Motherwell during the 60s and 70s. I […]

Raise a Glass

Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol by Mallory O'Meara

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“All drinks are girly drinks.” This sentence closes Mallory O’Meara’s book and also serves a sort of double-pronged thesis. All drinks are girly drinks in the sense that women can drink what they want. Historically, all drinks are “girly” drinks in the sense that women around the globe were integral to the development of brewing, distilling, mixing, and serving alcoholic drinks. (O’Meara is great at double meanings in subtitles. Her Lady from the Black Lagoon is subtitled “Hollywood monsters” in the horror sense, and also […]

“A society that does not respect women’s anger is one that does not respect women; not as human beings, thinkers, knowers, active participants, or citizens.”

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger by Soraya Chemaly

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“Is it possible to read a book about anger and not get mad? I haven’t found it possible in writing one. What are we doing? Why does anyone think that men who cannot say the word ‘period’ and do not know that the vagina and stomach are not connected are competent and trustworthy leaders?” I want to get my thoughts out before my book club meeting tomorrow (during which I have been told we will be smashing things! with protective eyewear*). I almost feel like […]



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