fictional biography – Cannonball Read 17

The Circle Is Complete

The Autobiography of Matthew Scudder by Lawrence Block

July 12, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

Read as part of CBR15Bingo: nostalgia. This is the final book of a favorite series and it takes me back to when I began the series, as well as taking me back to a New York City that no longer exists. Fifteen years ago (fifteen!), I passed a rainy afternoon while on internship to read a Matthew Scudder book by Lawrence Block. I didn’t know it was the second in a long-running series; I had just grabbed it off a cart. It was fine. I […]

It was magic, until it suddenly wasn’t: CBR Bingo – Pajiba

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

October 10, 2019 by Dome'Loki Leave a Comment

Ever since Daisy Jones and The Six was released, it has been on my radar, in particular because it was highly praised on my two favorite pop culture websites Pajiba and Lainey Gossip . When CBR Bingo was announced, I instantly knew what my Pajiba square book would be. My first title for this review was, “What I imagined the 70s rock n’ roll scene was like”, but while Daisy Jones and The Six is a great time capsule into that era, that is not what the […]

Gangster Gangster

Legs by William Kennedy

October 4, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

In my mid-20s, with far less patience than I currently possess, I tried reading EL Doctorow’s acclaimed novel Billy Bathgate. As I should have known, it was too dry, too literary for my taste. I want to revisit it soon as I’m sure my sentiment towards it now would be different. Nevertheless, I don’t understand how anyone can write a Prohibition era novel, even one with literary aspersions, and not have fun with it. Legs is the book I wish Billy Bathgate was back in my 20s. It’s literary […]

A merely OK book made much better by the voice cast

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

September 29, 2019 by Malin 1 Comment

From Goodreads: Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now. Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice […]

Pearls of wisdom

October 12, 2017 by Mikki Blu Leave a Comment

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 […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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