Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Her head in the Stars

Comet Chaser: The True Cinderella Story of Caroline Herschel, the First Professional Woman Astronomer by Pamela S Turner

by Leave a Comment

First, let me get the work stuff out of the way, though it is available, I read Pamela S Turner’s book via an online reader copy.  Overall, Comet Chaser: The True Cinderella Story of Caroline Herschel, the First Professional Woman Astronomer, is a beautiful book. The story is what you expect: in a time when girls were housekeepers, got married and had little to no education, we find Herschel as a child, watch her grow and finally see the woman she would become. She is […]

Franklin and Lowe

Rosalind Looked Closer: An Unsung Hero of Molecular Science by Lisa Gerin

Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe. by Kate Messner and Margaret E. Powell

by Leave a Comment

Science and fashion do not seem like they would pair well together. However, when the scientist is Rosalind Franklin and the fashionista Ann Lowe, they actually do. Franklin was a woman during a time when girls wore pretty dresses, learned to sew and have families and did not go around discovering DNA. And Lowe was a woman who would work with her family making gowns for grand balls and after her mothers death, would make one of the most famous wedding gowns; one fit for […]

Born under gray skies, painting the sun

To See Clearly: A Portrait of David Hockney by Evan Turk

by Leave a Comment

Who is David Hockney? I had no idea before reading To See Clearly: A Portrait of David Hockney. Or at least, I might have known the paintings (this picture book shows Hockney’s style interpreted by the author/illustrator Evan Turk), but not the name. The story is straight forward. Turk says, “David did this, that and the other thing.” He we “here, there, and someplace else.” However, there are a few facts that are tossed out, sit down, and say, “Whatcha gunna do about it?” Such […]

A Wales of a Time

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

by Leave a Comment

When you have a reputation for loading your book with twists and turns, it can make for a less pleasant reading experience for the reader because their sense are heightened and they know all the tricks. Still, I was legitimately surprised at the way Clare Mackintosh’s The Last Party broke, both for the twist and for the reveal of the killer. The setup made me roll my eyes: two people who slept together on New Years Eve don’t realize the other is a cop and are assigned […]

Cozy and Enjoyable

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

by 6 Comments

The Thursday Murder Club is a murder mystery (sort of a cozy?) that takes place in a retirement community. If you’re looking for a perfectly enjoyable mystery that’s never scary but has more depth than a cozy and will also make you laugh, this might be a good choice. The four main characters, Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim, and Ron enjoy solving old murders in their spare time, but when a developer is murdered in their community, they decide to help the police (whether the police like it […]

Brexiteers

Agent Running in the Field by John Le Carré

by Leave a Comment

In a world of constant change and rising menace, it’s good to know that John Le Carré still has it. This won’t go down as one of his great works but it’s still a pretty sharp take on the western world post-Brexit/Trump through the eyes of a disaffected anti-Russia SIS operative who has been mothballed for most of the last two decades while Britain and her American ally swung their swords in the middle east. With Vladimir Putin leading the digital charge to break up […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo