Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“If we have money, we shall have friends.” – Menander

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore

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When I think of thrill-a-minute page turners, I do NOT think of historical fiction about obscure 1930s tax attorneys. And yet, here we are! Graham Moore’s The Wealth of Shadows is easily my favorite read of 2024. Are you as skeptical as I was? It shouldn’t be a surprise that Moore is adept at either the historical setting or dialogue – he won an Academy Award as the screenwriter of The Imitation Game. The Wealth of Shadows explores the economic arena of World War II, […]

Not for me.

Secret Identity by Alex Segura

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30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 4 Book 2/30 DNF @ 30% I gave it the ole college try, as none of the kids say these days. But this book was not for me! I’m really sad about it, because the gritty 70s NYC atmosphere, the love of comics built in to it, and the MC being a queer daughter of Cuban immigrants trying to make it in comics publishing all really sounded like something I would love, but this book was so dull. What […]

Time traveling is for nerds.

Blackout (All Clear, #1) by Connie Willis

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30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 4 Book 1/30 I’ve sat on this review for several weeks now and the feelings that I have for this book—despite its clear flaws—are overwhelmingly positive. So I’m rounding up to four stars! I always enjoy a Connie Willis book, even when they are debilitatingly sad (looking at you Doomdsay Book), but they do have their flaws. She is OBSESSED with miscommunication and people being unable to find each other, and those kind of plots (which I am not interested […]

Love Lies Bleeding

Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash

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What kind of book is Rainbow Black supposed to be? I speculate here because I finished it three days ago and still don’t know the answer or how I fully feel about it beyond, “I really liked it, loved it in some parts, wish I was moved by others.” It’s such a rigidly unsentimental book from beginning-to-end and I’m not sure if that’s what made me dock it or not because the writing here is so good. The book starts off with a bang. I was enthralled […]

Sometimes you want to look at a guy and say: Well, he’s f***ed, but he’s trying.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

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Eddie has to be careful, otherwise he’s going to open his mouth and give this man five paragraphs of lunacy, starting with “You’re pretty” and ending with “Are you always this bad at your job?” with maybe some “Can I touch your suit?” thrown in there to maximize the horror. ― Cat Sebastian, You Should Be So Lucky It’s not just the burden of continually lying, it’s keeping your existence a secret. When the world has decided that people are supposed to be a certain […]

Fighting the War of Words

Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson

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There’s always a risk in going back to a longer book after failing with it the first time. You may invest too much of your time without the payoff you were hoping for. American Psycho is a rare exception that worked for me. Most of them didn’t. Tree of Smoke didn’t work either. This was my third attempt with it and I powered through it because there was enough interest in the characters to see where it was going but no. I don’t want to say it was […]



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