Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Jekyll and Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Althought I had never read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I thought I had a basic understanding of the storyline about a man who through a series of events creates a split personality within himself, one good and one evil. Imagine my surprise when I actually read this book and I discovered I was very wrong about most of this story, and my understanding of what it was about was heavily influenced by the Jekyll and Hyde musical. There is no […]

Second Chances Sometimes Are Worth It

The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

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I had flipped through The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England in a bookstore and decided it didn’t look great. I’m not a big fan of first-person narrating, and I saw a now mildly spoilery part about 2/3 of the way in that seemed dumb, so I put is back. Fast-forward about 6 months and I see the same nook at the library. On a whim, I decided to give it another chance. I’m actually kind of glad that I did. Our narrator wakes […]

DNF the Current Majorly Buzzed Bestseller

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

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I hate the DNF but in this case it was doubly necessary. I should have known better given my luck with literary fiction, but The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store had a good opening segment preview and it was at the local library. DNF reason 1: it’s due back at the library tomorrow because it’s part of a special set of books where you can get a relatively recent release on a shorter lend with no renewals. DNF reason 2: I totally lost interest after […]

“The world is paralyzed, and humanity is in quarantine. It is a strange symmetry that I was born in one pandemic and will die during another.”

Violeta by Isabel Allende

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This was the library book club pick for the month and my first Isabel Allende novel. I looooved it, but it was a highly contested work at the book club (with many people rating it very poorly), but since this is MY review I’ll defend my position, and (somewhat begrudgingly) give insights into the critiques. This novel reminded Min Jin Lee’s “Pachinko” in its tone and ability to captivate me, and in introducing me to a geography/history that I don’t know a lot about (in […]

Back and Forth In the Day

Brooklyn Crime Novel by Jonathan Lethem

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Widows is one of my favorite movies from the last few decade, a criminally underrated mismarketed gem of a flick that should have not only got more commercial love but awards love as well. I won’t say what it’s about, you should watch it. Don’t even Google the plot, just watch. It’s excellent. Anyway, there’s a great tracking shot that is not only my favorite scene in the movie but one of my favorite scenes of all-time. Colin Farrell’s nepo baby city council candidate character gets […]

Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by BROM

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Connecticut, 1666. An ancient spirit is awoken in the darkness of the wood, fed by blood and the prayers of the wild spirits name him Father and Slayer. They lure a clumsy farmer into a cave to feed him to the spirit, making young Abitha a widow. Abitha already doesn’t fit into the Puritan community with her outspoken ways and questioning of the rules. Having grown up in London, Abitha was sold by her drunken father and married off to a stranger, who thankfully turns […]



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