Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Don’t you hear the bugle call?”

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

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Maisie Dobbs was part of my early effort to read lighter fare in order to forget the pandemic (I read this back at the end of March) and it was more or less successful. Over all I liked the book and the main character and I’ll definitely read the next in the series. Though I admit the pacing of this first book is a bit off which happens frequently when you’re dealing with the initial book in the series. Setting the stage and giving the […]

A kinder book for a harder time

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

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If I had known quarantine was coming, I would have made some different choices. For one, I would not have ordered Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light as my spring break read, since my focus would be far too fractured to get myself back into that Thomas Cromwell and the Tudors mindset. For another, I would not have assigned Dante’s Inferno and Purgatorio to my intro students as our major readings for the back half of the semester. I went into lockdown and immediately recorded ten lectures […]

In Which Maisie Dobbs Makes Me Angry

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Hi! New here, kind of. I’ve been reading reviews here for a few years (thanks for the Jane Steele and Act Like It recommendations!) and signed up a few times but never got around to writing out any reviews. This year though! Here I am! So, first review… is it normal for you regular reviewers to finish a book and think, sure, that was fine, I liked it well enough, but then when you actually write the review you get really angry and annoyed by […]

Forensic science of the whole person.

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I had a revelation after reading this book. In mystery novels, the problem that needs to be solved is never as interesting to me as the problem solvers. Winspear’s first in her “Maisie Dobbs” series splits problem and problem solver in a way that made that clear to me.  Is that common? I’m pretty sure that is why, when asked if I enjoy mystery novels, I generally say no, but my read list  on Goodreads tells a different tale.   Maisie Dobbs is the only child […]

Dark times, polite society.

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I have been looking for something to fill the gaps between audiobooks and I often turn to mystery novels to do so, especially ones with a strong voice and character, competent writing, and short enough to not get bogged down with. I had been reading Sue Grafton novels, but sometimes they’re a little too bland. I also was interested to sort of scoop my girlfriend on these books. She’s usually the one who knows all about a popular detective/mystery series before I do. She had […]

A new mystery series to get invested in!

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Back when I was doing my MA, I was still buying books without having read them. My MA mentor and I were looking up something when I was in her office once, and somehow, we found out about the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. I ordered the first book and then never bothered to read it until this week. This is my life, and it feels so good to finally read the books I’ve been lugging around all these years! Thankfully, Maisie will not […]



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