Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

B is for Ballad

The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

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Bingo 1: “B” square I was in New Orleans in January for a work conference; the only time I went into the French Quarter was to visit a bookstore. On the local interest shelf there was one title I vaguely recognized: The Ballad of Perilous Graves. This was for the first half a generally interesting musical and magical realism kind of mystery in which local kids notice something is wrong with the spirit of the city of Nola and must then save everyone and everything […]

It just blew me away!

The Story of the Saxophone by Lesa Cline-Ransome

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I found the most interesting picture book about saxophones. Well, not so much about the instrument itself but how it all came to be. You see, The Story of the Saxophone is not as dull as you would think. And it did not start with the people who are famous for playing it. No, it started in the 1840s in Belgium of all places. Somehow, this odd looking contraption would make it across the ocean to Mexico and finally to New Orleans where Sidney Bechet and Charlie […]

“Buddy Rich once told me that he was the loneliest man in the universe.”

The Torment of Buddy Rich: A Biography by John Minahan

Traps, The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich by Mel Torme

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CBR14Bingo: Minds (I read both of these as I continued my personal psychological study of Buddy Rich’s mind) Buddy Rich is arguably the best drummer to ever live. I was first introduced to his work about a year ago when he was mentioned in a biography of Frank Sinatra I was reading; the two of them had at least one fistfight when they were in Tommy Dorsey’s band together. As I have a fascination with mid-century men with terrible tempers (Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster) I […]

Sth, I know that woman.

Jazz by Toni Morrison

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CBR12 Bingo – UnCannon This is a reread so my review is going to wander at times and focus on singular parts of the story. I also listened this audiobook while the last time I read it, I read it straight. I also was strangely walking around Richmond as I listened and they’ve been taking down Confederate statues this week and they’ve be scrubbing and cleaning up spaces not Confederate (or linked) also tagged by graffiti, so there’s a funny contrast of what the city […]

Another Fun Romp Through the Rivers of London

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

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Peter Grant is back, and he is diving further into the underbelly of London and the under-the-table world of magical police work. In the last outing, Midnight Riot, I was treated to a great deal of London’s history. There was another blast of history this time as well; it remains a primer on the foundations of the city and running commentary on the architectural abominations foisted upon the area since the ’50s. Were it not for all the gore and sex I’d say that ol Prince […]

Self-love out of self-loathing: Genesis Begins Again

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

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Genesis has taken hating herself to a new level: she has a long list of reasons she can’t stand herself and she’s adding to it every day. She gets help, too: from her father, who can’t help commenting in his drunken rants on how she had to end up dark like him instead of light like her beautiful mother, to the kids at school who’ve covered every cruel name for her dark skin.  Genesis has a hard time making friends anyway. Every time she starts […]



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