Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Gird Your Loins. But It’s Worth It.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

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cbr15 bingo History So this was a 1000 page doorstopper, and apparently the first of a trilogy.  And you know what?  Bring it on. Set in England during those dicey years before the Plantagenet crew really took hold, it’s basically the story of the building of a cathedral.  But the thing about building a cathedral, especially in these early days?  It’s a community endeavor headed by Some Guy (Tom Builder to start with in this case) but it must be a feat of sustained passion […]

I think George RR Martin read this before writing A Game of Thrones.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

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Ken Follett left his journalism career after three years of boredom to work for a small, London-based book publisher in the late-1970s. He began writing fiction as a hobby, and became proficient enough to end up earning money at it. With the publication of The Eye of the Needle in 1978, Follett entered the international stage and super stardom, selling 10 million copies. For the next several years, he wrote several best sellers and seemed set on a path to writing airport novels. Everything changed […]

Victorian family saga that would make a good soap opera

A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett

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I’m not one of those people with stacks of books in a TBR pile – in fact, I own very few books.  Years ago, I decided that the library was a much better way to go and easier on the bank account.  Now in the days of Covid, I mainly borrow e-books, which is even better as I can just return it with a touch and look for my next read.  In my latest scroll of available books, I found this one – I’ve never […]

Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee

Hornet Flight by Ken Follett

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Ken Follett is an author that I always enjoy. His novels are always highly detailed glimpses into a piece of the past. They usually feature smart, kick ass women. Hornet Flight is no different. In this instance, it’s set in the early days of the Danish Resistance in World War II. At its heart, Hornet Flight is a novel of connections. The British are suffering staggering losses in their bombing campaign against the Nazis. They can’t figure out why. The Danish have surrendered without a fight to […]

Put the Needle on it

Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

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Like about half the people I know, I have a father with an inexplicable fondness for all things World War II. Particularly films like A Bridge Too Far (which is a total snoozefest), but documentaries, too. Because I’ve spent one too many nights having to watch Hitler’s Secret Love Nest on the Discovery Channel I tend to steer away from the subject, particularly the dry, yes-it-was-all-rather-horrid approach of the British which they employed at least up until the 1980s. I do, however, have a subscription […]

Again, I could not begin to connect these. Except I got a new kitten and as I was sequestered with her keeping the dog out, these are some of the things I read.

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North Station: 4/5 Stars This is an interesting collection of longish short fiction by the Korean writer Bae Suah. It’s a recent translation (actually maybe brand new) from the University of Rochester imprint “Open Letter” and I received a subscription to their press as a gift from my old colleagues. This book presents a really interesting set of questions for me. I have read a few different books by Korean authors, but not many at all. In fact, I think it would be true that […]



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