Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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The Professor and the Parson by Adam Sisman

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The dust jacket for The Professor and the Parson is adorned with compelling praise: “utterly mad and wholly delightful,” “lively,” “a roller coaster ride,” “delicious,” “weirdly compelling.” This book is, in fact, none of these things. The only quote I can kind of get on board with is from British magazine Emerald Street, which calls it “astonishing,” as I find it astonishing that people could have enjoyed this book. Reading this was such a slog, the title of this review reflects what I heard in […]

Women in science, 19th century edition

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

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I’m on a roll with splendid historical fiction featuring strong female characters. What I didn’t know until I was about half-way through this novel is that Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures is based on real women in science about whom I’d never heard. I suppose I should say “real women on the outskirts of science” because, as females, they were barred from having a meaningful place in scientific discussions in 19th century England. Mary Anning, now recognized as the finder of the first known ichthyosaur skeleton […]

Remarkable women in a remarkable time

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

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Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, especially when it teaches me about a piece of history or culture that was previously unknown to me. Pair that with beautiful writing, strong female characters, and a moving story, and you have a 5-star novel. The Island of Sea Women tells the story of two girls, Young-sook and Mi-ja, from the South Korean island of Jeju. Mi-ja is an orphan living with her aunt and uncle and, because her father allegedly collaborated with the Japanese, is an […]

All things considered, this book is very mild

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho

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For a having titled his book Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, author Emmanuel Acho seems to be doing his best to not make white people feel threatened by the topics in this book. Then again, maybe I’m just out of touch with the most racist members of our society (I can only hope). In his book, the former NFL football player and son of Nigerian parents addresses topics about race and equality that many white people have been wondering about. His original idea for a […]

“Once you realize you don’t need anyone, you can take care of yourself.”

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

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I finished this book several weeks ago and have had to let it simmer before I could write my review. I enjoyed it very much, even from the earliest pages, but I’ve been struggling with some of the feelings it evoked. Although, not in the ways you might expect if you’ve read the novel. As you can probably guess from the title, Eleanor Oliphant is not completely fine. Lonely, alcoholic, and lacking any semblance of social grace, Eleanor does office work for a graphic design […]

Trees move slowly. Sometimes books about trees do, also.

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben

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Peter Wohlleben is a man to be admired. Having graduated from a forestry school in Germany, he worked for the forestry commission for more than 20 years but eventually became disillusioned by the common use of what he considered to be damaging forestry practices. He began applying his own ideas as manager of an ecologically-friendly beech forest, and he shares his knowledge and passion in the multiple books he’s written about trees. The Hidden Life of Trees, a New York Times bestseller, aims to make trees […]



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