los angeles – Cannonball Read 17

“Love is like a good cup of coffee: strong, warm, and comforting”

Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee

July 26, 2025 by bjornsnipe Leave a Comment

When Brenda’s internet quits on her just as an important scholarship deadline approaches (UCLA here we come! *fingers crossed*), her only recourse is the library. When that fails, she’s lucky enough to stumble into a local coffeeshop, replete with both wifi and Kat. Brenda falls for cool, confident, attractive Kat, who seems to actually want to listen to Brenda’s 19-step plan to save the world through the power of science and scholastic volunteer work. Meanwhile, Kat thinks Brenda is everything she didn’t know she needed; […]

The Politics of Being a Medical Examiner and Coroner

L.A. Coroner by Anne Soon Choi

May 15, 2025 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

Note: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. L.A. Coroner is about as much about the politics of criminal investigation as it is a biography of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, Chief Medical Examiner in LA from 1967 to 1982. That time frame means he was the one in charge of doing the autopsies and some other forensic investigating for the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, victims of the Manson Family, Janis Joplin, and other celebrities. I have little […]

Nowhere had she encountered as many puppeteers as in Hollywood

Table for Two by Amor Towles

August 3, 2024 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

CBR16 BINGO: Golden, because the novella Eve in Hollywood takes place during the Golden Age of Hollywood BINGO: Part 1, Part 2, Dreams, Golden, Scandal I was so taken with A Gentleman in Moscow that the gathering up and devouring of more of Amor Towles’s works became inevitable. While not quite reaching the same level of charm as the aforementioned tale of a Russian aristocrat, Table for Two is a solid collection of short narratives that mingle humor, tragedy, and resilience. Table for Two feels like […]

Best Western

Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda

July 6, 2024 by Jake Leave a Comment

Read as part of CBR16Bingo: rage. The rage of women, ex-cons, survivors is centered in this book. The opening chapter contains a monologue on female rage. You ever have an author that you think you should like more? You just try and try with them but they can’t put it together for you? That was Ivy Pochoda until These Women, which I read a couple months ago and will absolutely be in my Best of 2024, with a great shot to place in the top 5. […]

June 2024 Leftovers

The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins

Kings of the Garden: The New York Knicks and Their City by Adam J. Criblez

Out On The Cutting Edge by Lawrence Block

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Nevada by Imogene Binnie

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford Dictionary by Simon Winchester

Exalted by Anna Dorn

July 5, 2024 by Jake Leave a Comment

Happy Pride to all who celebrate! The First Quarry**** I was disappointed in the quality of the last couple of Quarry novels so I wasn’t expecting much…but this was good. One of his best plots and I really enjoyed it. Could’ve done without the racism. Big believer that you can show the casual racism of the past (1970s) without wallowing in it and the book does that. Otherwise, it’s good. Kings of the Garden: The New York Knicks and Their City**** Stretching a four star […]

May 2024 Leftovers

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Batmanga: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Vol. 1 by Jiro Kuwata

Magic: The Life of Earvin "Magic" Johnson by Roland Lazenby

Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald Westlake

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block

The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers by Mick Minas

Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon by Roland Lazenby

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses

June 5, 2024 by Jake Leave a Comment

June already? Sheesh. The Brass Verdict**** Ever since John Grisham lost his fastball in the late-90s, I’ve mostly forsaken legal thrillers. But I like the Bosch series and I wanted to read something LA-based and this delivered. It’s a fun plot with some legit exciting twists. Will probably go back to it at some point or maybe watch the show. Interior Chinatown*** I wish I liked this one more than I did. The satire is razor sharp, the story is deep and the pain is […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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