Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Perspiration Inspiration

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

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For the last five years, I’ve been grappling with the question: ‘Am I a Runner?’. Sure, I run, but does that make me a Runner? What’s the threshold for that? How is this identity obtained and defined? And I think maybe the litmus test, for me at least, is: Do you run? Did you enjoy reading and identify with ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’? My answer to both questions is a resounding Yes, so I think I can finally settle into […]

On the outside looking in

Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha

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This wonderful illustrated memoir is Robin Ha’s story of moving from Seoul, South Korea, for  the US as a teenager in 1995 and trying to make a new life here with her mother. It is a deeply moving story of a young girl, only 14, being suddenly uprooted from her friends and community, and having to learn a new language, adapt to a new family, and figure out a new culture in Alabama. Thanks to her art, Robin (formerly Chuna) finds a way to bring […]

“I can remember how grown-up I felt then, and earlier, since about nine. Because we age one way, in one direction, every age we are is the most grown-up we’ve ever been.”

Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body by Sara Pascoe

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Sara Pascoe is here for you. There is no stone she won’t turn over and no story she won’t tell, because she is going to use her embarrassments, misunderstandings, failures, and larks to help you learn. If you are looking for a medical textbook on what it means to be a human woman then go ahead and look elsewhere. If you want a smart and unflinching comedian to share her life story with you while looking back through biology, history, and cultural norms in order […]

Her Voice

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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Carmen Maria Machado’s voice is a fine-honed instrument. She reads In the Dream House, her memoir of receiving abuse in a same-sex relationship, at a volume just above a whisper. She is hushed, quick, and measured yet still barreling down. Her voice is arresting. You will stop dead-still to catch her every intake of breath. She is a force to be reckoned with. I am in awe of her strength; her strength to survive, her strength to document, and her strength to share her darkest […]

Wrong book, wrong time.

I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing by Kyria Abrahams

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This was all right. I wish I would have liked it better. I very much wish I would have tracked down a copy of I’m Perfect, You’re Doomed way back in 2009 when I added it to my TBR. I think that version of me would have been in a much better place to appreciate it. This is a book by a woman who grew up in a Jehovah’s Witness household, and it is written in a humorous style, as you might be able to […]

David Sedaris might finally be growing on me

Theft by Finding, Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris

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I have a confession to make: I’m not much of a David Sedaris fan. I vehemently disliked Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. I think I read Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls and thought it was ok, but since I can’t remember a single essay or joke, I don’t think that qualifies me as much of a fan. This lack of enthusiasm is unsettling to me, because I am very white, and David Sedaris is #25 on the  Stuff White People Like blog, the bible of all things I’m […]



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