Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

We will do what others expect of us.

The Other Wes Moore: One Name Two Fates by Wes Moore

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CBR11 BINGO: True Story The premise of this book is interesting. How can two people, born a year apart in the same neighborhood turn out differently? At what point could the path split to lead to a successful and happy life for one and life in prison for the other? What happened along the way and can something be learned from that? As author Wes Moore is awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford, a man hunt is underway to arrest suspects wanted in […]

The legal feminist memoir I’ve been waiting for…

Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee

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Bri Lee’s honest story has held me captive through an awful bout of influenza in the last 4 days. Nightly, I’ve taken to waking up drenched in fevered sweats and been incapable of falling back to sleep. This flu season is not mucking around. But it’s been an honour to drag my disgusting virus-riddled self to the couch, turn on the muted living-room lamp, and read her words til the sound of birdsong let me know the sun was coming up.  Her journey from law […]

A humorous and insightful exhortation

The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell by W. Kamau Bell

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Cbr11bingo Listicles (From Roxane Gay Book Recommendations) Bingo #8 The full title of this book is The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6’4”, African-American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmantic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. And all of that detailed identity is covered in this collection of funny, provocative, thoughtful essays that are part memoir and part cultural/political commentary. I have to admit that the only thing I knew about Bell before reading these essays is that he […]

Michelle Obama is my hero

Becoming by Michelle Obama

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I have loved Michelle Obama for years and Becoming just scratched this itch.  This woman! Hard working, humble, gracious, driven, smart, caring and full of so much integrity.  She almost makes me want to be American (and then I remember the health care issues and hug my Canadian passport like a security blanket).  Had Hillary Clinton won the last election I might have read Obama’s memoir in a different light- inspiring yes, but in a world where inspiring things were still relatively common.  Since the […]

Worth all the praise it has been given…

Becoming by Michelle Obama

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CBR11 Bingo – Reader’s Choice (in place of Science)   I’ll admit that despite the hype surrounding this book, I initially had little interest in this memoir. It was a ‘meh, I’m sure I’ll get around to it someday, but it’s not near the top of my TBR pile’. I’m thinking it’s partially because I’m not a huge memoir person, partially because I’m not American, and partially because American politics makes my blood boil a little bit (no offence, eh?). But more and more people (specifically […]

If I Knew Nothing About Congress This Would Have Been Mildly Interesting

The Dance of Legislation by Eric Redman

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Bah. I am still annoyed we had to read this terrible book for our course. We are not new to the government or understanding the branches of government. I think if you are a new federal employee you should check out this book. I was probably also not pleased because we had to hear an all day lecture about how Congress works (the House, the Senate), the Judiciary, and then the Executive Branch. My face was just a literal grimace when we finished. You know […]



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