Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Baby’s First Fantasy Court Intrigue

Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian

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Daphne understands, suddenly, exactly what she is – not a girl, not a princess, not a spy or a saboteur. She is a poison, brewed and distilled and fermented over sixteen years, crafted by her mother to bring ruination to whomever she touches. Beatriz, Daphne, and Sophronia have been raised since birth to wed into the royal families of their neighboring countries – and then sow discord to bring them under their mother’s control. But the triplets find that when their loyalties are tested, it […]

It occurred to her that, besides baking, Ray had become her favorite topic.

Chef's Kiss by T.J. Alexander

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In 2020 cooking videos became very popular. The popularity of the test kitchen chefs at one large food magazine in particular exploded. But by the summer of 2020 the wholesome façade was shattered by revelations of decades of racial discrimination and pay disparities. Even a podcast miniseries about the scandal ended in scandal when it was revealed the podcasters were themselves perpetrators of a toxic and racist work place. It’s not hard to imagine the difficulties that would arise when a company suddenly decides to […]

Life Under the Regime

A Village in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd, Angelika Patel

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Wars come and go, but life goes on. And so it went on in the village of Oberstdorf throughout the 1930s and 1940s, with the rise and fall of Nazism an undercurrent all along – except it was one that swelled in a way that even a quiet little village couldn’t ignore. A few years ago I took a class called Experiencing Total War, in which I learned about what it was like for the average person to live through the world wars. It was […]

I’m excited to discover what the afterlife holds

Savage City by L Penelope

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At the beginning of Savage City, Talia dies. As she dies, she finds herself being pulled somewhere, where she almost dies again. Talia has been brought from one parallel universe to another. Very quickly we learn that the world Talia finds herself in is brutal. It kind of looks like San Francisco, Talia’s home, but not really. There’s a brutal war between the shape-shifting Nimali and the Fai, who have abilities, but don’t shift. Talia looks like the missing daughter of the Nimali King, Princess […]

Wild Wild Country

Rajneeshpuram: Inside the Cult of Bhagwan and Its Failed American Utopia by Russell King

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In the 1980s, a man who calls himself God and his disciples attempt to set up a utopia in the countryside of Oregon, and they are not afraid to bend laws and hurt people to get what they want. As a Hindu myself, I have a quite skeptical view of all the Western-catering groups that sprung up out of India in the 70s and 80s, the gurus promising to teach people to lead fulfilling lives based on a lot of Orientalist stereotypes and mysticism. And […]

“I knew beyond any doubt that there was genuine value to be found in my story.”

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby

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I feel like this is going to be a tough one for me to review, because my relationship with the content that Hannah Gadsby creates is so personal to me and has been frankly crucial to how I am coming to understand myself that it’s a bit difficult to try to take that out of the equation and look at Ten Steps to Nanette on its own. I’ve likely watched Nanette half a dozen times in the past couple of years (and once again in […]



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