non fiction – Page 21 – Cannonball Read 17

“He’s got an arm off!”

You've Got Red On You: How Shaun of the Dead Was Brought to Life by Clark Collis

April 12, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

I’m not a horror movie fan in general (I don’t like being scared, nothing fun about it for me) but I love Shaun of the Dead. Maybe it’s because it has a “happy” ending, or maybe just because it’s funny, or maybe because the main focus aren’t the zombies, but Shaun’s emotional arc, and the jokes of course. Whatever the reason, it’s great. When I was listening to Screen Drafts last year they were doing an episode about zombies, and author Clark Collis was on […]

‘She’s very good at stalling. Masterfully manipulative’

My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress (2022) by Rachel DeLoache Williams

April 4, 2022 by drmllz Leave a Comment

Note: Contains spoilers for Inventing Anna (2022) and My Friend Anna (2019, 2022) If you’ve watched Inventing Anna (2022) on Netflix, you know who Rachel is–the young woman who starts off optimistic and well-meaning, excited about her new friendship with Anna Delvey (and the luxe life that comes with her), and ends up anxious, then frantic, then an embittered nervous wreck, on the verge of losing her job at Vanity Fair. As opposed to the steely and poised Anna, whose tears and passion are carefully […]

Life Under the Regime

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

March 28, 2022 by Pooja Leave a Comment

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 […]

An interesting read about a white man coming to terms with his slave-owning family history.

Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball

March 22, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

I’d never heard of this until vel veeter’s review last year, but then immediately put it on my TBR as it sounded really interesting. And it was interesting! For the most part. Large parts were a slog. It also didn’t really do what I wanted it to do, except in the preface, which was written in 2014 and not included in the original publication. Edward Ball descends from the Ball family, wealthy plantation owners and people responsible for enslaving thousands of Black people over two […]

Liked it! Wish it was longer.

She Kills Me: The True Stories of History's Deadliest Women by Jennifer Wright

March 3, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

This is a slight little book about murderers, warriors, cult leaders, and psychopaths. Who also happen to be ladies! I wish I could have given it an enthusiastic five stars, but because of the format, I don’t think that would ever have happened. This is a book so chock full of murderous women they all start to run together. The chapters are very short, and especially if you read or listen to them within a short period of time like I did, none of it […]

Up on the Mountain, There Are No Morals

The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest by Mark Synnott

February 8, 2022 by Pooja Leave a Comment

In search of the body of Sandy Irvine and the solution to the mystery of whether he and George Mallory ever made it to the summit, the author and his team climb Mt Everest during one of the deadliest seasons ever. I am not sure why I am drawn to stories about Mt Everest. Certainly I mean to never climb it, and I can’t quite empathize with those who are drawn to it, even if I can understand it sometimes. And books like this underscore […]

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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