Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Slow build up to a crazy bananapants ending

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Mexican Gothic is the story of Noemí Taboada, a 22 year old socialite in 1950s Mexico City. Noemí’s life is filled with parties, shopping, concerts, and a rotating cast of beaus. Despite having a sharp mind, no one except her father looks past her beautiful face. Noemí’s cousin Catalina married an English man named Virgil Doyle and moved to his family’s estate in the mountains the previous year. Catalina has sent Noemí’s father a disturbing letter claiming her husband is trying to poison her and […]

“There isn’t ever going to be an end,” she said. “The point is that people have to continue always speaking up and not being afraid.”

She Said by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey

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Everybody said this was a good read, and it was. I love journalism books, and this was one of the truest to that form. In many ways, Kantor and Twohey had to make sure it was, that they crossed every ‘T’ and dotted every ‘I’ just so they didn’t leave themselves open to legal action, or worse, from the subjects of their investigation. This isn’t a long book, but it packs a big punch. Twohey and Kantor are extremely detailed in documenting their investigation, how […]

The Firm

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

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That Elizabeth Holmes was able to dupe such noted luminaries as Joe Biden, the Clintons, Rupert Murdoch, James Mattis, George Shultz, and Henry Kissinger should cure you and anyone else who suffers from imposter syndrome. Bad Blood is one of those books I’ve seen lauded in every corner of literatti space. For months, stacks of them were available at local stores. I probably wouldn’t have had interest in the story otherwise but since it’s been everywhere, I decided finally to pull it from my local library. […]

“The nature of the criminal justice system has changed. It is no longer primarily concerned with the prevention and punishment of crime, but rather with the management and control of the dispossessed.”

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

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I wouldn’t make this your first anti-racism read, but it’s a must-read after you have some basis of the history of Black people and anti-Black racism in America. Two books I read previous to this one were particularly helpful: Stamped from the Beginning, a comprehensive history of anti-Black racism in America (and, by extension, Black history), and Locking Up Our Own, which has an interesting perspective on the War on Drugs, the justice system, and the history of mandatory minimum sentencing. If you just want […]

“They began their lives in deficit. Not only were most of them born into working-class families, but they were born female. Before they had even spoken their first words they were regarded as less important than their brothers and more of a burden in the world than their wealthier female counterparts. Their worth was compromised before they had even attempted to prove it.”

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

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People have been fascinated by Jack the Ripper for over a century now, and we’ve long come to accept as fact certain things about the case – more specifically, we all think of his victim type as sex workers. Historian Hallie Rubenhold is here to change that with this incredible book that delves into the lives of Polly Walker, Annie Chapman, Lizzie Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly, letting us know who they really were while also giving us a window into what Victorian […]

“Being poor, living in poverty, seemed a lot like probation – the crime being a lack of means to survive.”

Maid by Stephanie Land

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This was good, but I’m not going to shout to the rooftops over it. I can’t say I was really disappointed by expectations on this one, because I didn’t have any. It was only until about halfway through that I found myself wishing the book was something else, and that’s not the author’s fault. The cover and blurb are sort of misleading. This isn’t a book about what it’s like to be a maid, with hard-hitting social criticism or research. It’s a straight-up memoir about […]



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