Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Wrong book, wrong time.

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

by Leave a Comment

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 […]

Right book, right time.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

by 2 Comments

Right book, right time. I sat down with Maybe You Should Talk to Someone first thing Saturday morning, and late Sunday morning I finished it. I really didn’t mean to finish it so fast, but I would put it down for a break and then my fingers would reach for it on their own, and I just kept reading. This book is half memoir, recalling Gottlieb’s time in therapy following a painful and unexpected breakup, and half non-fiction, recounting several of Gottlieb’s own therapy patients […]

Many of you read this years ago and I am only now catching up.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes

by 1 Comment

Just a feel good read, talking all about one of my favorite movies. I did the audio version, and it was great fun not only having Cary Elwes read it himself, but for the parts that were “oral histories” from his fellow cast and crew members, many of them read as well (Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, Rob Reiner, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest). I already knew quite a bit of behind the scenes information because I went through a period about 10-15 years ago where I […]

There’s no theme with these!

The Indifferent Stars Aboe by Daniel James Brown

Followers by Megan Angelo

Timeline by Micahel Crichton

by 2 Comments

The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown I don’t know how much the rest of America/the world learns about the Donner Party in school but for me, growing up in Northern California, it was local history and something that was taught to us in the fourth grade, probably right after we did the mission project. I enjoyed learning about the Donner Party at the time, because nine year olds are morbid little assholes who find people having to resort to cannibalism fascinating, but never […]

A Story I Should Have Learned In History

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore

by Leave a Comment

This is hard to write because there are already so many great Cannonball reviews about this book. So, I will just start by saying – You need to read this book! This story should be taught in every school. I was amazed that I had never heard of the Radium Women, and now I will never forget them. During WWI, women were hired to paint dials on watches using a brilliant new material – paint infused with radium. This paint mixture was lauded for its […]

Predictably informative and surprisingly interesting

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

by Leave a Comment

Susan Orlean, is a woman of many hats. She is a staff writer for the New Yorker and author of many books and articles, including The Orchid Thief. Apparently she is also a con artist, because she somehow convinced me to continue reading a book about libraries to the last page. In the same vein, The Library Book just might cross as many genres as hats worn by Susan. First The Library Book is non-fiction. Orlean educates us about libraries in general – including their […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo