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 […]

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 […]

Then you shoulda put a ring on it (or not)

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister

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#cbr11bingo – Not My Wheelhouse My usual reading is children and teen fiction or comic books, so I figured adult non-fiction would be a good opposite for me.  But in order to get through that I did pick a subject I am interested in. I have been quite single for most of my life, and lately I’ve been feeling particularly odd-woman out amongst my throngs of married friends and acquaintances.  I tried Kate Bolick’s Spinster and sort of hated it.  But this one held more promise […]

Yes, the Title IS Quite a Mouthful

I thought It Was Just Me (But it Isn't): The Journey From "What Will People Think?" to " I Am Enough." by Brené Brown

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Technically this is a “Did Not Finish” because my library loan expired when I was about 30 pages from the end and I’m not going to bother re-borrowing it, mainly because I was so close to the end I’m certain I have gotten everything out of the book that I was going to get.  It’s fine. It’ll probably do more for some other folks, but for me it was fine. Self-help books like this usually aren’t my thing, but this is part of what I […]

“Remember, never take no cut-offs and hurry along as fast as you can”

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party by Daniel James Brown

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The Indifferent Stars Above is the gripping tale of the Donner Party who in 1846 set off from their homes in the east of the United States of America to travel overland to California, only to discover that the ‘shortcut’ they’d been promised was no such thing, leaving them to flounder in a hostile landscape as winter set in. As the months passed and with no thaw in sight, a small number of the party would attempt to reach civilisation and get help, leaving the […]

Not too many “secrets” but enjoyable nonetheless.

The Secret Life of the American Musical by Jack Viertel

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#CBR11Bingo – I love this! Recently I’ve been enjoying a podcast dedicated to musical theatre and reliving my theatre kid days. So this audiobook seemed a good fit for my “I Love This!” category, as I do indeed love Broadway musicals. Jack Viertel has been involved in over 50 Broadway productions in various capacities, but mostly as a dramaturg and consultant on the writing end.  He teaches a course at NYU about the construction of the American musical, and that is what this book is […]



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