Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Catching Up

Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson

Nothing Is Okay by Rachel Wiley

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Whoops. Apparently my CBR 12 goal was 26 books, not 13. Two reviews here, and then we’ll see if it’s possible for me to read 2 more books and review them over the next week. Nothing Is Okay by Rachel Wiley is a book of poetry that I initially hadn’t planned to review because I don’t really know how to review a poetry book. But I’ll give it my best shot. Wiley is a fat, queer, woman of color, and she is unabashedly all of […]

In this game of life, your family is the court and your ball is your heart.

Crossover by Kwame Alexander

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This gem was given to me by Black Raven through last year’s CBR holiday book exchange. Most likely, I would have never come across this book on my own, so a big thanks to Black Raven. It took me almost a year to crack it open but it was probably one of the best books that I read all year. Not to continue to beat the same sad drum, but I have had a hard time reading this year. I know that I am not […]

“At the barn fire of insanity”

The Luckiest Guy Alive by John Cooper Clarke

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Cbr12bingo Repeat (for Pandemic) BINGO x2: vertical Uncannon to Repeat, horizontal Money to Violet Over the past seven months of pandemic quarantining, my husband and I have done a lot of mindless TV/video watching, and thanks to the smart TV, we aren’t just limited to regular TV fare but can watch anything that’s on the internet on our big screen. As a result, we seem to have subscribed to, and hence watch, more YouTube channels than anything else. We are big fans of British comedian […]

I’m longing for a better attention span

Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen

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I don’t know about you, but since lockdown started I’ve really struggled to read anything. My scattered brain keeps wandering off to poke and worry at other things, and suddenly books I’d normally tear through are being read over months instead. I’m really missing my escapes into books and so, in an attempt to get my reading mojo back, I turned to the poetry of one of my favourites. I’ve been a fan of Leonard Cohen for a very long time so it was no […]

terrific writing about terrible things

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

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Trigger Warning: please read the tags before deciding to read this review and/or book. If you feel that you can read this book, then you must. If you feel that you cannot, I will pass no judgement. Perhaps you have heard of the drama surrounding this release. American Dirt was climbing the charts and dominating the controversy  conversation when My Dark Vanessa tip-toed in and threw a hat into the ring. There was an implication of plagiarism from a woman who wrote a memoir about being groomed and […]

An autobiography in verse

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

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4.5 stars Official book description: Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. […]



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