politics – Page 18 – Cannonball Read 17

The Bearmuda Triangle

A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears) by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling

November 20, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos 2 Comments

Something this dire – a town of people so opposed to paying taxes that they become a country-wide hotspot for bear attacks – should not be this funny. Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling carefully walks the line between Bill Bryson and a VICE documentarian while spinning this wild story of a Free Town and the beasts- man and animal alike, within. This collection of people, carefully and deliberately documented by Hongoltz-Hetling, shoot themselves in the foot so many times and with such ferocity that it is amazing the […]

Make sure you vote!

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

October 25, 2020 by crystalclear Leave a Comment

Well, this was an interesting read right before the 2020 U.S. Presidential election! There are parts in this that are hilarious, heartbreaking, and harrowing. You have a romance story involving politics, and in both the book and in real life, the election of 2020 is super stressful! (In the book, if the incumbent president loses, she steps down and a gross white man takes her place. In real life, if the incumbent president wins, thousands more people will needlessly die. A bit more stressful for […]

In Putin’s Russia, Donald Trumps YOU!

House of Trump, House of Putin by Craig Unger

September 22, 2020 by Jake Leave a Comment

First of all, much love to this book for having a clever cover. Donald Trump and the Putin nesting dolls…it gave me a laugh every time I looked at it, especially the Putin face sticking out of an oversized body. Second, and more important…this book should have been much better than it was given the subject. I’ve explored some of the connections between the Russian organized crime unit and Donald Trump. I was anticipating this book would make those links more clear. Instead, it’s basically […]

Dune – A Father’s Perspective

Dune by Frank Hebert

September 21, 2020 by MarkAbaddon Leave a Comment

Dune is one of the fundamental texts of speculative fiction and I have probably read it a half dozen times over the years. Why re-read it now? I saw the trailer for the movie coming out later this year (and if you haven’t seen it, find it online, it is fantastic) and realized I had not read it since my kids were very little. I thought I might have a different perspective now that my youngest is a teenager and that was certainly true. When […]

I wanted more about the assassins, less about contemporary American politics

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

September 7, 2020 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

CBR12 BINGO: Pandemic (read whatever you want) BINGO: Gateway, Orange, Nostalgia, Pandemic, Shelfie When I opened this book, I had in my mind that it would be an easy 4-star review. Sarah Vowell is an entertaining writer, a passionate historian, and an American patriot, so I was excited to read this historical travel journal that has been on my TBR list for years. To sweeten the deal, it also promised glimpses into presidential assassins Charles Guiteau and Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated Presidents Garfield and McKinely, respectively, and […]

Nepotism

American Oligarchs: The Kushners, The Trumps and the Marriage of Money and Power by Andrea Bernstein

September 1, 2020 by Jake Leave a Comment

On her popular podcast Gaslit Nation, Sara Kendzior repeatedly talks about how the biggest indicator of America’s descent into authoritarianism would be Jared Kushner walking scot free of any potential prosecutions. I knew Kushner was a nepotistic failson whose outsized power comes from his father-in-law’s office and an indifferent Republican Party but of all the crooks in this organization, he’s probably the one who I know the least about or am the least offended by. That changed with this book. Telling the Kushner story concurrently with […]

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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