Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles. You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.”

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

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In one word: Clever Accolades have poured in for this book: nominated for a number of literary awards, Good Morning America Book Club selection, picked as a “book of the year” on numerous lists (including Barack Obama’s), and the “one book one community read” for my local book club. The last accolade is what swayed me to pick it up as I’m a loyal participant of the library book club. I was hesitant because we read Bennett’s “The Mothers” four years ago and I did […]

“Our humanity is worth a little discomfort, it’s actually worth a lot of discomfort.”

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

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I wish I felt better so I could really give So You Want to Talk About Race what it deserves, review-wise. The short review is if you haven’t already read this, you need to. Maybe you are like me and put it on your TBR right after its publication in 2018 and then it fell slowly down the list. Maybe you saw it on all of the recommended reading lists that proliferated in summer 2020 (A Reading List on Race for Allies, Antiracist Reading, Understanding […]

On racial, ethnic, and cultural identity development

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D.

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First, I am white. It is important to mention that so that I can also identify all the privilege that I brought with me to reading this book. In the twentieth anniversary edition of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Tatum starts with a 72 page prologue detailing all the ways that race, racial identity development, and race relations have played a part in modern history since the original writing of the book. It is extensively research and meticulously organized. […]

“A civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless.”

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

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If we- and now I mean the relatively conscious whites and the relatively conscious blacks, who must, like lovers, insist on, or create, the consciousness of the others- do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world It is time to listen. James Baldwin had a voice unlike any other. He transcends country, creed, and time. His work is astonishing and terribly important. The […]

“Alexa looked down into her coffee again, gazing into the dark brown liquid like it was Dumbledore’s Pensieve”

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

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The Wedding Date, by Jasmine Guillory, is a delightful romcom that doesn’t shy away from some of the tough work involved in interracial relationships. Alexa calls Drew on his privilege many times in the book, and Drew demonstrates that he’s learning. These issues come up throughout the book, but not in a preachy way – in a way that shows a relationship growing and trust developing. Briefly, Alexa and Drew ‘meet cute’ in an elevator, which sets the stage for a fake relationship. Their chemistry […]

The Original 8

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In 1948, the city of Atlanta hired its first 8 black police officers. They were not allowed to wear their uniforms to or from work, they could not arrest white people, they could not drive a squad car or operate out of the police headquarters. If they uncovered a crime, they reported that to white police officers, who would investigate it when, and if, they chose. Many in the black community viewed them with suspicion. Darktown is Thomas Mullen’s fictional interpretation of this endeavor. Historically, Henry Hooks, […]



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