Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Re-Birth of a Nation (and what came after…)

Black Reconstruction in America: 1860-1880 by W.E.B. Du Bois

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I had been meaning to tackle this legendary W.E.B. Du Bois’ tome for years, finally deciding to do it this month. It wasn’t what I expected, in many ways. Those expectations came with my own ignorance in not knowing a lot of Du Bois’ work. I’d read little of him before getting to this. I knew that despite his status amongst the Black intellectuals and historians of his time, he was outcast near the end of his life for leaving the NAACP because of his […]

A Wonderful Exploration of an Unlikely City

Boom Town by Sam Anderson

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This was another suggestion by Emmalita and I really loved it! I didn’t know much of anything about Oklahoma City beyond the basic facts and this was such a fascinating read. I like history that shows how important every little thing is, and how many interesting stories are everywhere. I also like the attempt to break through the East/West coast’s cultural hegemony and show what’s happening elsewhere and the ripple effects things have. Boom Town follows the histories of Oklahoma City from its founding, the […]

An Unfunny Memoir Full of Sexism and Racism

Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders

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I understand from the back of the book that people appear to find George Sanders “personable” and the alleged humor in the book is described as “wit.” I personally found neither of this to be true and was reminded of Errol Flynn’s memoir (My Wicked, Wicked Ways). However, while Flynn is an evil person and a child rapist, Sanders is more of a 1950s garden variety irritating racist and sexist. This book, purporting to be his memoirs, very loosely follows his life and is more […]

Caste – A book that may change how you view society

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

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There are books one reads for pleasure or diversion. There are books one will read for school or for work. Then, there are some books one reads because they are important and can provide new insights into the world. Caste falls into the latter category. I read this because a close friend asked me to do so, she was putting together a group to discuss the book and asked me to join (and I honestly felt flattered by the request, considering the intellects of the […]

A funny book about racism — get the audio if you can!

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar

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A good time, despite the subject matter. Amber and Lacey make hearing stories about racism simultaneously entertaining and infuriating. Laughing while angry! The best example of what this book does is probably the story that they open it with, for good reason. It involves Lacey being at a store and paying with a check (back when people did that). The cashier was a white teenager. Lacey had checks with famous and historically notable Black people on them. When she pulled out her checkbook the check […]

Brave New World. Meh.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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I’ve been curious about this book for a long time. 1984 by George Orwell was one of my favorite books as an adolescent, and Brave New World is often mentioned in the same breath. So when I found a Brave New World mini-series, I thought I’d check it out.  The mini-series stars Jessica Brown Findlay (Lady Sybil from Downton Abbey), Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen from GOT), and Alden Ehrenreich (Young Han Solo from Solo), and it tells the story of a “utopic” future London where […]



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