Reese Witherspoon – Cannonball Read 17

Moms and Sequels

Busy Betty & the Circus Surprise by Reese Witherspoon

Because I'm Your Mom by Ahmet Zappa

April 21, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Many times, a sequel does not live up to the first one. And tht is true in movies and books. However, these sequels are good follow ups and stand alone. And while I have not read the prequel to Ahmet Zappa’s reviewed book, I am sure it is similar and does justice to it. Also, both of these books focus on moms and with Mothers Day coming up, you might want to give them a look-see (though the Busy Betty and the Circus Surprises is not […]

A Decent Enough Story But Hurt By Comparisons to Another Popular Novel

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

August 25, 2019 by Jen K Leave a Comment

I’ve enjoyed the majority of the Reese Witherspoon book club recommendations I’ve read, so I ended up picking up The Cactus with little plot knowledge. I also saw the comparisons to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I think those comparisons actually hurt this novel – for the first third, it felt like a weak copy of Eleanor, as if a publisher had decided to release this novel because it also had prickly and distant narrator. The thing is, though, that Susan is much colder and […]

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine – Hard to pigeonhole, great to read.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

April 10, 2019 by cheerbrarian 2 Comments

Reese Witherspoon’s book club has been on my periphery, it’s been great seeing a beloved actress that I grew up on (I mean…Man in the Moon? Fear? Formative) become such a literary champion and icon. That said, I enjoy being a contrarian so I’m more likely to eschew something everyone likes then subscribe to it, even though Reese is obviously a goddess, I was hesitant to go all in on her book club recommendations. But after this one, which was her first ever back in […]

Age, Gender and Culture in one London Community

August 8, 2018 by Jen K Leave a Comment

Bingo Square: Dream Vacation I honestly am not sure what I was expecting from this one but between Reese Witherspoon and positive Cannonball reviews, I knew I wanted to read it. It had a darker underside than I realized while also focusing on all the themes I was expecting from the story, such as relationships, gender, cultural and generational divides, and different approaches to life as an immigrant. Nikki is the youngest daughter in an English Punjabi family. Already being English speakers when they emigrated, […]

What Happens After the War?

July 31, 2018 by Jen K Leave a Comment

I listened to this one on Audible – figured it’s the kind of story I’m usually interested in but also am more hesitant to pick up nowadays because the genre does sometimes blend together so it seemed like the perfect selection for, “damn, how did I end up with so many Audible credits, I have no idea what I want!” The novel begins in 1947 with nineteen-year-old Charlie on her way to Switzerland for a procedure to take care of “her little problem.” The last […]

Her Bluntness Made Me Laugh and Cringe in Equal Measure

July 23, 2018 by Jen K Leave a Comment

This novel marked the beginning of the latest review slump/fall behind. Between this being the type of novel that is always harder for me to review and having read it a time when things got busier for me (more work and in an office with friends which means dinner and lunch plans that don’t involve reviewing), it was a bit too easy to fall behind even as I kept reading. Within the first two pages of the novel, Eleanor describes her normal weekend routine. She […]

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