Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Horror Month 2023: #4

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

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The other Grady Hendrix book was the one I really wanted to like. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires had its moments and its subtext was a clever metaphorical look at societal exploitation. But I couldn’t connect with the characters the way Hendrix wanted  me to and I felt like he got too caught up in the concept to execute well. That’s not the case here. While both are 4-star reads in their own ways, this felt like a more realized book. Because while the […]

A surprise favorite of 2023!

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

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Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the content of my review. Okay, but wow. So straight up it’s impossible to talk about this book in any depth without giving out information that should be preserved for the reading experience. As spoiler-free as possible is the best way to go into this one. But generally, and this is as far as the synopsis goes, Vesper Wright left her strict religious community six years before the book starts, when she was almost […]

“This book’s findings should temper our estimation of the freedom we have to change ourselves.”

Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism by Schneur Zalman Newfield

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CBR15Bingo: North America (the book focuses mainly on the Satmar and Lubavitch communities in New York and New Jersey.) I really enjoyed Degrees of Separation, which examines the experience of leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (specifically the Lubavitch and Satmar communities) and how those who leave form their identities during and afterwards, as well as the long-term ramifications. This is an academic text and so there is a lot of sociology terminology to work through, but Newfield did this study based on interviews so there are a […]

The traditions endure, but the perspective evolves

For Small Creatures Such as We by Sasha Sagan

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CBR15Bingo: You are here You are here on this planet, in this life. How you are moved to celebrate and acknowledge the passing of time and all of the joy and pain that is part of it is up to you. Rituals are, among other things, tools that help us process change. There is so much change in this universe, so many entrances and exits, and ways to mark them…each one astonishing in its own way. ― Sasha Sagan, For Small Creatures Such as We: […]

By Order of the Pious Bleeping Men!

Priest of Bones by Peter McLean

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I think Peter McLean might owe the Peaky Blinders creators some money. To be clear: I don’t mind! I like Peaky Blinders. I found this book on a list of books to read if you like Peaky Blinders. This is absolutely Peaky Blinders set in a fantasy world. Brothers running a gang in a crap part of a crap city. Men returning from war ridden with PTSD. A nosy aunt who tries to keep the business afloat. A rival gang vying for control of the […]

Judging a book by its cover worked in my favor this time

For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World by Sasha Sagan

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I picked up this book based entirely on the title and cover for the Read Harder challenge. I had no idea what to expect, but this was such a good get. I checked out the audiobook version read by the author from my local library, but I absolutely will be purchasing a physical copy for myself. I have a very storied past with religion, and my journey of deconstruction continues to this day; despite no longer being religious, I frequently find myself missing religion. More […]



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