Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

terrific writing about terrible things

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

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Trigger Warning: please read the tags before deciding to read this review and/or book. If you feel that you can read this book, then you must. If you feel that you cannot, I will pass no judgement. Perhaps you have heard of the drama surrounding this release. American Dirt was climbing the charts and dominating the controversy  conversation when My Dark Vanessa tip-toed in and threw a hat into the ring. There was an implication of plagiarism from a woman who wrote a memoir about being groomed and […]

eating vegetables: the essay collection

Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino

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Now here me out: there are lots of reasons to eat vegetables. Sometimes your body is in revolt because you’ve had nothing but pizza all weekend. Sometimes you’ve made a new commitment to “take better care” of yourself. Sometimes you just really want some kale, damn it. Sometimes you just want to smother some broccoli in neon-orange-movie-theater-nacho cheese. Vegetables are good for you, vegetables are tasty, they can be prohibitively expensive- especially if fresh, but sometimes you just have to fight your way through a […]

A great primer in how both higher education and the justice system victimise women a second time in cases of rape and assault

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I finally picked up Missoula just as the #metoo revelations started to pick up steam. As someone who’s had a lifetime full of #metoo moments, I was both eager and hesitant to dive into this read about multiple rape accusations in the college town of Missoula, Montana (home of the University of Montana Grizzlies!), and the school, and/or police investigations, (or lack thereof) and trials, (or lack thereof) which resulted from those accusations. This is not a good choice for the faint-hearted, or anyone who has been […]

A thriller with a very dark theme

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This review/book requires a trigger warning: Graphic depictions of sexual assault, rape, domestic violence and stalking   This…is a tough book to recommend to anyone. And yes, you’ll see the high star rating I gave it and wonder how that jives, but my reluctance is purely over the subject matter and not the writing or characters or plot development. The novel follows Catherine Bailey, a British woman who we see alternately in her late twenties and then a few years later (depending on the chapter). […]

Pirriwee Public School holds a killer Trivia Night Fundraiser

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Prior to reading Big Little Lies, I had never read a Liane Moriarty novel before.  But, I have to say, it was pretty good.  It was a quick, engaging read but not empty fluff like quick reads can often be. I will say though that after the first chapter, I was worried that it was going to be empty fluff.  I mean, the name of the school is Pirriwee Public School and while I know elementary schools are often given twee names, that’s an awfully twee […]

Believe women.

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There was no way this was going to be an easy read; listening to it on audiobook was downright chilling. I’ve gotta hand it to Krakauer for treating this topic and these women with the consideration and respect they deserve. This book is meticulously researched, and Krakauer’s forthright prose style works tremendously well when examining the testimony and transcripts that make up the evidence in the presented cases. Krakauer himself must needs very little editorializing to get the point across, because the documents speak for […]



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