Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“They wear red bandannas knotted around their necks, as if their throats have already been cut.”

Rednecks by Taylor Brown

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When the coal miners of West Virginia attempt to unionize for better working conditions, the resulting conflict escalates close to the level of civil war – and a Lebanese-American doctor caught in between must choose where his allegiance lies. I’ve read about the Battle of Blair Mountain and the West Virginia Mine Wars before, but only in vague detail in high school history courses. Now, of course, I know a lot more – indeed, feel as though I saw it with my own eyes. Though […]

Shadow Histories of the United States

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

The United States of Cryptids by J.W. Ocker

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Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey – 3.25 stars For a country with a comparatively short written history, the United States has a great many ghosts, and the most compelling of those have their stories rooted deep in the places from which they’ve sprung up. This was a nice seasonal read which reminded me to look about me with a greater awareness of the many small histories that must cling to every bus station or convenience store I pass, even as […]

Based on truth, lies, myths, and rumors

Al Capone by Swann Meralli

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Al Capone by Swann Meralli and illustrated by Pierre-François Radice is told from Capone’s POV but due to who he was, and the images given, we know he is not a reliable narrator. However, he does tell you “the facts” but his version is colored by his personality and the fact he is telling his mother his side of things. It is an interesting graphic novel that highlights important events that will start with him as a child (which little to nothing is known), continue […]

The first woman to sit down was a teenager

Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom Now! by Claudette Colvin

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We know Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, Dr. King and more of the civil rights movement people, but do you know Claudette Colvin? She was a teenager who one day was sitting on the bus. She was, like Rosa after her, tired and knew her rights. She said No, I’m not giving up my seat. She would be yelled out, arrested and charged with numerous crimes (none of which were true). And her mother and preacher would bail her out of jail. But that was not […]

Who Wants to Be the Next Caliph?

American Caliph by Shahan Mufti

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Simmering political, religious, and racial tensions combine and erupt in three sieges led by the same strange Muslim group around Washington, DC after a years-long lead-up. I’m new to Washington DC, and still learning my way around the place as a city where people actually work and live divorced from the role that it plays in the United States’s government and politics. Part of that process has been learning more about the city’s history. Like with many things about DC, I had never heard of […]

The Other Side of Huckleberry Finn

James by Percival Everett

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CBR16 Bingo: Fanfic – This book is a reimagining of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which centers the viewpoint of the runaway slave Jim who accompanied Huck on his travels on the Mississippi. Jim is well-known as Huckleberry Finn’s runaway slave companion, but in this retelling we meet him as James, a character for who the stakes are higher and the world much more vicious than we ever glimpse in Mark Twain’s classic novel. It’s been a long while since I last read […]



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