Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Traps upon traps. And riddles upon riddles”

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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3.5 stars Official book description: Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why — or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch — and his love of puzzles, riddles, and […]

Happy or Wealthy, But Not Both

Heiresses: The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies by Laura Thompson

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Though you’d think money smoothes away all obstacles, it seems in the lives of these heiresses to be the thing that stands between them and happiness. Using the examples of individual heiresses to make her case, Thompson shows how the lives of heiresses evolved with the times, and what they may need to achieve happiness in their different ways. The book is broken down into four sections which deal with different eras of heiresses, from the heiress abductions of the Georgian times to the American […]

Beware of Bored Women!

Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov

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ESPECIALLY if you are the one to damn them into a life of boredom. I sought out this short story after being utterly enthralled by the 2016 Florence Pugh tour-de-force Lady Macbeth. If you are a sucker for a brutal period drama chock full of female desperation-disguised-as-power, then hustle your bustle to your  nearest ye olde video rental and check. it. out. The film is phenomenal, and I was immediately curious about the source material! A little Wikipedia creeping led me to Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk […]

meddling with merfolk

Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet

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“One thing. I’ve got experience with explosives. Another thing. I’ve got explosives.” I do not know why this book has such a low rating on GR – 2.8 as of the time of this posting – as it’s a fluffy little environmental thriller, but I suppose you can’t make everyone happy! Not that there is too much in Mermaids in Paradise to be happy with, what with the incredibly privileged narrator and her cavalcade of side characters who oscillate wildly between do-gooders and backstabbers. Mermaids in Paradise – […]

out of the way, Mr. Hughes. Let the real stars shine.

Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood by Karina Longworth

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You’ve seen The Aviator, yes? If not, maybe you know that it’s about Howard Hughes? Yes- the Spruce Goose guy. Yes, the keep on failing upwards guy. Yes, the “keep your pee in jars” guy. We’ve all heard or seen at least a little bit about Howard Hughes. His reach was wide and heavy, and he swept away businesses, careers, and entire studios in his wake. Karina Longworth, author of Seduction and podcaster extraordinaire, covered Howard Hughes’s Hollywood during a whole season of her phenomenal podcast a […]

Nothing to Love Here

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

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This book came highly recommended, but it failed to ignite my interest. I had been looking forward to it for some time: a big-shot political family with black-sheep children who literally catch on fire when upset? Sounds fun! Except…that’s not the story. It’s the story of a fuck-up (her words) obsessed with another fuck-up of great wealth and privilege. It’s an ugly story about ugly people with some children (who do happen to catch fire when upset) caught in the middle. Listening to this book […]



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