Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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ardaigle

I am a born and bred southerner and recent transplant to the Midwest. I read because I want to, because I NEED to, and because I'm possibly ignoring the frigid temperatures. Until spring, and then I may read outside. I also enjoy cooking, witty banter, and cheese. All the cheese.

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ardaigle's Reviews:

The Dreamers – Wait, What?

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

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A mysterious sleeping sickness hits a small town in California. This is the first act of an apocalyptic novel that doesn’t quite get off the ground, or at least, doesn’t get off the ground in the way I have come to expect from an apocalyptic novel. I couldn’t put this down and read the whole thing in two days because I was excited to see what happened.  I picked it up to begin with because the front cover has praise from Emily St. John Mandel, the writer of “Station Eleven,” an excellent apocalyptic novel. That might have prejudiced me though. […]

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Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/18/2019 |

A Visit from the Goon Squad – A study in character development

A Visit form the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

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I’m a bit late to this 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner but those prize giver outters definitely know their stuff. Egan’s work is true mastery of character development and a triumph of the non-linear form. It seems there is little method to her madness, as she jumps to different characters, and different points in history. At times you are puzzled as to how someone relates to the story, and you learn that they used to work for a main character, or a former flame, etc. It’s a bit of a tangled web, but a fun read, to learn the ins and […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/17/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:21 |

Circe – Mic Drop

Circe by Madeline Miller

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My knowledge of Greek mythology is minimal: I know only the broadest of strokes. I mean, I’ve read the Odyssey (bits of it at least?) and I’ve seen “O Brother Where Art Thou.” I was a bit skeptical that I would enjoy this book, but it had such rave reviews and a lot of ladies I know really enjoyed it, so I joined the pack and I’m glad I did. In fact, not really knowing about mythology made it even more fun to read and preserved the twists and turns of the story. Circe is the daughter of Helios, the […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

  • Circe by Madeline Miller

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/17/2019 |

My Best Friend’s Exorcism – A nostalgic and wild ride

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

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What a wild and crazy ride this book was! Equal parts, horror, humor, coming of age, and a nostalgic love letter to the 1980s. Looking back at that sentence it is clear that Hendrix was being a bit ambitious in scope, as this is a lot to balance, but he does so with ease. I don’t remember ever vacillating so quickly and constantly from laughter to terror, but the pendulum swings back and forth again and again over the course of this book. What starts out as a sweet story of friendship between Gretchen and Abby takes a quick turn […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/15/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:18 |

There, There – Good, but bleak, debut novel

There There by Tommy Orange

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I learned of this new (summer 2018) book in a recent podcast episode of Literary Disco, but it has made an impression having received props (technical term) from a bajillion publications, such as The Washington Post, NPR, Time, O, The Oprah Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, GQ, The Dallas Morning News, Buzzfeed, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews. Suffice it to say, Mr Orange was on a lot of lists for his debut novel. I found it to be a little chaotic at points, but with a definite strong message to deliver, and a unique literary […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/1/2019 |

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

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

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My BFFs boyfriend works at Hello Giggles and thus Reese Witherspoon’s book club has been on my periphery. I’m more likely to eschew something everyone likes then subscribe to it, even though Reese is obviously a goddess, so I was hesitant to go all in on her book club recommendations. But after this one, which was her first ever back in 2017 and looking at her list of previous selections (which includes The Library Book, Curtis Sittenfield, and Alice Hoffman) I’m all in. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t immediately sold on Honeyman’s novel. Looking at the back which said it […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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4/10/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:15 |

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg – Marvelous and Glorious

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik

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For Christmas, my husband got me dissent collar stud earrings as a stocking stuffer. I was delighted, but a little chagrined. I didn’t think I knew enough about Ruth Bader Ginsberg to call me one of her fans, and make me legitimate enough to rock the earrings. But rock them I did, because they make me feel powerful, and they are also adorable – the perfect accessories. But, I wanted to fill a bit of my RBG knowledge gap, so I jumped in the queue for Notorious RBG at my library and months later, there it was! I didn’t know […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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4/8/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:14 |

Can You Keep a Secret – Not a secret, but not for me

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

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This book is outside of my usual favorite genres (post-apocalyptic, dystopian, thriller, non-fiction, speculative fiction, and the like) but I reached out to the Facebook hive mind for pre-wedding brain candy reads and this one was recommended by one, and endorsed by many, so I threw it into my suitcase. I haven’t read “Confessions of a Shopaholic” or seen the movie as it’s not the kind of material that appeals to me, but Kinsella’s book was a nice, albeit predictable cotton candy departure for me. Emma Corrigan is a normal girl, leading a ho-hum life, unsatisfying job, little direction, unable […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Can You Keep a Secret – Not a secret, but not for me"

4/7/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:13 |


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