Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About Ellesfena

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I mostly read nonfiction (especially public health-related), mysteries, and fantasy. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Ellesfena's Quick Questions interview.)

Ellesfena's Reviews:

With Great Power Comes Great Hubris

Song of Spider-Man by Glen Berger

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Song of Spider-Man is the story behind the conception, development, and production of one of Broadway’s most famous and most troubled musicals: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Glen Berger, who co-wrote the book for the production, wrote this behind-the-scenes story while the musical was still running–but by the time the paperback came out, it had shut down after numerous performers had been injured and millions of dollars had been lost. I don’t really remember where I first heard of this book, but it’s been on my TBR for […]

Judging some books by their covers

Shady Hollow by Juneau Black

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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A few months ago on vacation, my niece and I stopped in a bookstore to browse. We saw the Shady Hollow series display at the same time and both said, “Ooooh.” These books have the most charming covers, so I downloaded the first one from my library to read on the flight home. Naturally, my hope was that the story would be just as charming so I could justify buying them all to hoard like a dragon. Sadly, ’twas not to be. Shady Hollow, a cozy mystery […]

This is a book that I read.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

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I remember watching Lonesome Dove with my grandparents as a child, although I remember absolutely nothing about the plot (I was probably not actually watching, but reading something while it was on in the background). What I remember most is how much my grandparents liked it. A couple years ago I decided maybe I’d try to read the book. I stopped and started at least 3 times, struggling to have any interest in the lives of a couple retired Texas Rangers. It wasn’t until this year, when […]

I’m Just Here for the Music

Songs for Other People's Weddings by David Levithan

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The book: Songs for Other People’s Weddings is the story of J, a minor pop star from Sweden, who often performs at weddings. For each wedding he’s hired for, he writes a personal song for the happy couple that he performs at the ceremony. He’s dating a woman named V, whose job takes her from Sweden to New York for several months, and he’s having trouble coping with the distance. Why I read it: This is not normally a book I would have any interest in, if […]

“You cannot live at all if you do not learn to adapt yourself to your life as it happens to be”

Eleanor by David Michaelis

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The book: Eleanor by David Michaelis is a single-volume biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. Why I read it: I’ve always thought Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the more interesting First Ladies. While I still think that as an adult, as a child a big part of that was from seeing “Annie” so many times. Having grandparents that lived through the Great Depression was part of it, too. When this book was released it seemed to get a certain amount of fanfare–enough, anyway, for me to notice and add […]



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