Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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expandingbookshelf

Long time lurker, occasional contributor. I like long walks on the beach, immaturely judging people and wine. Follow my reviews at https://expandingbookshelf.wordpress.com

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expandingbookshelf's Reviews:

I Have a Lot of Feelings about “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling and Jack Thorne

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  *Warning: this review features a LOT of Caps Lock and has a tendency to ramble. Buckle up* Back in 2007, we all stumbled home from our midnight release parties and read the final Harry Potter book, racing against the sunrise, desperate to find out how it ended. We turned off our phones and chugged coffee, stopping only for reluctant bathroom breaks. Hours passed, and with three small words, the story that defined a generation ended: “All was well.”   Flash forward a decade. Turns out…all was not well. For those of you who don’t know, “Harry Potter and the […]

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2/20/2017 | Post by

A Nazi, a Fascist, a Communist, a novelist, a countrywoman, and a Duchess walk into a bar-and I don’t know what happened because I didn’t finish the book

The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson

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I hate quitting on books. Hate. It. Because I’m a fast reader, I can usually convince myself to stick with my read. But I white-knuckled my way through about 100 pages of “The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters” before I finally tossed it and moved on. Life’s too short. I’d never heard of the Mitford Sisters before but I guess they’re pretty famous. They were socialites who managed to deliver more drama than the Kardashians. Beautiful, witty, articulate and unpredictable, they were at the forefront of a changing Europe. There was Nancy (the writer), Pamela (the boring one), […]

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1/21/2017 | Post by

Did I Write a Book and Forget??!

You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein

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      In this fractured, fearful and uncertain climate, one woman is challenging the status quo, speaking truth to power, and asking the questions the system doesn’t want you to ask. That woman is Jessi Klein. Her question: “Seriously, did Richard Gere shove a gerbil up his butt? Like all the way up there? Whatever, I’m just going to believe it’s true.” Now, I’m not going to pretend the occupancy status of  American Treasure Mr. Richard Gere’s backdoor is the central thesis of Klein’s “You’ll Grow Out of It” buuuutttt…it does show up. That’s all I’m saying. “To Kill […]

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1/8/2017 | Post by

God Save the King

The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney

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I think all of us went through an Egypt phase in school. It was right after our paleontologist phase and right before we became too cool for phases. We devoured any National Geographic with the pyramids on the cover, became a little too knowledgeable about the macabre process of mummification, and spouted off as many facts about the “cool” pharaohs that our patient parents would listen to. There was the trifecta of the most badass pharaohs to ever pharaoh-Nefertiti, King Tut and Cleopatra. Well, with due respect to the Big Three, Hatshepsut might leave them in the dust. Kara Cooney’s […]

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1/6/2017 | Post by

Gone, Baby, Gone

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

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It’s the kind of story that keeps parents up at night. After Anne and Marco Conti’s babysitter cancels at the last minute, the couple argues about what to do. Anne wants to cancel their dinner date next door. Her neighbor Cynthia has made it very clear their six-month old daughter Cora is not welcome. Marco convinces Anne to go anyway. They’ll bring the baby monitor. They’ll check on their daughter every thirty minutes. She’ll be fine. Annie, wine-drunk, struggling with postnatal depression and watching her husband flirt with her hot-ass neighbor wants to leave after a few hours. It was […]

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10/28/2016 | Post by

How can something so weird be so unmemorable?

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman

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So I have a confession team. I’m seriously behind on my book reviews. Like ridiculously behind. Like my to-review pile has morphed from an achievable goal to a series of personal insults. Even the heading doesn’t respect me. Way harsh, Tai All of this to say, when I realized my next book to review was this book I finished weeks ago, called The Teleportation Accident, I had one reaction. A quick scramble to Wikipedia gave me this blurb.  From the author of the acclaimed Boxer, Beetle comes a historical novel that doesn’t know what year it is; a noir novel that turns […]

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7/6/2016 | Post by

Buckle. The Fuck. Up.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

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Like Tyrion Lannister, I used to be a cynic. I thought it possible there were not truly original ideas left in fiction. I used to think, after so many years of reading like it was my job, there weren’t any books left that would knock me on my ass, keep me awake until 4 a.m. when I had to work in the morning, cause me to be so engrossed that I literally did not hear my friends trying to get my attention. I thought I knew things. Dear Reader, if you feel the way I did, may I humbly direct […]

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7/5/2016 | Post by

I Feel Like I’m Taking Crazy Pills

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

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It’s a terrible feeling to hear praise heaped upon a new book, read it yourself and…not get it. Your mind starts playing games with itself: Everyone else liked this book, what’s wrong with you? Do you just not understand it? Is that it, you idiot?  You focus on the book a little harder, maybe if you squint at the freaking book, all of this praise will make sense. But still…it’s just not there for you. That was my experience with Kelly Link’s collection of short stories Get in Trouble. Ecstatically reviewed, roundly praised by authors I admire, I really thought […]

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6/27/2016 | Post by


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