Cannonball Read 12

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About jeverett15

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34 years old. Lifelong New Jersey resident. Fan of mystery novels, classic literature, and non-fiction about movies, television, sports, and American history.

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What Mighty Fools These Red Sox Be!

Mortal Stakes by Robert B. Parker

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While Netflix’s recent Mark Wahlberg-starring Spenser Confidential was at best mildly diverting, it was enough to prod me into finally checking out Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. Mortal Stakes is the third entry starring the tough-guy ex-cop. Spenser is definitely a fists-first type of detective, and the plot of Mortal Stakes calls for little in the way of deduction or following the evidence. Spenser is hired by the general manager of the Boston Red Sox to investigate a rumor that the team’s star pitcher is […]

How to Write a Novel, Or Not

Pity the Reader: On Writing With Style by Suzanne McConnell, Kurt Vonnegut

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This book is marketed as a collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s lessons on writing from his career as a teacher. In reality, it’s more of a guide to writing written by Suzanne McConnell, one of Vonnegut’s pupils at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop in the mid-1960s. McConnell quotes from her famous teacher often, but anyone expecting a book in any way “written” by Kurt Vonnegut should be forewarned. Frankly, it feels dishonest that he is presented as a co-author on the cover. McConnell presents a lot of […]

A Day at the Movies

Double Feature by Donald E. Westlake

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Double Feature is comprised, appropriately enough, of two novellas set in and around the world of cinema. In the first Carey Thorpe, a clever but self-centered movie critic finds himself in a jam worthy of a film noir. He’s killed a woman he was sleeping with (this is revealed in the first sentence) and must deal with two police detectives and a private investigator who won’t leave him alone. In an irresistible twist, Carey finds himself in a position to help the detectives with a […]

When Irish Eyes Aren’t Smiling

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

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Jean McConville, mother of 10, disappeared in December of 1972 after being abducted from a run-down Belfast flat. Her children never saw her again. The story of what happened to her is the focal point of this panoramic look at the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland popularly known as The Troubles. Patrick Radden Keefe ranges from the McConville case in his reporting, but her disappearance is a prism offering a view on the whole confusing era. It’s tempting from across the ocean to view The […]

Why Don’t We Get Together and Call Ourselves an Institute?

The Institute by Stephen King

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Stephen King’s new novel is a compelling read with a dynamite premise which unfortunately peters out into a weak ending. King really takes his time setting up this one. The first section follows an ex-cop named Tim on an itinerant journey around the south before settling down in small-town South Carolina. After Tim gets established we’re on to the story of the Institute, and it’s hundred of pages before we find out how Tim figures into it. Child […]



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