Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


About Sophia

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I love to read, and I love to learn. I wish I were retired so I could spend more time on my random flights of fancy. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Sophia's Quick Questions interview.)

Sophia's Reviews:

A glimpse into the future

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

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I was seeing A Guardian and a Thief (2025) by Megha Majumdar all over the place at the end of last year. It was on every best-of list that I could find. It’s a finalist for the National Book Award, and has many other accolades. I thought this book was very memorable and well written, but also difficult to read because of the subject matter. It feels a little too real and a little too on point, and it is horrifying to be an intimate viewer to […]

Some forms of entertainment work better for me than others

Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About by Isabel Klee

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I stumbled on Isabel Klee on one of my Instagram-reeling marathons (@Simonsits). She seemed like a nice, young woman who fosters dogs and documents their stories on Instagram. She lives in Brooklyn, which I recognized from my visits to my brother and enjoyed seeing again. I’ve liked her Instagram stories for awhile now. The publicity she brings to her rescue dogs and the rescue organizations she works with bring in a fair bit of money and many potential adopters. Every time she works with partners […]

Destined for love: video game developers

Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood

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By this point, I will read any book by Ali Hazelwood, and I’m usually not disappointed. However, she’s so prolific that her books often sneak up on me. As soon as I became aware of its existence, I put Two Can Play (2026) on hold at the library and just recently finished it. Two Can Play feels very much like a Hazelwood romance novel, but it is also shorter than many of her novels–about 200 pages. The story is about two video game developers who work for rival […]

The siren call of NASA

To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage

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I was a little surprised to find that this is the second book about a lesbian astronaut that I’ve read in the past six months. Back in December, I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I loved it. I can’t remember where I first saw To the Moon and Back (2025) by Eliana Ramage, but at some point I put it on hold at my library. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I began this book, but I liked it. Steph Harper is a teenager […]

Standing up to a bully (and a rapist)

Not My Type by E. Jean Carroll

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I had heard of E. Jean Carroll, her accusations of sexual assault against Donald Trump, and her subsequent lawsuit against him, but I did not pay much attention to the specifics. This was clearly a he said/she said situation, and I believed her. On the one hand you have a woman who told a believable story. On the other hand you have a creepy misogynist, a friend of Epstein, a man who brags about sexual assault on tape, and someone who lies constantly and loudly. […]

Class and Murder in England

The Good Liar by Denise Mina

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I’m not sure how I first heard of The Good Liar (2025) by Denise Mina, but I probably saw it on some end-of-the-year-best-novels list. Mina seems to be a pretty prolific writer, but she was new to me. The Good Liar is a thriller/murder mystery that takes place in London. On the whole, I found this book well written and interesting to read. However, I’ve found I’m not too into murder mysteries these days. I’m finding them a little too dark and sometimes unrealistic. Claudia Atkins O’Sheil is a […]



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