Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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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:

Your past is not an excuse…but it is an explanation

What Happened to You? by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey

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I needed another audiobook to listen to on my way to work, and I didn’t have anything in mind. I started browsing my library app to see what was available, and I found What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing (2021) by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry. The title is pretty self explanatory, and Oprah Winfrey needs no introduction. Dr. Bruce Perry is a brain and trauma expert. In what feels like a discussion or interview (on the Audiobook, at least) the two […]

“Just because desperate people seek out exploitative conditions doesn’t make those conditions any less exploitative.”

Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond

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I’d already read Evicted by Matthew Desmond, and I was very impressed with the depth of Demond’s writing. So, it’s no surprise that I picked up Poverty, by America (2023)–especially after Obama recommended it. In Poverty, by America, Desmond pushes back hard against the stereotype that poor people are lazy, maybe stupid, and could get out of their circumstances if they just tried harder. He delves into how much the poor have stacked against them, and how these circumstances help the ones who already have more than enough. This includes […]

Even rich kids can have a hard time

A Very Private School by Charles Spencer

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An article popped up on my phone about a memoir by “Princess Diana’s brother” about his abusive boarding school days, and I was intrigued. Almost immediately, I put a hold on the Audiobook of A Very Private School (2024) by Charles Spencer. Spencer reads his memoir on the Audiobook, and at first I was a little distracted by his super posh accent. I couldn’t help but imagine what a snob he was. And later in the book when he mentions being the Queen’s godson and having his […]

“The world, the girl knew, was worse than savage, the world was unmoved.”

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

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I read The Vaster Wilds (2023) by Lauren Groff because it was on Obama’s Favorite Books list last year. I have found that Barack Obama has great taste in literature (although I often skip over the biographies he recommends because they are just too long). I’ve read Florida by Lauren Groff and had mixed feelings about it. The Vaster Wilds is my first full-length novel by Groff, and I was impressed. This story takes place in the winter of 1609-1610 in the Jamestown colony when […]

An impressive athlete and interesting person

The Push by Tommy Caldwell

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I love climbing, and I already follow Tommy Caldwell on Instagram, so it’s a little odd that I wasn’t more excited when my book club chose The Push (2018) by Caldwell for our next book. My lack of enthusiasm stemmed wholly from the fact that I already knew a lot about him. He lives in nearby Estes Park, and I’ve seen a number of documentaries that detail him climbing the Fitzroy Traverse in Patagonia, the harrowing hostage situation in Kyrgyzstan, and his conquering of the Dawn Wall […]

The corruption of the rich

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

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I think I discovered The Heiress (2024) by Rachel Hawkins when I was browsing through my library app looking for available books. Surprisingly, I don’t think I saw it on any lists. But the first paragraph was written well, and the main characters were living in Golden, Colorado–a town close to my heart. So, I decided to read it. The Heiress is the story of a very rich family in Tavistock, North Carolina. They live in a beautiful house named the Ashby House, surrounded by the gorgeous views […]



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