Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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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 family too annoying to care about

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

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I saw These Summer Storms (2025) by Sarah MacLean on NPR’s Favorite Books List. I’ve never read anything by Sarah MacLean, but I’m a fan of romance novels, and this one seemed interesting enough. So I picked it up. Unfortunately, I found this one more disappointing than not. After a fun beginning, the plot did not feel believable, and I didn’t like the characters. By the end of the book, I was curious how it was going to end, but I was also ready for it to be […]

This is what happens when we break book club rules

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

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I read West With Giraffes (2021) by Lynda Rutledge because it was chosen by my book club. After reading some pretty bad books, we’ve made up a loose rule that you need to have read the book before nominating it for book club. Well, it didn’t happen this time. The husband of one of our book clubbers said it would be a good book for us. I think the majority of us would agree that it was not. I think I was most frustrated at what it […]

Surprisingly memorable and moving

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

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I saw Memorial Days (2025) by Geraldine Brooks on a number of year-end lists. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a book about grief, but there was something about the description that made me want to give it a try. This was my first book by Brooks, but I really enjoyed her writing. I thought she was honest, vulnerable, and insightful. On May 27, 2019, Brook’s husband and partner of over thirty years, Tony Horwitz, collapsed and died on a sidewalk in DC, where he was […]

I have a new hobby

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

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I’m not sure if it was because I was getting older or my interests just shifted, but back in 2019 I suddenly became fascinated with birding. It felt like a whole new world opened up simply because I started paying attention. Now that I have a dog, I spend more time walking her than going out with my camera looking for birds. However, I still look out for them, and I still find birds (all animals, really) fascinating. I’m officially hooked. Recently I stumbled on […]

What else can I learn about myself?

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

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I’m a little burned out on self-help books, but I always think the next one will help me a little more. On the whole, I’ve learned some important things about myself, as well as various coping strategies. I keep reading them even though I’m tired of them because I have a little FOMO when it comes to missing that one book that will fully explain me to myself. Brené Brown was recommended to me by my therapist, and The Gifts of Imperfection (2010) seemed like something of […]

What will people think of us 100 years from now?

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

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I have read a number of books by Ian McEwan, including Atonement, Amsterdam, On Chesil Beach, Saturday, and The Children Act. Even though it’s been over ten years since I’ve read a McEwan book, I remember being impressed by his writing and enjoying his books. Thus, when I saw a number of lists touting What We Can Know (2025), I figured it was time to get back to him. What We Can Know takes place in post-apocalyptic Britain in 2119. Climate change and “The Derangement” have cut down the population by two […]



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