Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Early Jazz 101

Young Man with a Horn by Dorothy Baker

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A short sharp and brilliant novella written by Dorothy Baker in 1938.  Often called the first jazz novel, it is loosely based off the life of Bix Beiderbecke, a white trumpeter who generally played with black bands, in this era of Jim Crow, and who died young of alcoholism.  Baker nailed the 1920s era, where swing was still just starting to take root, and dance bands were emerging, but then there was jazz, for those who preferred to actually listen to the music. Lady knows […]

One Woman’s Experience of Religious Trauma

A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings

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Rating: 4 Stars In a nutshell: Tia Levings is raised very conservatively Christian, and ends up in a marriage governed by Christian dominionism and a controlling, abusive husband. Best for: Anyone interested into some insight into this type of religious control, from how it is ingrained in youth to how it controls the lives of women and children as they age. Quote that made me think: So much of this book had me shouting into the void, but the fact that her husband forced her […]

Parasocial relationships are weird, y’all.

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

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Parasocial relationships are weird, y’all. I’ve followed Isabel Klee on TikTok for years. Her care and compassion when it comes to her foster dogs is heartwarming and amazing, and a complete emotional catharsis on a regular basis. So when I learned she was writing a book and it was actually getting published, I was so excited, both for her and for us, her audience. After all, I’d read and reviewed For Whom the Belle Tolls by another TikTok creator, Jaysea Lynn, and it was really […]

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 […]

Why can’t we save all the cats?

Poets Square by Courtney Gustafson

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I worked at a local cat rescue for about six months. I wanted a volunteer job, and this cute spot called Community Cats was right around the corner from me, so I signed up. My limited schedule meant I could only take a mid-Sunday shift, which meant less quality cat time and more laundry and mopping. Still, it was nice to give back to my favorite felines and get to know the quirky ladies who cared for them. As time went on, I realized I […]

The Audacity of Princes

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone

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Joanna I, Queen of Naples, is best known today for having stood trial for the murder of her husband during the height of the bubonic plague, but she faced many other challenges during her thirty-year-long reign. The whole time I was listening to this audiobook, I kept marveling at the absolute audacity of the royal men of this era, who over the decades launched a number of invasions and plots in an attempt to claim Naples for themselves. A woman on the throne seemed to […]



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