Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Romancing the journalist

Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane

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I’ve read many books by Mhairi McFarlane and really enjoyed most of them. So, when I saw she had a new book out, Cover Story (2025), I knew I was going to read it. McFarlane writes romance-centric novels but with more developed characters and storylines than you sometimes see in your flimsier romances. McFarlane is Scottish and her books take place in England, so there are a lot of Britishisms and other cultural references that sometimes fly over my head. I still enjoy reading them, though. Bel […]

Cozy mystery, Singapore style

Aunty Lee's Delights (Singaporean Mystery #1) by Ovidia Yu

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I was in Singapore for a week so I decided to look up Singaporean books to expand my understanding a little bit. It needed to be something I could read on an airplane, and it needed to be very Singapore. I landed on Aunty Lee’s Delights after seeing Ovidia Yu’s name come up in several “Must-Read: Singapore” lists.  Aunty Lee is an established lady of a certain age and class in Singapore. She’s also a bit — well, maybe more than a bit — of […]

“For better or worse” sometimes means being lost at sea for 117 days with each other.

A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst

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I am attempting this year to read more non-fiction, so I picked this one up mostly because Barack Obama told me to.  Maralyn and Maurice were a bit of an odd couple (he was many years her senior, and a bit of a recluse; she was a young and beautiful dynamo) who married in the late 60s/early 70s in small town UK. They both wanted more adventure, so they began sailing. In 1973, they sold their house, finished building their yacht, and set out on […]

When Misfits Go Exploring

The Marsh Fellows by Anna-Laura Sullivan

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Once upon a time a young girl liked to read. She grew up to be an adult (physically) who liked to read. And one day, due to an email she received saying, “Sign up for a chance to win these books” she did. And she won several online reader copies from IDW Comics & Entertainment and Top Shelf Productions. She was excited. Finally a lunchtime came where she could start reading. She was not sure which one to start with, but since one book had […]

If it first you don’t succeed brush yourself off and try again, try again

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

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My second read of the year comes from the long-standing tradition between my spouse and me: At the end of each year, we jot down five books for the other person to read over the upcoming year. I confess that The Do-Over was from the 2024 list, but in the spirit of the book, I thought I should go ahead and get ‘er read (a do-over!). I enjoyed the book and found it to be good medicine for our toxic times. Emily Hornby is the kind […]

Verity

Verity by Colleen Hoover

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There are two reasons I opted to spend a few hours of my one precious life reading a Colleen Hoover novel. The first is the upcoming film adaptation starring Dakota Johnson and, more importantly, Anne Hathaway. (I am violating my longstanding ban on “Now a Major Motion Picture” cover for Hathaway.) The second reason is that I have heard from a few different people that Verity is the Colleen Hoover novel that even people who hate Colleen Hoover think is good. That intrigued me. I […]



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