Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“I’ll never be a footnote in someone else’s story. Everyone I meet is destined to be a footnote in my story.”

Dava Shastri’s Last Day: A Novel by Kirthana Ramisetti

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Dava Shastri’s Last Day is a fascinating novel with a provocative premise. Dava Shastri, age 70, is dying and decides to fake her own death so that she can see what the obituaries will say about her before she goes. You see, Dava Shastri is famous. She is one of the wealthiest women in the world, having made a name for herself in the music industry and as a philanthropist. She has been focused on her legacy for much of her life and expects to […]

Local Man Jumps to Conclusions, Thinks He Loves A Traitor

The Meddler by Kate Archer

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Perhaps he might indicate his lack of interest in musical ability? No, that was probably not right – she might not like to be reminded that she was in the habit of thrashing the pianoforte rather than playing it. A group of women placed in high society who have always wanted daughters decide to fulfill those motherly ambitions by sponsoring impoverished young ladies. But Jasper is afraid that his mother Lady Mendleton’s choice may be a traitor… if only he hadn’t fallen in love with […]

‘And blue anemone for you, and the excitement and anticipation I feel when I think of our lives together.’

A Proposal in Provence by Donna Alward

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Anemone didn’t find out that she was the illegitimate child of the already married Lord Pemberton until after both her parents had passed away. Hoping to get to know her family better, she comes to work at their company in France. But when her identity is discovered, she’s whisked away to the countryside hide from the publicity by her charming boss Phillipe. This is the fifth book in the Heirs to an Empire series, but I followed it quite easily without having read any of […]

Operation Wandering Soul

Operation Wandering Soul by Richard Powers

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Like a lot of Richard Powers novels, this one has a lot going on. It’s not even so much that, as he’s applying a narrative lens to many different things and then putting them into the novel. This novel like others of his, focuses on telling multiple threads and stories all together, tying them through a thematic lens more than a plot one. So what’s our lens here? Specifically it’s “Operation Wandering Soul”, which was a propaganda program during the US-Vietnam War designed to cause […]

“What do you read, my lord?” “Words, words, words.”

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

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Considering how much intrigue and debate there still is about Williams Shakespeare, arguably the most famous writer of all time, its not surprising that there is even less verified information about his relations. That Shakespeare was married and had three children is well-known, as is the sad fact of his only son’s passing at a young age, but their lives and personalities are largely a mystery. Into this void steps Maggie O’Farrell with her novel Hamnet. In the absence of documentary fact, O’Farrell feels free […]

Horror Triple Feature

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

Spontaneous Human Combustion by Richard Thomas

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Here are three separate novels that fit the horror or suspense genre! Quick ratings: The Only Good Indians: 4 stars Just Like Mother: 3 stars Spontaneous Human Combustion: Unrated (not my thing but not bad) The Only Good Indians This book feels like it is a story told in two parts. The first being a very gripping and effective psychological horror and the second being well – a little bit different and in my opinion, a little less effective. The novel follows a band of […]



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