Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

It’s no Goon Squad, but Egan is an impressive writer

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

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My first experience with Jennifer Egan was A Visit From the Goon Squad. I loved that book; it’s one of my favorite books of all time. Well, my brother and his wife gave me Manhattan Beach (2017) by Jennifer Egan for Christmas awhile ago (probably in 2017). Even though I knew I wanted to read another Egan book, I kept putting off Manhattan Beach. I had trouble finding the time for a book I owned when there were always new library books to read. I felt kind of bad […]

“There’s room for different kinds of greatness. Even if you cry doing it.”

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa

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Like many of the books I’ve read this year, I found The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa on NPR’s Best Books of 2020 List. This one didn’t end up being one of my favorites, but I remember reading it quickly and being entertained. Although there were a couple of problems with the book, there was plenty to like as well. Carolina Santos, or Lina, is a first-generation Brazilian-American, and a fantastic wedding planner. Unfortunately, she’s just found out that she’s losing her office space for her […]

Merry Christmas!

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

The Girl With the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block

Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby

Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League by Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortune of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty by Jonathan Pearson

The Blonde on the Street Corner by David Goodis

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Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Having been busy with Christmas prep, avoiding Delta and Omicron, and other various things, I haven’t had the time to write long, 250+ reviews for these books. I figured I’d just cram them all here since I know I won’t finish Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate before New Year’s Eve. The Fortress of Solitude *** This clears the 3-star threshold but just barely. I appreciate what Lethem is trying to do here and I usually enjoy his work. But this was a […]

Worth the hype!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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This book is a delight.  It is charming, and thought provoking, and overall just lovely.  It takes place in a world not too far off from our own, only there is magic.  The magic may have been hidden away for quite some time, but those who were magical were probably forced to show themselves.  The “people in charge” decided that in order to “include” these magical beings into society, they must be registered.  For what purpose remains unclear.     Mr. Linus Baker, our protagonist, works […]

An interesting concept, but I was still confused at times

Dead Wednesday by Jerry Spinelli

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I’m not sure how I feel about Jerry Spinelli as an author.  Some things I like, Stargirl for example, and some are a bit too weird, like Hokey Pokey.  Dead Wednesday has a bit of both, although it feels more like Stargirl.  I do have some lingering questions that I know will never be answered, though.   Dead Wednesday is an interesting concept.  The overall idea is that for one day, every eighth grader gets the name of a teenager who died during the past […]



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