Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Turnout – Megan Abbott (2021)

The Turnout by Megan Abbott

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The new Megan Abbott book, which has become a kind of yearly/bi-yearly affair since I started reading her first with Dare Me. Maybe Dare Me was the worst book of hers to start with because even when I’ve really enjoyed her books, I feel like I’ve been chasing that one. The new book takes place in a ballet studio in the US in more or less contemporary times. We have a few clues like cellphone and a vape pen, but like ballet itself, this book […]

What You are Going Through – Sigrid Nunez (2020)

What You are Going Through by Sigrid Nunez

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Yes it’s a new Sigrid Nunez novel with an animal on the cover and the book is about the death of a friend. But it’s not the same! First off, this has cats, but it’s not about cats. Not really. “The cat came in on little fog feet.” The book is about a narrator who has been asked to help a friend live out the remaining days after her cancer has returned. She was in remission, and the experimental treatments worked, and so the pain […]

The Marriage Plot – Jeffrey Eugenides (2011)

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

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I know a lot of people either didn’t like this or felt it was underwhelming. I also think the more years we move away from Middlesex, the more we won’t talk about it (a book I love, but imagine won’t hold up years down the line). In this novel, we find ourselves at Brown in 1982 on the eve of graduation. Madeleine is hungover, expecting her parents, and regretting “something” she did last night, even if it wasn’t technically sex. At breakfast she and her […]

Everything You Want to Know About Jeopardy Except Who the Next Host Will Be

Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider's Guide to Jeopardy! by Claire McNear

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As you might be aware, Jeopardy! is in a bit of a crisis at the moment, as the months-long quest to replace the iconic Alex Trebek resulted in the disastrous elevation of Mike Richards, only for Richards to resign after one day taping episodes. That resignation was at least partially a result of the reporting done by Claire McNear, a writer for the Ringer who has made America’s Favorite Quiz Show her bailiwick. McNear did the legwork of listening to dozens of podcast episodes hosted […]

I really liked reading “Lord of the Flies”

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

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I’m not sure what I expected when I started reading this novel, but I was actually very surprised by my reading experience. Pleasantly so.  Lord of the Flies is such a cultural touchstone, and I thought I knew what I was in for: wild boys, a conch shell, something about Piggy and Ralph, etc. But I was amazed at how much more nuanced and interesting this book is than I anticipated. I think we all know the story to some extent. Several young boys survive […]

“So, I mean, it’s awesome that, uh, you’re a city? Congratulations! I want to be accepting of this new stage in your identity formation.”

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

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I want to try something new with my reviews. Yeah, I could start again with OH WOW. HOW DID I GET SO BEHIND. AGAIN. But snooze, amiright? Instead, I want to use the system that my local library book club does. We always go around the room and give a rating (check, already part of Cannonball and Goodreads) and then sum up our feelings on the book in one word. I’m going to let you know now, I’m a bit of a cheat and I […]



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