Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

An Emotional, Vital Story

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

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I don’t know that I know how to talk about this book except that GOSH it’s amazing and good and powerful and I am so glad it exists and I can’t wait for more people to have the chance to read it! At its core, Only This Beautiful Moment is a story of family and community, of fighting for your beliefs and also learning who you are and want to be. Told across three generations, Moud, Saeed, and Bobby are each discovering their history and […]

Dummies in Space

The End of All Things by John Scalzi

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It’s been more than a decade since I first read Old Man’s War. While I have enjoyed every book in the Old Man’s War series leading up to this aptly-named ultimate novel, I have been hesitant to start this one. The reason? The series is too good! I just didn’t want to have it end. After all, I did just recently finish up reading The Expanse series. A guy can only take so many sci-fi series endings at once! But, as they say, all good […]

Intense, Infuriating, and Brilliant

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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Best for: People who like a really well-plotted, well-written books that have some truly unexpected moments. In a nutshell: Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in the 1950s and 1960s, when women aren’t really allowed to be. Or at least, not supported to be. This is the story of her life, and how it intertwines with others. Worth quoting: “…and one who went along because she, like so many other women, assumed that downgrading someone of her own sex would somehow lift her in the estimation […]

When the map matters more than the people there will be murder

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

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I really like the premise and general scenario of The Cartographers; you’ve got a good dose of real historical and practical map-making details along with a dose of “magical realism”. I also didn’t realize that this author was relevant to AAIPI month which May is. The general premise is that former whiz kid map scholar Nell Young who was dismissed from the famed NYPL (New York Public Library) in disgrace by her own father must now solve the mystery of her father’s murder which turns […]

All the Rage

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

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I’ve been sitting here staring at a blank screen, trying desperately to figure out the words to convey the depth and urgency of my love for this book. Let’s start with: if I have anything to be grateful to the former occupier of the White House for, it is the uptick in feminist rage literature. I suppose credit where credit is due. Because we’ve been mad, I’ve been angry my whole damn life, but it’s just now I’m finding books that mirror my own simmering […]

“We might be useful, but we shall most certainly be improper.“

The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray

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I am enjoying Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mystery series so much. This second outing in the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries feels heavier than the first. In The Murder of Mr. Wickham, the victim was one of Jane Austen’s least sympathetic characters. I certainly don’t advocate for murdering people, but Mr. Wickham’s violent demise did not cause distress. In The Late Mrs. Willoughby, we get no such comfort. Mrs. Willoughby may not be the nicest or most charming person, but she is […]



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