Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Just Because It’s Brief Doesn’t Mean It Isn’t Painful

Ablutions by Patrick DeWitt

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Do you love the show Intervention, but find it too glossy and upbeat? Do you feel the problem with Charles Bukowski is that he was just a bit too cheerful? Then this might just be the book for you. Ablutions is narrated by an unnamed Barman (I’d say he’s our protagonist but I’m not entirely sure that is the case) working in a deeply depressing, lowest-of-lowbrow Hollywood bar. Imagine all the magnificent wealth, glamour, and luxury of Hollywood. Cool, now imagine the polar opposite of that- desperation, bitterness, intense poverty and addiction. You’ve got the idea. The characters in this […]

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1/17/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:1 |

A Road Trip with a Dog

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

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I read this due to my Steinbeck kick.  I was a little worried about reading it immediately after The Grapes of Wrath but it was the perfect antidote to my melancholy mood.  This is a travel journey by one of America’s preeminent authors who decided that that he no longer felt in touch with America and her people and wanted to find her again.  Discontented seems to best describe the way he felt with his life when he set off on his journey in 1960 at the age of 58.  I think he may have also been trying to recapture […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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1/8/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:2 |

Radium…the wonder drug. Oh wait, nope.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore

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This story is the very definition of the word fantastic. It is unbelievable. If you enjoyed (though, enjoyed is a strong work) Devil in the White City or Killers of the Flower Moon, buckle up and prepare to be horrified by more actual American history. In the 1898, we discovered radium. It was great! Just neat-o. It glowed, it was heralded as a wonder drug. WHAT. YES. And, the Radium Girls were the lucky women hired to work in factories that used radium-based paint to paint watch dials on watches. And while doing so, they were told to lip point, […]

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12/5/2018 's CBR10 Review No:43 |

Army Chief of Staff Reading List #8

The World America Made by Robert Kagan

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First of all, I am on a roll with my professional reading so far this year.  I have another completed book to review and I’m halfway through another already.  While it may sound like conceit, I am really impressed with myself so far.  I made it a point this year to do a better job of, not just reading, but maximizing my time and so far, so good. Anyways, The World America Made made was a short look at the policies and decision throughout the history of America, with emphasis on the four most recent presidents, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and […]

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3/13/2018 's CBR10 Review No:14 |

You get born, and you nurse on lies, and you get weaned on lies, and you learn fancier lies in school

Butcher's crossing by John Williams

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“Young folk […] they don’t know what to do with themselves.” A young man in the 1870’s drops out of Harvard and finds his way to Butcher’s crossing. He finds a reputable man who offers him a job managing the finances of the buffalo trade, but it’s not enough for Will Andrews. He tracks down a man named Miller who knows of a secret spot where there’s an untouched buffalo herd, ripe for the killing. All he needs is a little money. Andrews has that money – on one condition: he gets to come along. <spoilers> The party sets off […]

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12/16/2017 's CBR9 Review No:46 |

As beautiful as it is broken (wherein I get a little bit personal after a hiatus)

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli

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To say that this has been a difficult year would be an understatement. For Americans, no matter what one’s political affiliation is, it is clear to see that the rampant gas-lighting the current administration is putting us through is not normal. The word “fact” seems to have completely undergone a change in meaning, so much so that statements from politicians are view with the default setting of “definitely a lie.” Putting aside that I wake up every morning with a sense of impending dread that I’m sure has something to do with having my iPhone so close to my head […]

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9/30/2017 's CBR9 Review No:8 |

She had already learned the dangers of sincerity.

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

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Faithful followers of my must-read, brilliantly executed, and always punctual reviews will know that I only recently discovered Roxane Gay last year, with Bad Feminist. And you will know that based on reading only that collection of essays, I will follow her to the ends of the earth, shout her name from the rooftops, aspire to be as articulate, hilarious, and honest as she, and never be dissuaded from my undying love for her. Difficult Women is haunting and beautiful. I was nervous. My expectations were unreasonably high, and yet I also had no idea what to expect, because I’ve never […]

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4/9/2017 's CBR9 Review No:8 |

Debut Novel: Must Read if you dig character development and SVU

Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson

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This book was on my radar because Tod of the “Literary Disco” podcast, of which I am so fond, would not stop talking about it. It was his favorite book of 2014 so I convinced by book club it was a good pick for July, cuz you know, July. They were hoping for something light and fun. Sorry people. Henderson’s debut novel is masterfully written. The story begins with Pete, a social worker in Montana trying to defuse a violent situation between a mother and son. Though Pete is the main character, the POV jumps periodically to his daughter, with […]

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9/20/2016 's CBR8 Review No:20 |


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