Cannonball Read 9

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

I [don’t] wanna live with a Vinegar Girl

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

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This book is from the same series of books as Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed, which I thought was great all around. That book took on the source material and transformed it, and while it did have some over-clever nods to the material, the narrator was aware of the material so it wasn’t schlocky the ways that sometimes these pastiche novels can be. This novel was, sadly. This is a re-doing of The Taming of the Shrew, which is weird to adapt, since 10 Things I hate about You was already perfect. This one involved Kate, the daughter of a Johns Hopkins research scientist living […]

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Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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3/24/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:118 |

This Will Be Our Year, Took a Long Time to Come

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

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Breathing Lessons is the story of a single afternoon in the marriage of Ira and Maggie, as they take a road trip to attend an old friend’s funeral. Along the way, they encounter some unique characters, reminisce about their lives together and take a detour to attempt to mend their relationships with their ex-daughter-in-law and granddaughter. There. That’s the plot summary for this book, but it tells you absolutely nothing about what really happens. Breathing Lessons is a case study of a marriage. I could write this review to be full of the usual platitudes that are on the back […]

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Purchase Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler or any item from amazon via our link.

Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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3/20/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:12 |

Once Upon a Time. . .

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

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I don’t specifically remember the first time I read this book, but that could be because I’ve read it at least once a year since then–at this point, that’s ten or more rereads. This is my favorite book. It’s the story of Rebecca, a fifty-something widow, who at a family picnic one day sort of “wakes up” and realizes she has no idea how she turned into the person that she’s become. She runs a party planning business out of her home, attempts to corral her large family (I’ve read reviews that complain about how selfish and unpleasant her adult […]

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Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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10/29/2016 | 's CBR8 Review No:47 |

I could be happy the rest of my life with a vinegar girl

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

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Anne Tyler is one of my favorite authors (this is the third book of hers I’ve reviewed this year), and that is the only reason I was willing to read Vinegar Girl, a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed reading this. The modern twist in Vinegar Girl is that the “shrew” character, Katherine, is the daughter of an eccentric scientist, Louis Battista. Louis’s lab assistant, Pyotr, is in the U.S. on a visa which is about to expire, and Louis is desperate not to lose him. He convinces Kate […]

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Purchase Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler or any item from amazon via our link.

Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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10/23/2016 | 's CBR8 Review No:46 |

The Loneliest People in the Whole Wide World

Morgan's Passing by Anne Tyler

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“Mornings now, when I wake up, I have this springy, hopeful feeling, and I see that everything is worth it, after all.” This line from Morgan’s Passing is my favorite quote from a book, ever. No surprise that I also love the book. It’s the story of a man named Morgan who’s bored by his tedious job, his inattentive wife and dismissive children. He has a closet full of costumes, and the one joy in his life is wearing them out in public and pretending to be someone else (a doctor, a French artist, an itinerant Russian priest). I would […]

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Purchase Morgan's Passing by Anne Tyler or any item from amazon via our link.

Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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5/24/2016 | 's CBR8 Review No:27 |

Five minutes looking in his eyes, we all knew he was broken pretty bad

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

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Reading an Anne Tyler book is like snuggling into your warm bed when it’s raining and you have nowhere to be. There are no Big Bads, no scary, suspenseful moments, and no dramatic confrontations. Her books feel like a snapshot of the characters’ lives, which are mostly very ordinary. I adore them. The Accidental Tourist is the story of Macon Leary, a middle-aged man who writes travel guides for businessmen (and since it was written in 1985, they are indeed guides for businessmen, not businesspeople). His son Ethan was recently killed in a horrific incident, and his marriage is unraveling. When his wife moves […]

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Purchase The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler or any item from amazon via our link.

Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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2/14/2016 | 's CBR8 Review No:7 |

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