Cannonball Read 15

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Prairie Dress on top, Miniskirt at the bottom

What's Done in Darkness by Laura McHugh

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Eighteen year old Sarabeth lives with her parents on a remote Arkansas farm. Her family has joined a Christian cult not too long before and Sarabeth, who misses her old life,  rebels against the strict rules imposed upon her. After her parents try to arrange for her to be married to an older man, she contemplates running away. Fate intervenes, though; while selling produce, a stranger takes her away and locks her in his basement. A week later, she is found by the roadside with […]

“A Black girl whose voice chased away darkness, ushered in light.”

Maya’s Song by Renee Watson

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  Maya’s momma was right. Maya was a preacher, a teacher. A Black girl whose voice chased away darkness, ushered in light.   Maya’s Song is an introduction biography of Maya Angelou. Done in prose poetry, (most likely inspired by Angelou’s own writing style. Though I am afraid I have only read a handful of her writing and therefore, not well enough versed to say yes or no), this picture book shows Angelou’s life poetically. Renee Watson was inspired by Maya Angelou’s works and that […]

May 2022 Leftovers

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Hollywood Godfather: My Life in the Movies and the Mob by Gianni Russo

Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier by Mark Frost

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

American Tabloid by James Ellroy

Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Dead Soon Enough by Steph Cha

Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka

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Here are the books I read in May 2022 that I didn’t get to give a full review for whatever reason. I read a lot of authors of AAPI descent; their books were all wonderful in their own respective ways… Sea of Tranquility **** Unquestionably a metacommentary on the author’s Station Eleven success in the shadow of Covid-19, it’s a beautifully written reflection on finding peace and contentment in the uncertainties of life. I don’t know that I enjoyed it as much as others did given […]

Ozark Noir

Saving Grace by Debbie Babitt

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Catholic guilt is often seen as a cultural experience of many Americans who grew up in ethnic enclaves that practiced Catholicism. I’m not sure if it is a universal Catholic experience (maybe it is?) but it’s prevalent in a lot of Catholics I know who were born and raised in the States. Catholic guilt is a recurring theme in media; explored in great detail in the films of Martin Scorsese. It’s old hat at this point but as millions of Americans come from Catholic backgrounds […]

Casino

The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America's Forgotten Capital of Vice by David Hill

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Part of my family is from Arkansas. I never knew Hot Springs to be such a den of vice! This is about as entertaining as true crime can get, especially if you like mob tales as I do. There are three running threads in the story: Dane, Owney, and Hazel. Dane becomes the top man for gambling in the city almost by accident but does all he can to legalize it. His ideas are actually ingenious but he’s consistently working against Arkansas’ theocratic bureaucracy. Owney, […]

Kiss and Don’t Tell

Come Again by Nate Powell

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I hate to admit this, but I am not sure what I read when it comes to Come Again by Nate Powell. On the surface it is obvious: a free love, of the earth community lives together off by themselves. They only go to town for market days and a few supplies they cannot make or grow themselves. They sell their wares (some even are legal) and even dance to bands playing. The community consists of friends old and new because of the community (some […]



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