Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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More like Ron Churn-ow

Grant & Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

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I read Chernow’s biography of Hamilton last year because, well, I can’t see the musical.  Also, I majored in History as an undergrad and my favorite era is the American Revolution.   Hamilton, the biogrpaphy, was excellent.  It was the first major biography that read despite a good friend recommending Chernow a few years ago.  I enjoyed Hamilton enough that I added Grant to my queue as soon as it was added to my library and after eight months of waiting, I got my turn. Before I get too into the book, I feel the need to discuss my upbringing […]

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12/31/2018 | Post by

There May Be No Supernatural Shenanigans, but That Doesn’t Make the Real History Less Engrossing.

Erebus: The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin

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A few weeks ago, something shocking occurred when I went to check my credits on Audible. Usually, their recommended section either accidentally recommends books I’ve already read, or throws me some kind of self-help book – which, honestly, they probably inflict these on everybody. But this time they got it right – they gave me a recommendation off their new release list that wasn’t something I was already familiar with. And it turned out to be really damned good! I wasn’t sure of how to categorise Erebus: The Story of a Ship when I purchased it. Was it history, or […]

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11/28/2018 | Post by

Audrey is Great. This Book? Not So Much. (CBR10Bingo)

Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn by Donald Spoto

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When we were voting for the AlabamaPink book club this book was my second choice (even though I don’t vote my first choice was Between the Bridge and the River and I’ll be talking about my feelings on that one in my next review) so choosing this for the Alabama Pink bingo square made perfect sense to me. I like biographies, Audrey Hepburn, and classic Hollywood – done and done. I am however left underwhelmed by the reading experience of this book. I think it can be attributed to the style of its author. Donald Spoto is a writer and […]

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10/14/2018 | Post by

There Was No Way I Was Going to Enjoy This One

Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell by Louise Milligan

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Cardinal George Pell is probably the highest profile Catholic back home in Australia – he’s the former Archbishop of Melbourne; former Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney; and the current Vatican Prefect for the Secretariat of the Economy. (Think of him as the Pope’s treasurer.) He’s easily the highest ranking Prelate of the Catholic Church to originate from Australia. He is also the highest ranking Cleric of the Catholic Church to be facing sexual assault charges. Huh, who would’ve guessed it would be going in that direction?   I’ve been holding off writing a review for this book because it was such […]

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10/14/2018 | Post by

An American Legend, Indeed

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

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CBR 10 Bingo Entry: The Book Was Better? I spent some time pondering what I’d like to read for the “Book Was Better” category for CBR  10 Bingo. With so many options, I was falling victim to decision paralysis, when a trip to my local library helped me solve the problem. While dropping off some books, I stopped into the Friends of the Library bookstore, not expecting to find anything. But then my eye was caught by a hardbound copy of Seabiscuit in excellent condition, for the bargain price of $3.50. I could never pass up a good deal on […]

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10/6/2018 | Post by

Because this is not a house for the faint of heart

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

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CBR BINGO: Farenheit 451 While I was fishing around trying to find a banned or controversial book for this review, I stumbled across several articles written in 2016 about a 15-year-old girl in a school district near me. When Jeannette Walls’ memoir, “Glass Castle” was removed from the 9th grade reading list at her school, this young woman was having none of it. She challenged her school district at a board meeting and very succinctly pointed out that the material that the parents were objecting to was regarding the treatment of  kids younger than the 9th graders who were being prevented […]

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9/19/2018 | Post by

The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

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My first CBR 10 Bingo entry: Not my wheelhouse! I don’t read much history and I don’t read many biographies; an historical biography might be an actual first for me. I confess, I was swept away by the Hamilton Mania triggered by Lin-Manual Miranda’s fabulous musical about the founding father who grew up an orphan, immigrated to America, fought in the American Revolution, started the First Bank of the United States, and died as a result of a gunshot wound administered by Aaron Burr. Let’s face it, prior to Hamilton, the only reason most Americans had even heard about the […]

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8/12/2018 | Post by

Well I, see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat

Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein

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Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein is apparently one of the classic books on the sixties. After reading it, I can see why it’s garnered so many accolades. Prior to picking this up, I only really had vague notions of who Edie was, that all centred around her position as muse/decoration to Andy Warhol. Painstakingly compiled from interviews from the many that knew her, whether they be family, friends, or hangers-on (both famous and non-famous) covering her family history, childhood, explosion on to the New York scene and her five minutes of fame, and her swift descent into drug addiction […]

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7/4/2018 | Post by


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