Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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The first woman to sit down was a teenager

Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom Now! by Claudette Colvin

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We know Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, Dr. King and more of the civil rights movement people, but do you know Claudette Colvin? She was a teenager who one day was sitting on the bus. She was, like Rosa after her, tired and knew her rights. She said No, I’m not giving up my seat. She would be yelled out, arrested and charged with numerous crimes (none of which were true). And her mother and preacher would bail her out of jail. But that was not […]

What a Life.

Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford by ed. Peter Y, Sussman

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cbr16bingo pride Decca, AKA Jessica Mitford, was one of the younger of the six notorious Mitford sisters.  Their parents, a pair of very conservative British aristocrats, raised quite a brood.  There was also a son, but he does not factor much into the account.  Her mother decided that girls had no need for schooling (the boy, of course, went to college), and only allowed them to learn to read.  But that’s all it took.  They came into adulthood in the 1930s, and the oldest, Nancy […]

A fascinating historical woman I knew nothing about before and now want to tell everyone about her.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

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I forget how I found out about The Personal Librarian but as I read about it, knew it was perfect for my book club.  Historical fiction – Check, Talented woman – Check, About a library and books – Check.  We haven’t met up yet so I don’t know the other’s reactions but I found it a fascinating read that delivered on the promises of the book blurbs.  Author, Pam Jenoff, has this to say, “An extraordinary tale that is both brilliant historical fiction and an important […]

Packed a punch with love

Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement by Sandra Neil Wallace

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One of the things that always gets to me is that the Civil Rights movement was not “ancient history” but “recent history.” In fact, so recent that Diane Nash of Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement is only 85 years old (in 2023). This means that she is only about 12 years older than my father. And while that is a bit of a gap when you are in your early teens and someone is in her 20’s, that still […]

One small step for a woman, a giant leap for all she inspired

To Boldly God, How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights by Angela Dalton

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Once upon a time there was a little girl who watched a show called Star Trek. She had no idea what was going on and didn’t like the monsters/aliens. But when she became an adult and realized that an actor called Leonard Nimoy was playing the handsome character called Mr. Spock, she started to watch again. (I admit, it is all about the ears!) But as this more “worldly person” (she had gone to college, which was all of two hours away from her home […]

A Civil Rights Icon

My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King

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Like many white folk who studied the Civil Rights Movement on a surface level, I always assumed Coretta Scott King fully played the Dutiful Wife. She tended to the children, kept the house, lifted the spirits of her famous husband, mourned with dignity and carried on his legacy as she got older. Well, she did do those things. But she did so much more and she deserves to be remembered as more than The Wife. I’ve always had a curiosity about Coretta Scott King ever […]



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