Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


It’s A Wonderful Life, Ove

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

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“He was a man of black and white. And she was color. All the color he had.” A Man Called Ove is the story of a curmudgeon who misses his wife, Sonja, terribly… so terribly that he plans to die. He attempts three times and all attempts fail. Ove begrudgingly decides that he still has people to live for and things to do. It’s not quite It’s a Wonderful Life, but there are parallels to this beautiful, heart-warming tale. Among the many touching aspects of this story, […]

One word: DANG

Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero by Ellie Royce

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Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero is a modern take on gender and how it is fluid. It is how Drag is not just “dressing up” but being who you are.  The best part is how normal and realistic the situation is. Uncle Leo helps with homework, plays with his nephew and they have fun. Auntie Lotta sings, dances and has fun with her nephew. Just because Leo is Lotta/Lotta is Leo is beside the point. These are things we can relate to: having fun with […]

All For One and One for All…and a Baton Twirl to seal the deal

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

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I read Kate DiCamillo’s Three Rancheros series out of order. I read Louisiana’s Way Home a few years back and just finished Raymie Nightingale yesterday afternoon. You can read them out of sequence, but it helps a little to know what happened in Raymie’s world first. Because of this order of reading, I think Louisiana’s story was stronger. Maybe it was because I was introduced to her first, or maybe because I have heard Raymie’s story before: the father leaves his family for another woman. […]

Jojo Moyes Does it Again

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

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One Plus One is the story of a single mom of three – a mathematical wunderkind daughter, the son of her estranged husband and his ex, and a stinky, lovable dog – and her fight to give her children a better life. When her daughter is offered a spot at a prestigious school with a generous scholarship, she must find a way to afford the rest. A math competition is announced, and the top prize is enough money to pay the school fees. The only […]

“I do not like that man. I must get to know him better.” – Abraham Lincoln

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie & Associates

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“Every man is entitled to be valued for his best moments.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson’s quote above sums up this book quite nicely. How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age is a lesson on effective relationship building, which can be applied to anyone in your life – personally or professionally. The authors write, “Which relationship is most strained in your life right now? What would it look like if you began focusing on that person’s best moments and sought to affirm […]

We are Family

Just Like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan

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When I first read the title, I thought it said Just Like Mama. No “A.” And that for certain changes the meaning of the book. Just Like a Mama is a modern story about the things a “not mom” does to help the young child of the story. Mama Rose might not be the “actual” mother, but she loves the narrator (Carol Olivia Clementine), makes her do her chores, tells her to eat her vegetables and all the other things mamas do. Carol goes through […]



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