Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Bodies Are Political, and So Is What We Put on Them

Dressed for Freedom: The Fashionable Politics of American Feminism by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox

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Fashion may seem to be concerned entirely with pop culture, but the way people choose to dress can make a statement about their politics, and feminists over the 20th century have made ample use of this fact. You’d think it should be obvious, with how “the personal is political,” but it was definitely eye-opening to see how deeply fashion and feminism have been entwined, used by both those for and against it to make their point. Despite the cliches about the ‘ugly, man-hating feminist,’ many […]

How Japanese denim got so good.

Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style by W. David Marx

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I can’t remember how I came across the recommendation for this book, but I’m so glad I did. Although I knew, through a vague cultural osmosis, that Japanese denim is The Best, and that Harajuku is (was?) some sort of Center of Style, and also, as a sewist, that Japanese cottons are really amazing quality, I had no context for any of this. In my mind it was part of this sort of fuzzy cultural impression that Japan is, and always has been, good at […]

“For four years we spied and we worked damn hard and we saved people’s lives and we made a difference and nobody cared too much that we were women. And then it all ended.”

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester

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Ex-OSS agent Alix St. Pierre seeks a fresh start in Paris as the PR agent for the freshly established House of Dior, but her actions and enemies from during the war continue to dog her steps. This was the oldest NetGalley ARC on my shelf, so it’s with a real sense of satisfaction that I’m crossing it off the list. And it was fun to see yet another fresh perspective on World War Two, that of a female OSS agent, and better yet to see […]

Can I be a drag queen when I grow up?

The Art of Drag by Jack Hall, Sofie BIrkin, Helen Li and Jasjyot Singh Hans

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Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably seen something about the world of Drag.  Maybe it was RuPauls Drag Race (or one of the spinoffs), maybe it was Drag Queens reading to kids, maybe it was at a local drag show. But did you ever stop and think about the history of that?  When I told a friend I was reading The Art of Drag by Jack Hall, Sofie BIrkin, Helen Li, and  Jasjyot Singh Hans they thought it was up […]

Disney tricked me and I’m not even mad!

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

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I have loudly declared for a long time that we should have a hiatus on all Cinderella remakes. And I have rallied for a shorter time on the sad habit of Disney retreading old IP over and over again. It’s not that I am so mad about them redoing the same fairy tales all the time, but in a world where there are truly hundreds of versions of their Disney Princess tales, why not tell a fresh version of the story? I decided to read […]

Unapologetic Style

Stepping Out: The Unapologetic Style of African Americans over Fifty  by Connie Briscoe

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I am not a fashion person. But I love good art. And this book is not just fashion but it is art as well. However, I do like history and this book also gives you the history of several subjects and areas. This book needs at least three readings. The first read is so that you look at the fantastic photographs. Savory them. The colors, the art, the funky and fun styles. The second read is for reading the text. There is a lot more […]



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