Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Apocalypse (S)now – The End of the World at the end of the world

Moon on the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

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There’s a moment in the ’90s movie Independence Day where the Americans lead the charge against the alien invaders by rallying the various nations of the world together. In its rally-raising way, you can almost see the cultural change that came in the following decades. The move away from the centering of Western perspectives to a blend of voices which better represent the world as it is that’s still happening. This book feels like it’s sitting in that ’90s apocalypse window, where the enemy was […]

Blue Notes

Cahokia Jazz by Franics Spufford

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Reading this book was a unique experience for me. Since it focuses on First Nations in America, some parts are tough and sad. I borrowed it from the library and wasn’t sure I’d finish before it was due, especially because of the heavy moments. But I felt I owed it to the main character to see it through. That’s never happened to me before. I’m glad I finished Cahokia Jazz. The story has really stayed with me, even though I’ve returned the book. The story […]

You are all Dead Spirits

Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook, and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People by Darren Rix; Craig Cormick

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So as a school kid in Australia back in the nineties, I remember being taught, like many of my peers, the Captain Cook ‘discovered’ Australia. Except that wasn’t quite true, was it? To add all the qualifiers, Cook and his crew are probably best described as the first set of Europeans to visit the east coast of Australia …after the dutch sort of poked around in the west.  But very little discussion time was given to the people that had lived in Australia for tens […]

A complex fantasy with many stories woven together

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin

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I was immediately drawn to Aunt Tigress by the cover, and the synopsis had me intrigued. Tam is a young woman living in Calgary where the magic from her tiger father is weak because it’s far from the forces she calls on for exorcisms and other magics, but she also knows to respect the magic of First Nations without trying to steal it. Or at least, that’s what her father tried to teach her before he died when she was 12, and her Aunt Tigress […]

I would not have been a settler.

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

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I read S.C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon as part of a book club. The titular empire in this work of history is Comanche empire. Gwynne says it was the Comanches that determined when the West opened up to white settlers. For decades and decades, no one could get around them. About half-way through our club meeting, someone asked a question that’s good to ask about any book: What is this book about? Empire’s cover features Comanche leader Quanah Parker, and Parker’s name is […]

An Unbelievable Life

Born Again Blakfella. by Jack Charles; Namila Benson

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  Jack Charles certainly started Born Again Blakfella with a memorable scene. As a beloved actor in Australia and noted First Nations activist, you would think that he would start by drawing attention to his achievements in both of these fields. But Charles decided to start his memoir with a facet of his life that didn’t lead to him getting glowing reviews in the newspapers: “It’s the middle of the night and I’m huddled over, dragging my dilly bad, which is chock full of all […]



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