Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

La Parisienne

The Ladies' Paradise by Émile Zola

Nana by Émile Zola

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The Ladies’ Paradise – 4 stars Denise Baudu comes dirt-poor to Paris with her younger brothers to work at her uncle’s shop, but instead goes to work at its greatest competitor – the ever-growing department store the Ladies’ Paradise, presided over by the Great Seducer Octave Mouret, who falls in love with Denise only to find out she may be one of the only things in the world he cannot buy. I was in the mood for a Victorian novel, but none of the usual […]

“Before you sentence the guilty, at least listen through to the end of the story.”

Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion by Celeste Mogador, Kristen Hall-Geisler (translator)

Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 2: Spectacle by Celeste Mogador, Kristen Hall-Geisler (translator)

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Memoirs of a French Courtesan: Volume 1: Rebellion – 4 stars Before she was the famed courtesan Mogador, Céleste was a young girl with a troubled childhood running with her mother from an abusive stepfather. Sex workers were an integral part of Paris’s bohemian society in the 19th century, but one of the first of them to put her own story down for herself was Céleste Mogador. Having heard plenty on the subject in operas and Les Mis, I was interested in hearing one of […]

Literary Hub Made Me Do It

Hôtel Splendid by Marie Redonnet

Rose Mellie Rose by Marie Redonnet

Forever Valley by Marie Redonnet

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It is VERY hard for me to turn away from a listicle. I love a list; from making them myself to seeking them out, lists give me order AND fun- the best of both worlds! The fine folks over at Literary Hub are keen on list-making, and having enjoyed things they have recommended before (hello, The Lover!) I was pleased as punch to track down this loose “trilogy” from Marie Redonnet after spotting it in a list of short reads. I, and Redonnet (and translator […]

slick with sweat, thick with hate-and I love it

The Lover by Marguerite Duras

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Somehow, this incredible little novella flew completely under my radar until last year. Luckily, the folks over at Lit Hub are absolutely obsessed, and I was unable to remain in the dark for much longer. When it’s in a book I don’t think it’ll hurt any more …exist any more. One of the things writing does is wipe things out. Replace them. While not entirely an “autobiography”, Duras tells the tale of a very young girl who grew up in an unstable household in French-colonized […]

Well, this was definitely a book. I will not be rating it.

The 120 Days of Sodom, or The School of Libertinage by Marquise de Sade

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So, I wrote this upon finishing this book: “Ummmm. Give me a while to pull some thoughts together.” That was mid-October. I don’t think I’ve managed to pull those thoughts together. I don’t think I ever will. I mean, I read some reviews going in to this book, but even the ones that were explicit about the contents didn’t prepare me. I picked this book up because of the Read Harder Challenge. One of the challenges was to read a book that was written in […]

“Fool that I am,” said he, “that I did not tear out my heart the day I resolved to revenge myself.”

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Hi, remember when our book club discussion for this book was December 1st but I didn’t finish the book until January 23rd? And also how I’ve been reading it since November 13th? Because I do. I definitely remember all of that. Ultimately, I’m really glad I did the audio version of this book. I don’t think I could have finished it otherwise. I previously got about 1/3 of the way through this book when I tried reading it in high school, but it defeated me then. The beginning 20% or […]



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