Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

Infamy, infamy! They’ve all got it infamy!

Dangerous Days in the Roman Empire by Terry Deary

by Leave a Comment

Dangerous Days in the Roman Empire is the second of my Terry Deary haul and proved to be far more information packed than the one I read on Ancient Egypt, covering three centuries of Roman history from the rule of Augustus to Rome’s fall. While lip service is given to some aspects of plebeian life, such as a look at some of the jobs that a Roman citizen might have, it’s very much a look at its rulers instead in a whistlestop tour through the good, the bad and the mad emperors (and noting that each emperor had something in […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Infamy, infamy! They’ve all got it infamy!"

7/16/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:25 |

Keep A Diary

Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixon's Downfall by Elizabeth Drew

by Leave a Comment

Read as part of CBR11 bingo: History Elizabeth Drew’s Washington Journal is making me wish I had kept a diary about the Trump era to document these last few years. I often talk about how the Trump Era is the “lol nothing matters” times of nihilism and obstinance. Seems like a lot of that was going on in 1973-1974. Drew covers the last year of Nixon’s presidency from the perspective of an insider journalist living in the hermetically sealed bubble of Washington, DC. She did a great job chronicling the national mood and trying to keep up with the firehose of information […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Keep A Diary"

7/10/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:54 |

“Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” Martin Niemöller

Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust by Hedi Fried

by Leave a Comment

#cbrbingo11 #history There was this finished copy of Hedi Fried’s Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust sitting among the reader copies.  It was short. It had a pleasant cover. I was hoping it would not be too dry or too academic. Nonfiction can be a drawn out with the author trying to get all their points across and, even, converting you to their way of thinking. And how would these questions work? What it turned out is an interesting way to teach the Holocaust. From Fried’s lectures, she collected questions she has been asked and has tried to give […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "“Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” Martin Niemöller"

7/8/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:268 |

When I think of this question, I always have my moms smarty pants answer in my head…

Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Mendez

by Leave a Comment

As much as I enjoy good poetic prose, there was something missing for me in Where Are You From?  I did not see the buildup to this question as the reviews and title suggested. Yet, it is over all a good story about a granddaughter and her grandfather. Their relationship played a larger part for me then the fact that because the girl is “different” people assume that she is “not from here” and therefore, of course they ask, “Where are you from, really?”  That to me was more of a side story then the main theme. The poetic elements […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "When I think of this question, I always have my moms smarty pants answer in my head…"

6/27/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:248 |

Dangerous days for them, but terrific fun for me

Dangerous Days in Ancient Egypt by Terry Deary

by Leave a Comment

I’m a huge fan of Terry Deary. For those of you not in the know, he’s the creator of the superlative Horrible Histories – aimed at kids (but adults find a lot to love too) and concentrating on the gross, gory and gossipy bits – and now the Dangerous Days series for the slightly more grown up. Dangerous Days in Ancient Egypt delivers exactly what it promises on the cover – pyramids, plagues, gods and grave-robbers – all told with its eye on keeping the reader entertained as they are informed. If you’re looking for tons of detail, you’re in […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Dangerous days for them, but terrific fun for me"

6/14/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:20 |

“Let us be what we are.”

The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation by Mark Kurlansky

by Leave a Comment

Several of my most recent reviews have been related to adoption and self. That’s on purpose. I’ve recently discovered both sides of my biological family through AncestryDNA, the research of an “adoption angel”, and some amateur online sleuthing. It’s hard to describe in text what it’s like to finally name your biological heritage as an adult. It feels like coming home, maybe. One of the most interesting parts for my and my kids is that I found out that a large chunk of my heritage is Basque. Basques live in Basque Country (makes sense), which is located along the border […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "“Let us be what we are.”"

6/12/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:23 |

A timely reminder that Nazis are evil and fighting them is heroic

D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose

by Leave a Comment

D-Day Girls: The Spies who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis and Helped Win World War II is a work of non-fiction about the women who worked in secret, behind the lines in France in the years of WWII leading up to D-Day. These women were recruited, vetted and trained in England to be dropped behind enemy lines. There, they helped co-ordinate the  resistance and lay the groundwork for the allied invasion. As their work was part of secret intelligence (the Special Operations Executive or SOE), much of what they accomplished remained secret until the war ended, and often even beyond. […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "A timely reminder that Nazis are evil and fighting them is heroic"

5/30/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:21 |

In which I rant about the heroine

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

by Leave a Comment

I was about the day I finished The Girl in the Tower-years old when I realized two things: one, this series is YA darkish fantasy romance; and two, I don’t especially care for YA darkish fantasy romance. The problem is that there are a few characters I do want to see what happens to and the setting is interesting, with its mix of Russian folklore and history. I also do like the conflict from the first novel, not so much present here, between the old world and the new. My primary issue seems to be Vasya, and since she’s the […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "In which I rant about the heroine"

5/26/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:32 |


Follow CBR on Instagram

Shop on Amazon and Support CBR

Buy Original Cannonballer Prisco's book and help CBR!

Ad Partner