Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Dance the Night Away

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy

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After a chance encounter, Hollywood wannabes Robert and Gloria decide to enter a dance marathon for the meals and a free place to stay. The contest is a preposterous test of endurance, with hundreds of couples forced to stay in constant motion at all times except for short breaks to eat and rest. Periodically the organizers up the ante by forcing the bedraggled contestants to run sprints around the dance floor or perform other stunts for the amusement of the audience. As the marathon drags […]

World Needs Bad Men

Corruption City by Horace McCoy

Blood on the Moon by James Ellroy

L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy

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I don’t necessarily agree with the title, which comes from the famous exchange from season one of the TV show True Detective. But since it’s thematic of the three books I read recently, I decided to go with it. I hate coming up with titles. Corruption City ***** A fun crime tale that should have been better. McCoy lays out a good story but halfway through, it’s like an editor reminded him it’s a pulp novel so he has to take shortcuts. Still an entertaining tale. McCoy might […]

Apparently, They Do

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy

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First things first to any concerned animal lovers, no horses are harmed in this book. Or animals. Only people. Secondly, this is considered one of the great works of American noir and I definitely get why. It is bleak as heck. I don’t know Horace McCoy’s story but apparently the dude had it in for Hollywood. The only other book I’ve read of his is I Should Have Stayed Home and that was another Hollywood-is-bad tale. This one takes on the world of exploitation of Hollywood wannabes through […]



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