Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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What were you doing as a teen?

The Bicycle Girl: Jyoti Kumari's Amazing Journey Across India: (A True Story of Bravery, Determination, and Family Love Set in India During the Pandemic by Garen Thomas, Suhasini Raj and Maithili Joshi

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Only a few books recently have made me cry due to subject matter. (I’ve cried because they were poorly written and the only good thing I can say is they keep loggers and paper factories in business). Therefore, when I say The Bicycle Girl: Jyoti Kumari’s Amazing Journey Across India: (A True Story of Bravery, Determination, and Family Love Set in India During the Pandemic) made me cry, it is a good cry. Garen Thomas, Suhasini Raj, and illustrator Maithili Joshi made a picture book […]

Homecoming and Family Revelations

The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

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I read a few Thrity Umrigar novels a few years ago and quite enjoyed her writing. I just kind of fell out of the habit of reading this type of genre of novel so even though I like the author, I would choose other books from my TBR. Remy Wadia hasn’t been back to visit Bombay since his father died 3 years ago. He and his mother have always had a difficult relationship, and even now, he isn’t back to see her but to speak […]

A first female wheelchair athlete

The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming an Ironman World Champion by Minda Dentler

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The story The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming an Ironman World Champion by illustrator Stephanie Dehennin and author Minda Dentler (the Minda Dentler of the story) is not necessarily a new idea as we have had stories about people overcoming the odds due to race, gender and disabilities before. However, Dentler’s story is unique because it is hers. It is also unique because I have never really seen a book that had  this exact subject. […]

An old man returns to his childhood home — a book review but also my earnest request for more Hollywood movies about Partition

The Persistence of Memory by Urvashi Butalia

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In my search to learn more about the partition of India after it gained independence from the British, Urvashi Butalia was a writer recommended by a Pakistani journalist friend who had done some reporting on this issue. Ten minutes of Google and I was able to find The Persistence of Memory, which ended up being a quick and satisfying read. Butalia follows Bir Bahadur Singh as he travels to Pakistan in his 70s, eager to return to his home village Thoa Khalsa for a visit […]

I wonder if they say, “Break a leg” for good luck in India?

The First Girl on Stage: Tunga Dances the Yakshagana by Shruthi Rao

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Are you looking for a good story about breaking the gender barrier with a subject not many might know about. The First Girl on Stage: Tunga Dances the Yakshagana by Shruthi Rao and  illustrator Devika Joglekar might be what you are looking for.  The girl of the story becomes obsessed with the dances she sees on stage. The swirling, the costumes, the colors, the excitement she copies all the time. At first, her family finds it amusing, then not so much, as she continues to […]

“Love is sharing your popcorn.” —Charles Schultz

A Salwar Kameez for Ambika by Arti Pandey

Samina Goes to a Wedding: Celebrations from a Bangladeshi Marriage by Farida Zaman

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Somedays I think I must be one of the top 100 romantic skeptics. I mean, I love a good happily ever after, but I’m also the person who, when I see a public proposal, I’m the one saying, “Just say no! But if you do, get a good prenup!”  So when I recently found two picture books about weddings as online reader copies, I almost passed them by. I mean, I’m all for a wedding (I mean let me eat cake) but reading about them? […]



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