Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Cool drink of love

Zamzam for Everyone: Sharing Water at Hajj by Razeena Omar Gutta

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I was going to cut back on the number of reviews I did this year, but then well, books happened! Books like Zamzam for Everyone: Sharing Water at Hajj by Razeena Omar Gutta and illustrated by Bassent Dawoud (due January 2026, read via an online reader copy). There are several books on the Islamic faith for the younger crowd. However, they are mostly repetitive and hit the “big events” and there is nothing wrong with that, but I needed something different and I found it […]

Stunning

Dear Moon: Inspiration from the Beautiful Wisdom of the Qur'an by Zayneb Haleem

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Dear Moon: Inspiration from the Beautiful Wisdom of the Qur’an by Zayneb Haleem knocked my socks off! It is one of the most beautifully created books I have seen this year. I cannot stop saying the word Beautiful to describe it.  It is a beautiful book of inspiration that is breathtaking. It is beautifully poetic. You might not be Muslim, but the messages are for everyone. It was not until college that I realized how the religious text and/or meanings were so similar when it […]

Who Wants to Be the Next Caliph?

American Caliph by Shahan Mufti

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Simmering political, religious, and racial tensions combine and erupt in three sieges led by the same strange Muslim group around Washington, DC after a years-long lead-up. I’m new to Washington DC, and still learning my way around the place as a city where people actually work and live divorced from the role that it plays in the United States’s government and politics. Part of that process has been learning more about the city’s history. Like with many things about DC, I had never heard of […]

Hoops is the name, being true to you the game

Lion on the Inside: How One Girl Changed Basketball by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir

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Do you want a fun book about basketball, being true to yourself and girl power?  Lion on the Inside: How One Girl Changed Basketball is the book for you. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, Judith Henderson and Katherine Ahmed made this book. They took Abdul-Qaadir’s life and show us how one brave woman fought the system to stay true to who she was and honor her faith. The idea that as a Muslim girl, Bilqis Abul-Qaadir was not allowed to “wear a scarf” while playing basketball. It did […]

CBR15 Bingo: On the Air

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

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CBR15 Bingo: On the Air Official book description: Sales are slow at Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, the only halal restaurant in the close-knit Golden Crescent neighborhood. Hana waitresses there part time, but what she really wants is to tell stories on the radio. If she can just outshine her fellow intern at the city radio station, she may have a chance at landing a job. In the meantime, Hana pours her thoughts and dreams into a podcast, where she forms a lively relationship with one […]

If you ever wanted to hear LeVar Burton say the phrase “sweet and salty love”, then this is the collection for YOU!

The Visit by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor

2043...A Merman I Should Turn to Be by Nisi Shawl

These Alien Skies by C.T. Rwizi

Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson

We Travel the Spaceways by Victor LaValle

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You can hear LeVar say lots of other things, if you like! You can also hear Nyambi Nyambi, Naomi Ackie, Indya Moore, Adenrele Ojo, and Brian Tyree Henry! The six-entry Black Stars collection is another new(ish) group of short stories available from Amazon Originals. They are available on both kindle and through audible, and if you are interested in diving into this collection then I highly recommend taking the audio route! Every story is enhanced by the audio performances, and I am sure that I rated […]



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