Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Read it, Jake. It’s…

The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wesson

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Sometimes, it’s a good thing to sit on a review. Normally, I try to get these out right away while the book is fresh in my mind. I don’t want to forget the sensation of reading a novel, completing it, and giving my thoughts before it’s fully digested. The thrill of reading books is actually finishing the book and appreciating and/or critiquing the story I’ve just received. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, I wasn’t able to get to this review until hours after […]

Doctor Sleep and the Lure of the Sequel

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While I was reading Doctor Sleep I was bouncing back and forth between my memories of the novel, written by Stephen King in 1977, and the movie adaptation by director Stanley Kubrick, from 1980. I suspect King may have had both in his mind as well. Although it is well-documented that King didn’t love the film version, Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of Jack Torrance was indelible, as were Shelley Duvall as his wife Wendy and the Overlook Hotel itself. The sins of the father will play out in his […]

All Fluff and No Substance Makes “Nicholson” a Dull Read

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If nothing else, Marc Eliot’s biography of Jack Nicholson reminded me why I don’t typically read biographies of still living people when the subject has no involvement with the book. In relying exclusively on archival interviews and firsthand accounts from a handful of Nicholson’s friends Eliot has put together a superficial account of a man whose life is anything but superficial. Nicholson: A Biography recounts all of Jack’s life from his childhood to arriving in Hollywood up to 2013, yet when it was over I […]



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