Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

Perils of Journalism

I Am On the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India by Rollo Romig

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Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: Bollywood. This is a true crime novel about a journalist in India who was murdered, as well as the uniqueness of south Indian culture and the autocratic rule of Modi. Despite it being one of the largest countries in the world, I know very little about India. I knew Britain treated it like garbage for centuries and that, thanks in part to Gandhi, it won its freedom in 1947. I knew that there are tensions between Hindus and Muslims. […]

Seriously, Who Does That?

Who Named the Knife: A Book of Murder and Memory by Linda Spalding

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cbr16bingo bananas The mid-1960s through 1970s were an extraordinary turbulent and bloody period in American history.  Fueled by civil rights protests and the Vietnam War, it was a whole period of what next.  Of course, since these were my high school and college years, it was, for most of us, just the way it was.  Starting in 8th grade with John Kennedy’s assassination, there was the assassination of Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, the Democratic convention of 1968 in Chicago, Kent State, and the resignation […]

The Story at All Costs

Off the Air by Christina Estes

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When controversial talk show host Larry Lemmon dies under mysterious circumstances, local reporter Jolene pursues the story – and gets in over her head in the case itself. At some point, like most people who enjoy writing, I considered journalism as a career path, though I quickly realized I was nowhere near as persistent and unafraid of failure as the job requires. This book, written by a long-time reporter, only reinforced this. The mystery interested me off the bat – the poisoning of far-right radio […]

“And just as she was about to leave the mircophone, she said ‘And to anyone tempted to kiss the TV tonight, please don’t chip your tooth.”

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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When journalist Monique is chosen by the reclusive actress Evelyn Hugo to be her biographer, she has no clue why she was the one chosen – or about the tragic intersection of their lives. I feel like Contrary Mary here to say that I thought a generally universally acclaimed book was just fine, but I’m going to be brave and go ahead and say it: It was fine. Maybe I had too high expectations after reading the rest of the Reidverse books and all those […]

Extra Extra Read All about Frankie and her Hard News Investigating Crew!

Frankie and Friends V01 Breaking News by Christine Platt

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CBR16SweetChallenge #Cozy (the book turned into a cozy read) I picked up a slightly shelf worn copy of Frankie and Friends V01 Breaking News the other day, though I was not sure why. The cover was not “grabbing me” (there are toys and a girl who looks like a doll herself) but maybe it was because it was short, and I was looking for something that was quick and easy. When I needed a quick break from the more intense stories I was reading (a graphic novel about racism and […]

“You’re going to make me love you, aren’t you?” “I’m sure going to try.”

Scandalized by Ivv Owens

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Still reviewing books I read in July. It’s really quite sad that I haven’t been able to get my act together more. Let’s see what I actually remember of this book. Georgia “Gigi” Ross has been in London trying to investigate a sordid news story involving powerful nightclub owners and probable sexual assault and is pretty much exhausted when she’s on her way home to the US. Once her flight gets cancelled, she feels close to a breakdown, especially after discovering that there are no […]



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