Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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A surprisingly earnest (and not surprisingly literal) exploration of the Bible.

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

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Feels good to finally knock this off my TBR after 13 years, and it was a pretty good read, but I think I wanted more from it. This mindset is puzzling, because I was actually expecting less than what I got here. I was expecting this to be more of a satirical, humorous, critical exploration of the Bible. And it was not that! At all! Jacobs is extremely, beyond-call sincere in his exploration. He’s funny, but the humor is secondary. His quest comes first. (He […]

Sexy, Feminist, and Inclusive Romance

Hot Rabbi by Aviva Blakeman

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When I was putting together my Best/Worst list for 2020 I added a note that my reading year was predominantly saved by Romance Twitter and then proceeded to name drop a bunch of books that are sexy, feminist, and inclusive but didn’t quite clear the very high bar to be Top 3. Hot Rabbi is one of those books. I had my eye on Hot Rabbi while it was still in the writing/revising phase – the mood board alone caught my attention in a big […]

The incredible ending to one of the greatest modern speculative fiction stories

Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons

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Sticking the landing is difficult in stories. Hyperion built up so many mysteries and threw so much at the reader, it would take a monumental achievement to have a satisfying conclusion. Dan Simmons accomplished that ending so beautifully that even an East German judge would score it a 10 (kids, ask your parents to explain that, if necessary). There are so many disparate stories in this book that are woven together: the pilgrims on their way to the Shrike to either have their one wish […]

Hyperion – a modern classic

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

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Some books make you think and force you to challenge long held concepts. Some books affect you emotionally and can force you to weep during social situations where it may be inappropriate (reading on the bus, for example). Only a true classic can achieve both of those objectives and Simmons’ Hyperion certainly qualifies. This is a book that has won many awards and been hailed as a classic for over two decades and I am now realizing how influential it is when I watch shows […]

Shoulda Beena Contenda

Button Man by Andrew Gross

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Button Man is my first Andrew Gross novel and it may be my last. Not because it’s bad; at three stars, it’s definitely not. But because it’s bland, predictable, uninspiring. And with a set up that’s right in my wheelhouse: gangsters, Prohibition, New York, etc., I should’ve liked it a lot more than I did. Positives: Gross does get the era of 30s New York right. Supposedly, this story was inspired by tales of his family, some of whom were Jewish immigrants from Russia. I don’t […]



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