Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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So that was that

I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

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This wasn’t really what I expected. When I saw this on the list for this fall’s Southern lit book club selections, I was excited I was finally going to fill this gap in my reading. While I think many read this in high school, it wasn’t one of the ones we covered in my classes (we read other classics like Their Eyes Were Watching God and Beloved). While I have picked up some quintessential high school reads, I never got around to this one – […]

“A Black girl whose voice chased away darkness, ushered in light.”

Maya’s Song by Renee Watson

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  Maya’s momma was right. Maya was a preacher, a teacher. A Black girl whose voice chased away darkness, ushered in light.   Maya’s Song is an introduction biography of Maya Angelou. Done in prose poetry, (most likely inspired by Angelou’s own writing style. Though I am afraid I have only read a handful of her writing and therefore, not well enough versed to say yes or no), this picture book shows Angelou’s life poetically. Renee Watson was inspired by Maya Angelou’s works and that […]

Words mean more than what is set down on paper

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first of Maya Angelou’s seven autobiographies (cbr12bingo #FreshStart), covering her early childhood up to the age of 16/17.  The memoir is set in 1932- 1944, primarily in Stamps, Arkansas, with a brief interlude in St Louis Missouri, and ending with high school San Francisco. Angelou’s autobiography begins with her parents’ divorce when she is 3 years old and her only sibling, brother Bailey, is 4 years old.  They are sent by train from Long Beach, California, […]

Funny when you have to remind yourself about things that, not long ago, consumed your every thought.

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Brass – 3/5 Stars So on the one hand this book falls a little into the generic kind of circa 1990s second generation immigrant American novel that was big for a good while. I recently read Charming Billy by Alice McDermott, which does this very thing. And then on the other hand, this book is a solidly written novel. Or rather, it is a novel, but it a challenging kind of narrative. For one, the story is good and interesting, but also a little typical […]

Let’s tell the truth to people. When people ask, ‘How are you?’ have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avaoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don’t want to know about yours.

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This wasn’t planned but I bet somewhere deep in my subconscious I knew I was going to do this. The last time I moved I recall listening to about three Maya Angelou books in a row on audiobook while sorting, cleaning, and getting through my move. I just moved this weekend and listened to this one. She reads her books and her voice is so encouraging and pleasant, and she has such a bright outlook on even the darkest of subjects. This book is kind […]

The more things change …

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Maya Angelou’s first autobiographical installment, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is widely considered to be the best of her series of autobiographies. Nominated for a National Book Award in 1970, this work has been a staple of high school reading lists, and banned book lists, for several decades. It is a beautifully written recollection of Angelou’s childhood, from the time she and her older brother were sent alone by train to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with their grandmother (Angelou was 5) until Angelou, […]



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