Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


“Women seem wicked, when you’re unwanted”

Beware the Woman (2023) by Megan Abbott

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I haven’t read very much at all this year; distressing work news  in an absolute shitshow of a job market in my field has affected my concentration somewhat. So have I bought a lot of books? Yes. Do I read them? I try? Between finally watching Succession (Waystar Royco is starting to seem like a utopian haven right now) and familiarising myself with the entire catalogue of Kendrick Lamar (upper management? THEY NOT LIKE US). But I did read Megan Abbott’s Beware the Woman (2023), […]

May 2024 Leftovers

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Batmanga: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Vol. 1 by Jiro Kuwata

Magic: The Life of Earvin "Magic" Johnson by Roland Lazenby

Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald Westlake

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block

The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers by Mick Minas

Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon by Roland Lazenby

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses

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June already? Sheesh. The Brass Verdict**** Ever since John Grisham lost his fastball in the late-90s, I’ve mostly forsaken legal thrillers. But I like the Bosch series and I wanted to read something LA-based and this delivered. It’s a fun plot with some legit exciting twists. Will probably go back to it at some point or maybe watch the show. Interior Chinatown*** I wish I liked this one more than I did. The satire is razor sharp, the story is deep and the pain is […]

Pregnancy Blues

Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott

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First and foremost: if pregnancy and/or pregnancy loss triggers you in any way, give this one a hard pass. The best thing that can be said about Beware the Woman — another great tale from the great Megan Abbott — is that you can easily classify it in multiple genres. Domestic suspense, noir, even horror. This is definitely a book about body horror and the horror of women living under the shadow of patriarchal violence. It is so many things but most of all, it’s a helluva […]

It’s Nutcracker Season, Y’all

The Turnout by Megan Abbott

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Jumping right in to my first review for my very first Cannonball Read! I am a librarian by trade, and I talk a lot about books. I’m hoping that the Cannonball will help me get into the habit of writing more about what I’m reading! This was my first Megan Abbott, and definitely a slow burn. Our main characters are Dara and Marie Durant, sisters, and Dara’s husband, Charlie. All three are co-proprietors of Durant School of Dance, and they also live together in the […]

Priouette

The Turnout by Megan Abbott

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Read as part of CBR13Bingo: Free. I checked this book out from my library.  Megan Abbott just owns. In a time when everyone is desperate to write a female-centric thriller in the mold of Gone Girl, Abbott has done her own thing: taking female-centric activities like cheerleading, gymnastics, and femme-focused medicine, and excavating the hell out of all subtext to examine what the world does to women, especially young women. Here she turns her eye to ballet and produces something that continues to match her incredibly high […]

The Turnout – Megan Abbott (2021)

The Turnout by Megan Abbott

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The new Megan Abbott book, which has become a kind of yearly/bi-yearly affair since I started reading her first with Dare Me. Maybe Dare Me was the worst book of hers to start with because even when I’ve really enjoyed her books, I feel like I’ve been chasing that one. The new book takes place in a ballet studio in the US in more or less contemporary times. We have a few clues like cellphone and a vape pen, but like ballet itself, this book […]



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