Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Two if by Sea: Two Reviews, One Recommendation

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of the HMS Bounty by Sir John Barrow

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Ahoy, mateys! I bring you two tales of adventure from the sea. I’ve had In the Heart of the Sea on my list for quite awhile due to its Moby Dick connection, and I decided to follow that up with another classic true tale: The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of the HMS Bounty. Was I pushing my luck by reading two non-fiction seafaring adventures in a row? Perhaps. In the Heart of the Sea By the time Moby Dick was published […]

I was rooting for the whale.

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

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Most glad to be sitting on my comfortable couch right now, not having to resort to cannibalism. I mean, there’s cannibalism in this is what I’m saying, and while it’s not described in extreme detail, it is *described* . I feel like I might have gotten PTSD from having to read about these people I didn’t even really like (except for maybe the cabin boy) having to eat each other. So: that is my warning to you, and historical spoilers? I guess? This book climaxes […]

In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases.

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The World According to Garp – 4/5 Stars I am trying to figure out books from the late 1970s and early 1980s, because it’s like the first time that authors really wanted to dig into sexual politics in some ways that are interesting, definitely alarming, but also handled with a kind of lack of care, or certainly a different context. This book was a huge hit when it came out and won several awards. It’s generally very good, but there’s a weird weird weird scene […]

True Stories are Often MUCH More Interesting than Fiction (take that Melville!)

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I was vaguely aware of the sinking of the whaleship Essex, and its role as the inspiration for Moby-Dick when I heard that there was going to be a movie about it staring one of the many Marvel Chrises and that the movie was based on a book* of the same name. In the Heart of the Sea is a book about 19th century history, sailing, oceans and a story of survival for some but not all? I was in. In case you are similarly […]



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