Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Great subject, great writing, but the story did nothing for me

A Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux

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I do not wish to explain my passion—that would imply that it was a mistake or some disorder I need to justify—I just want to describe it. ― Annie Ernaux, Simple Passion Yet it is that surreal, almost non-existent last visit that gives my passion its true meaning, which is precisely to be meaningless, and to have been for two years the most violent and unaccountable reality ever. ― Annie Ernaux, Simple Passion At best, I’m ambivalent about this story. The writing is gorgeous. And […]

In the immortal words of Dorothy Zbornak, “If you have to ask, it does not matter.”

Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell

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I’ve never been the type to read more than one book at a time, but earlier this year, I decided I should both spend less time online and read more poetry and philosophy and mythology and the like. I kept one book on my nightstand to read before bed, another by my desk to read in downtime during work instead of picking up my phone. And it worked! I’ve spent much less time online and more time reading, but this success also led to an […]

You know your love keeps on lifting me, lifting me higher and higher

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CBR10Bingo: Fahrenheit 451 (BINGO!) When I named Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon as one of my three desert island books earlier this year, I realized two things: (1) I’ve only read it once, and that was about 15 years ago, and (2) I haven’t even owned a copy for half that time, having lost track of my original through several big moves (I blame my ex). I bought a fresh copy this spring, and when CBR10Bingo rolled around, I had this book in mind for […]

Too many notebooks.

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There are some books that do really well as audiobooks, particularly if you have a long commute or need something that will engage your attention. There are others that have long, slow, winding threads of story and just don’t grab your attention the way they should when you are exhausted and stuck in rush-hour traffic. The Golden Notebook is a really difficult, dense book, and it does not a good audiobook make. Anna Wulf is a conflicted writer. After publishing one highly successful novel, Frontiers […]

Bleak and more Bleak

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One of the reasons I won’t hit my goal of books this year is the collection of short stories: Dear Life by Alice Munro which I read six months ago.  The writing is terrific, and yet, the stark reality of these stories put me in a funk.  Most of us live insignificant lives, the small details, the dramas, don’t add up to much in the end.  Munro’s characters don’t learn lessons, their stories simply reminding us how small life is. Leaving Maverly is set in […]



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