Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

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For the last five years, I’ve been grappling with the question: ‘Am I a Runner?’. Sure, I run, but does that make me a Runner? What’s the threshold for that? How is this identity obtained and defined? And I think maybe the litmus test, for me at least, is: Do you run? Did you enjoy reading and identify with ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’? My answer to both questions is a resounding Yes, so I think I can finally settle into […]

“Oh, every person is a book with chapters. Some are glorious and some are dark and ugly. Every person survives something.”

A Heart in a Body in the World by Caletti, Deb

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After an unnerving encounter in a local fast-food chain, Annabelle runs. She runs and decides she can’t stop anytime soon. She isn’t prepared for a cross-country run, but she can’t bear to turn back to her hometown and school where she is haunted by flashbacks of The Taker, and what he took. Her mother is appalled, with graduation coming and concern that Annabelle isn’t thinking rationally. But her little brother, her friends, and her grandfather seem to understand that running to Washington DC is something […]

Track the field and you’ll see Sunny shining

Track #3 Sunny by Jason Reynolds

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Track #3 Sunny is the third in the Track series and so far, perhaps the strongest of the bunch. Jason Reynolds has written Sunny in a diary format. While the information is all there (seeing Sunny running, not running, dealing with his family and friends) it is more tell than show. This can be a little awkward at times as, with a real diary, Sunny does not always start at the beginning or make sense. But there is a reason for that. Sunny’s writing is […]

Life is better in running shoes

Patina by Jason Reynolds.

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Track #02 Patina is written in the signature style of Jason Reynolds.  This time we look at the life of Patina, or Patty as she prefers. Due to her mother being unable to care for her and her sister, she gives custody of her daughters to her brother and sister-in-law. This brings up many issues for Patty: the biggest being, how can she care for the people she loves. She takes on a “mother roll” to her sister, her mother, her friends and forgets herself. […]

If he can stay on track

Track #01: Ghost by Jason Reynolds

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Track #01 Ghost is a book that is praised for its diverseness (an author and characters of color). However, I forgot that these characters were “not white” and focused on the struggles of Castle. Or Ghost as he prefers.  That and the fact they deal with a lesser explored sport, running, are probably the two best parts of the book. Which is to say, since that is the book, it is a good book. The metaphor Jason Reynolds gives you is Ghost is always running: […]

The Radio Guy Runs a Few Marathons

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  I became a consistent NPR listener when I moved to a region where the radio options were country music, Christian rock, or NPR. I wanted something to listen to in the car to and from work and while running errands, and I can only tolerate the first two options in small doses, then it all starts to sound the same to me and that gets annoying. So when I heard that Peter Sagal, longtime host of one of the more entertaining talk options “Wait […]



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