Cannonball Read 11

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A surprisingly educational celebrity autobiography

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

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In this very engaging autobiography, Trevor Noah opens up about growing up in South Africa, born from a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father at a time when this was literally a crime punishable with several years in prison. The Apartheid regime ended while Noah was still young, but his childhood was still deeply affected by the fact that he was a mixed race child in a society where the races were not supposed to mix at all, to the point where his mother had to walk behind her own child and a mixed race woman when they […]

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3/4/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:6 |

A Horrifying Look at Apartheid from the Inside

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

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I’ve had this book sitting on my Kindle for a while now but finally got around to reading it.  Trevor Noah is a great storyteller and the book is organised into chapters around events that have the same theme or are just based on a specific event.   Each chapter/vignette is prefaced by a factual couple of pages explaining the context for what is about to follow.  For example there is a long story occurring when Trevor is in his late teens that is centered around him becoming a DJ for street parties and the dance group they formed to perform, […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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1/9/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:2 |

Want to fall in love with Trevor Noah?

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

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I’d read good things about this book for a little while but I assumed it was just another comedian celebrity writing a book to make some money.  Since I usually spend money on those exact books, I bought this with one of my first Audible credits.  I’ve always thought that comedians who read their own books are the very best of narrators so it seemed like a safe pick.  I’d watched the Daily Show with Trevor a few times.  A little less often than I did the Jon Stewart version but not much less.  In fact, I’d say I watched […]

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10/18/2018 's CBR10 Review No:40 |

Yes, this memoir is as good as everyone says.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

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If you like audiobooks at all, I would suggest doing this by audio. I know I enjoyed it a lot more than I would have reading in another format because Trevor Noah narrates it himself, and his voices for everyone are very charming. There’s also something very satisfying about hearing someone tell stories about their life in their own voice. This book is made up of a series of interconnected stories about his youth in South Africa, from when he was “born a crime,” with a white father and black mother (something that was illegal during Apartheid), through his early […]

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7/9/2018 's CBR10 Review No:81 |

Context and Choices

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

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My uncle, an occasional Cannonballer, sent me Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime and an awesome coffee mug for Christmas. I was delighted. I love reading and drinking coffee. The beginning of the year turned out to be incredibly stressful and I struggled to focus on reading. I finally made it though. I read the book and then I immediately reread the book. It’s so good. Noah introduces each new section or story with a page or two of historical context. The context is necessary to understand how Apartheid was built, how the different groups were created and then set against each […]

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3/6/2018 's CBR10 Review No:5 |

A Personal View into Life under and after Apartheid

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

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In an effort to try to get into Audio books, I crowd sourced the FB group for recommendations, and this had a large number of glowing recommendations.  I quite liked it, and it helped that I had a three hour drive to complete when I started the book.  I still struggle a bit with focusing on audiobooks when not in a car so I may have missed a few minor details but overall, I really enjoyed this book. I remember vaguely learning about South Africa and Apartheid in high school since we read Cry, the Beloved Country, but I feel […]

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3/4/2018 's CBR10 Review No:22 |

Best Audiobook of the Year (Yes, it is only February, don’t care!)

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

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How can I have already listened to the best audiobook of the year? It’s only the beginning of February! But I have. It’s that good. Go listen. I didn’t even know much about Mr. Noah going in besides that he hosts the Daily Show, was from South Africa, and does stand up. Doesn’t matter, he tells you all you need to know. So when I told Mr. Beth Ellen what I was listening to his response was, “he’s too young to write a memoir”. And that’s kind of how I felt when I saw Mr. Noah was first publishing a […]

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2/5/2018 's CBR10 Review No:6 |

“He’s Mine, He’s Everyone’s”

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

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Last year there were several glowing reviews of Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. Based on positive word of mouth I had already picked up the audio version which Noah narrates himself. I was intrigued by Noah – we’re the same age (well, I’m almost exactly a year older) but our lives couldn’t be more different, and I love a good memoir. For the many reasons life throws your way I did not manage to listen to Born a Crime in 2017. However, fast forward to New Year’s where I am terribly sick, it was ridiculously cold, and the friends I […]

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1/21/2018 's CBR10 Review No:4 |


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