Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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A Different Look at History

The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis by George Stephanopoulos

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The story: George Stephanopoulos takes look at the history of the Situation Room, from its inception during JFK’s presidency to how it’s being used today. Each chapter focuses on a different president, and most of them zero in on one specific incident that occurred during their presidency in which the Situation Room came into play (for example, the Jimmy Carter chapter focuses on the hostage crisis in Tehran). Why I read it: My dad recommended it, and I love this kind of book. What I […]

Who Wants to Be the Next Caliph?

American Caliph by Shahan Mufti

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Simmering political, religious, and racial tensions combine and erupt in three sieges led by the same strange Muslim group around Washington, DC after a years-long lead-up. I’m new to Washington DC, and still learning my way around the place as a city where people actually work and live divorced from the role that it plays in the United States’s government and politics. Part of that process has been learning more about the city’s history. Like with many things about DC, I had never heard of […]

The 21 Step count

The Unknown Soldier by Jess M. Brallier

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Now let me tell you about The Unknown Soldier or in this case, the book by Jess M. Brallier. Yes, the same Jess Brallier who is the author of the Booker the Bat book. And I do not think one author has written two more different books (except for Jonathan Hill and their Odessa and Tales of a Seventh-grade Lizard Boy) than these two. One is lighthearted and fluffy and squeaky, the other serious, informative and emotional.  While the book seemed familiar, I did not […]

You Don’t Always Get What You Want

On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks

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Alas, this was not the Green Dolphin I was looking for.  There is a jazz standard by this name that I love, and I know it was featured in a movie, based on a novel of the same name.  Well, almost the same name.  What I was looking for was Green Dolphin Street, based on an historical novel set in New Zealand.  So imagine my surprise when I pick up the book I had ordered from the library, and see the cover featuring a mid-century […]

War Without End

The Border by Don Winslow

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Someone I follow on Instagram did a “What are you reading this weekend?” post. I responded with this book. The person replied: “I’ve never read Don Winslow but I’ve heard good things.” Hmm. On the one hand, Winslow is one of my favorite, reliable writers. He churns out some incredible crime fiction, including epic historical crime fiction that integrates real events into the narrative. I’m reading what he’s writing. On the other hand, Winslow’s art is hard to separate from the artist, especially when he […]

It’s Writing By Numbers but at Least the Painting is Good

The Outsider by Alex Finlay

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Grayson ‘Gray’ Hernandez has just finished law school. He dreams of making a big splash as a hot-shot lawyer, but so far his career hasn’t really taken off yet. Forever the idealist – his immigrant parents run a pizza place in a bad neighbourhood, and Gray wants to help them – he takes up a job as a Supreme Court messenger. It doesn’t pay much but at least he gets to be around the most brilliant minds of the country. Then, one night, the Chief […]



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