Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Fireflies, Wildflower Moon, Black Widow and Rebirth

Season of the Sorceress: Poetry and Prose by Melody Lee

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#cbr11bingo #TheCollection I have been following Melody Lee on Facebook for a while now. I loved reading her poetry. Unfortunately, once I found a full collection and not just her snippets, things were not as strong. Not to say, at anytime was I not enjoying myself, but her style is solidly her in Season of the Sorceress: Poetry and Prose and maybe not what I as expecting from the cover (created by Mitch Green) and what I was aware of with her (basically meme) poems. […]

When Far Away is as close as your backyard

If They Come for Us by Fatimah Asghar

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#cbr11bingo #FarAndAway I am not a woman of the Islamic faith. I did not grow up an orphan. I did not look different from people around me due to my skin color. I do know what it is like to be a woman in our society (and a plus sized one) but I cannot imagine the ethnic cleansing/genocide of over 14 million people during the India/Pakistan Partition and 75,000 to 100.000 of them were women. Yes, I grew up poor. Yes, I know what the […]

Heartland – Heartbreaking and thoughtful in America’s Heartland

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

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This is yet another great read I “discovered” via ANUW, the Association of Northwestern University Women book club that I am a member of, by way of my employment at Northwestern University. I was a little leery, as last year the book club selections were pretty heavy to include J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. At first thought, his book has many parallels to hers, so I wasn’t that interested in reading more of the same. Vance of Elegy grew up in rural Appalachia and details the […]

When the Ghosts Come Ashore and every place else

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I know I read When the Ghosts Come Ashore. I am just not sure what I read. I mean I know what I read. Jaqcqui Germain is obvious: she explores the issues of race, gender, and violence. She talks about St. Louis and sees it live, laugh, love and bleed. She hits you in the gut and smacks you, too. But same time this is a love story. Germain is not for a one sit reading. You need to read each poem. Chew on it. […]

Do not give the sirens call a listen

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I am not sure when everyone slept in We Slept Here, unless it was a drug induced state, but Sierra DeMulder does a lot of other things, too. She does not hold back. She gives you the picture of a girl growing up in a family that allowed abuse. Oh, dad did not hit mom, so that is how they justified it, but it is forever burned into her brain her father yelling and her mother taking it. She does not hold back. She gives […]

I want Olivia Gatwood as my new best friend

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New American Best Friend is a book that makes me want Olivia Gatwood as my new best friend. Mostly because maybe then they can explain a few things to me. While the poems are straight forward, there are a few images I am trying to figure out what they mean as they can be interpreted a few ways. Then again, maybe that is the point? However, there is no real question about Ode to My Bitch Face (and trust me, if you say you did […]



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