Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Archives for December 2021

“There’s shock and then there’s grief, and there’s the simple tiring unending chore of life afterward.”

Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane

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I have become a big fan of Mhairi McFarlane, and although I haven’t yet made it through her entire repertoire, I’m making progress. So, when I saw that Just Last Night (2021), McFarlane’s latest book was available, I snatched it up. I love McFarlane’s writing (even though she uses so many English idioms, I sometimes have a hard time understanding her). Although this wasn’t my favorite romantic story of hers, I’m very glad I read it. Eve is the main character. She is one of a quartet […]

There’s no place like home

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

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Having read my 4yo son the first Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind graphic novel this year, I thought it was time to advance to an all-words-no-pictures book and see if he could handle it. So I scoured my shelves in search of something fitting. Harry Potter? Hmmm not quite yet. The Witches? Bit scary. Alice in Wonderland? Too contrived. Then I came upon an old faded copy of the Wizard of Oz that held much promise. Of course this story is extremely well-known, […]

Animorphs Assemble!

Animorphs Graphic Novel Book One: The Invasion by K. A. Applegate & Michael Grant

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I could write a thesis on the importance and relevance of the Animorphs series for tweens, but it’s been done better many times by others. I read this series in primary school and continued throughout high school, until it was pointed out to me rather harshly that I was ‘too old’ to still be reading the series… So here I am, mid-thirties, thumbing my nose to that judgment and gleefully re-reading the beloved series, this time in graphic novel form. Part of me was curious […]

The Mend is Nigh

Severance by Ling Ma

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Ling Ma has crafted a beautiful pandemic tale in Severance, akin to Station Eleven. The tale of humanity’s downfall is told through the eyes of Candace Chen, a disconnected millennial living her days in Manhattan with her directionless boyfriend, her soul crushing corporate job, and the unresolved feelings associated with the death of her parents. She is on a coffee/work/sleep/rinse/repeat schedule, not staying still but also not moving forwards… as society collapses around her. The end of the world this time is not via a […]

Many thanks to NTE for my Book Exchange gifts!

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First, all of my thanks to NTE for a very thoughtful selection of books – In the Hall with the Knife and Little Weirds have already found their way to my Holiday reading schedule once I can convince Snowman Bear and the Owl to hand them back over. Second, apologies for not posting this sooner, I’ve had the books for over a week! Third, I’m so grateful to everyone who participates in the Book Exchange each year, it is always worth the time that goes into it, because […]

Officer Involved

You Can Die Trying by Gar Anthony Haywood

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I’ve been going through some of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series this past year. One thing I’ve written about it is my concern of how Connelly walks to the edge of police criticism but then draws back because he needs his Harry Bosch character to be “good,” even when Harry is bending and breaking laws to solve cases that apparently only he can solve. I like Connelly a lot, I really do. But reading Gar Anthony Haywood’s take on systemic racism and police brutality in You […]



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