Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About ElCicco

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Married, mom of two, history PhD, feminist. I've been participating in Cannonball Read since CBR4. I love to read, and writing reviews keeps me from reading without thinking. I feel like I owe it to the authors who entertain me to savor their creations. It's like slowing down and enjoying a delicious meal instead of bolting your food. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: ElCicco's Quick Questions interview.)

ElCicco's Reviews:

A brief history of the Soviet Union and an homage to Casablanca

A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel by Amor Towles

May 9, 2023 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

There’s a lot to love about this novel: the writing, the characters, the author’s knowledge of Russian history and literature. The premise behind the novel may seem a bit fantastical, but somehow Amor Towles makes me believe it and want it to be true. In 1922, fictional Count Alexander Rostov was brought before a Revolutionary court and found guilty of being an enemy of the people. Given his class, he might have been executed, but in 1913 Rostov had written poetry sympathetic to revolutionary ideals, […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History Tagged With: a gentleman in moscow, Amor Towles, CBR15, ElCicco, Fiction, Soviet Union

ElCicco's CBR15 Review No:25 · Genres: Fiction, History · Tags: a gentleman in moscow, Amor Towles, CBR15, ElCicco, Fiction, Soviet Union ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A WWI novel both predictable and surprising

In Memoriam: A Novel by Alice Winn

April 25, 2023 by ElCicco 1 Comment

In Memoriam is the story of two young men, students from the prestigious (fictional) British public school Preshute, who go off to fight in the First World War. You can imagine, if you are at all familiar with WWI literature, how this tale is going to go, and yet Winn, in her first novel, manages to create a story that is faithful to the horrors of that conflict while still surprising the reader with its conclusion. Winn, herself the product of a British boarding school, […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History Tagged With: Alice Winn, CBR15, ElCicco, Fiction, In Memoriam, WWI

ElCicco's CBR15 Review No:24 · Genres: Fiction, History · Tags: Alice Winn, CBR15, ElCicco, Fiction, In Memoriam, WWI ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

A real witch is the best kind of person

A Hat Full of Sky: A Tiffany Aching Adventure by Terry Pratchett

April 17, 2023 by ElCicco 1 Comment

This is the second book of Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series. Tiffany is a young witch living on “the Chalk,” a land full of sheep and the fairies known as the Nac Mac Feegle (NMF), or Wee Free Men. In book one, 9-year-old Tiffany teamed up with the NMF to save her brother and the world from the queen of the fairies. Her witchly abilities were evident to other witches like Miss Tick and Mistress Weatherwax, who gifted Tiffany a hat. A witch’s hat is […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: #fantasy, A Hat Full of Sky, CBR15, ElCicco, Fiction, Terry Pratchett, Tiffany Aching, YA

ElCicco's CBR15 Review No:23 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: #fantasy, A Hat Full of Sky, CBR15, ElCicco, Fiction, Terry Pratchett, Tiffany Aching, YA ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

This will be one of my year-end favorites

Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, Boulet

March 31, 2023 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

Bea Wolf is a graphic novel that re-imagines the classic epic poem Beowulf. I’ve reviewed Seamus Heaney’s award-winning translation of Beowulf as well as  Maria Dahvana Headley’s Beowulf-inspired novel The Mere Wife (an excellent read) but this Beowulf is a little different. And it is also outstanding! Bea Wolf is Beowulf for kids. It is clever and hilarious with incredibly good black and white drawings by Boulet. Much like a Bugs Bunny cartoon, kids could read this and get a good laugh out of it, […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: Bea Wolf, Beowulf, Boulet, CBR15, ElCicco, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Zach Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith, Boulet

ElCicco's CBR15 Review No:22 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: Bea Wolf, Beowulf, Boulet, CBR15, ElCicco, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Zach Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith, Boulet ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A bit of a mixed bag (and a complete Passport!)

The Lost Apothecary: A Novel by Sarah Penner

March 30, 2023 by ElCicco 2 Comments

CBR15passport book you own (passport complete) I bought this book a while back as part of a sale. It’s historical fiction, which I almost always enjoy, and it moves back and forth between the late 18th century and present day London. Overall, it’s a decent read, the kind of book that you could finish on a long flight or over a weekend. Its focus is on female characters struggling to deal with dishonest and unfaithful men, and women finding fulfillment in their own work and […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: CBR15, CBR15Passport, ElCicco, Fiction, historical fiction, sarah penner, the lost apothecary

ElCicco's CBR15 Review No:21 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: CBR15, CBR15Passport, ElCicco, Fiction, historical fiction, sarah penner, the lost apothecary ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

This ain’t Green Acres

In the Beginning Was the Sea by Tomas Gonzalez

March 27, 2023 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

Cbr15passport books from different countries (Colombia) I learned about this short novel from a NYT “By the Book” interview with Patricia Engel. When asked about a great book that no one seems to know about, she mentioned Tomas Gonzalez’s In the Beginning Was the Sea (published in 1983, English translation in 2014 by Frank Wynne) for its shocking twists and turns. I must admit, it did not disappoint. The set up of the novel had the potential for it to be a comedy, but this […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: CBR15, CBR15Passport, ElCicco, Fiction, In the Beginning Was the Sea, Tomas Gonzalez

ElCicco's CBR15 Review No:20 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: CBR15, CBR15Passport, ElCicco, Fiction, In the Beginning Was the Sea, Tomas Gonzalez ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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