Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Ale

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I'm TAing in creative writing, and I'm in the midst of editing my first novel. Along with CBR, I have book reviews published with "The Literary Review," short essay with "Fiction Southeast" and a forthcoming publication with "The Book Smuggler's Den." CBR has definitely helped my writing skills since now I know what readers are looking for for in their works. So, thank you, CBR! Hopefully someday, we'll be able to review my novel on this blog. :) (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Ale's Quick Questions interview.)

Ale's Reviews:

Fresh Perspective

All Systems Red: The Muderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

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A big thank you to Faintingviolet for suggesting the Muderbot diaries to me. I’m not a huge Sci-Fi fan, but this book was perfect. Martha Wells masterfully creates an enormous world full of technological advancement and space travel but stays close enough to character to let us non-SciFi loving people into her world. ‘Murderbot’ is a robot with more human qualities than some of the humans we meet, and every introvert’s best friend. When not doing its job as armed security, it prefers to sit […]

Trouble in FantasyLand

Get in Trouble: Stories by Kelly Link

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The lovely faintingviolet turned me onto Kelly Link, and I’m here to report that her latest book of short fiction, Get In Trouble, is a delight and there was not a story in this collection that didn’t simultaneously charm and terrify me. As a whole, Link’s greatest achievement is her ability to build entire universes in 40 pages or less. It’s an incredible feat that includes massive speculative worlds and full character development, while still using beautiful prose packed with metaphor and description. Here’s the breakdown: “The […]

The Saddest Bug in the World

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

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I read The Metamorphosis under great duress during both high school and undergrad. I remember despising it both times, and only reading enough to get through class discussion. But my mentor is teaching it this semester, and I’ve had no choice but to revisit it. It’s amazing how much perspective a decade and a half can give. I loved this novella, and aside from general immaturity and lack of language skills, I don’t know why I was so vehemently against this story in the past. Gregor the […]

Cats and their Owners

What's Michael?: Michael's Album by Makoto Kobayashi

What's Michael?: The Ideal Cat by Makoto Kobayashi

What's Michael?: Off the Deep End by Makoto Kobayashi

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I have a hard time with graphic novels, particularly Japanese manga. I’ve never quite been able to figure out why, but they’re difficult for me to follow and I tend to get lost easily. A friend of mine loves manga and suggested I try the “What’s Michael?” series as an intro since I’m an avid cat lover/owner.  And seriously, who wouldn’t want to look at fun stories about cats? I’m happy to say these were a delight. There’s not a direct story line to our […]

Magically Delightful

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

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It took me a while to find my feet in this one, but once I did, it was a delightful romp through a fantastical Regency England. In Cho’s world, magic is in the air….or it would be if the Fairy Courts hadn’t plugged up the hole allowing their magic to trickle into England. But someone’s pissed off the Fairy Queen, and it becomes quite the kerfuffle for our titular Sorcerer Royal, Zacharias. On top of Fairy feelings, Zacharais is also fighting deep seated racism since […]



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