Ale – Page 3 – Cannonball Read 17

Old Story, New Take

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

April 20, 2022 by Ale 4 Comments

One of my students suggested this book a few weeks ago, and I always try to take their recommendations seriously. Most of the time I’m disappointed, or their tastes just aren’t mine, but this one was an absolute winner. The Song of Achilles is one of the most poignant and beautiful novels I’ve read in a long time. Miller’s adaption of the Illiad is told from Patroclus’ point-of-view, and follows his relationship with Achilles from their boyhood meeting when Patroclus is banished to Phthia for accidentally killing […]

Escaping Slavery Is the Least Interesting Thing About Him

The Road to Dawn: Josiah Henson & the Story that Sparked the Civil War by Jared Brock

April 15, 2022 by Ale Leave a Comment

My boss ordered a free desk copy of The Road to Dawn for his class, and when it didn’t arrive on time, he bought it himself. As usually happens, the desk copy ended up arriving at the same time as the Amazon book, and he gave me the free copy. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf behind my desk at work for four years and I’ve never cracked the cover. It’s not that it didn’t interest me, but more that I put it away and […]

There’s No End Like a Sanderson End

The Hero of Ages by Bandon Sanderson

April 8, 2022 by Ale 1 Comment

The more Sanderson I read, the more I feel like his books are really just love letters to his fans. His author notes are always so personal, and its clear that he takes his fans seriously and thinks about them as he’s writing. In this last installment of the Mistborn trilogy, Sanderson’s goal was to write an ending of a series that both satisfied and concluded without rushing or shoehorning. He took all the things he hated about series that ended disappointedly and made sure he […]

What Happens After We Win?

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

February 28, 2022 by Ale Leave a Comment

I’ve come to love reading the author’s pages in books. If ever a new writer felt that they were the only one struggling with their manuscript, all they have to do is read the author’s note of their current favorite book to find out everyone struggles from the same issues. Sanderson, for all his prolific publishing, is not immune from writing troubles, as he plainly says in his author’s note from The Well of Ascension. The Mistborn books were his first series, and the issues […]

“I am the one thing you can never kill. I am hope.”

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

February 11, 2022 by Ale 5 Comments

I’m taking a break from my Diana Wynne Jones challenge to read different fantasy. Thanks to my wonderful Book Exchange partner, I was gifted the full Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson and have been chomping at the bit to dig into it. I lost a lot of sleep over this book, it was just too good to only read for a half hour before bed, and as dense and heavy as Sanderson often is, this book blew by. Mistborn introduces us to the Final Empire, a pseudo […]

Old Magic, Old Story Style

Unexpected Magic: Collected Stories by Diana Wynne Jones

February 1, 2022 by Ale 2 Comments

One of the things I always find fascinating about reading short story collections by authors who’ve had a very long career is to see the growth and change of their style over time. Unexpected Magic by Diana Wynne Jones is no exception. The collection has stories published from throughout her career, from as early as the 1960s to the early 2000s. Not in any particular order, the stories range from speculative tales of authors so lost in their work it becomes real to cats telling their […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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