caragwapa – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

A compelling mystery, an intrepid heroine, a musty creepy mansion… and colonialism

Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

May 24, 2021 by caragwapa Leave a Comment

The book opens up from the perspective of a boy out on a party with a flighty, superficial and possibly spoiled socialite. I think this was intentional on the part of the author. A party girl is not what we expect to be a heroine of a story, much less a horror one. Noemi Taboada is a lovely heroine. Unusual in that she is smart and strong (as most heroines are) but also flighty, stubborn and a socialite who enjoys going to parties and flirting with […]

Generic title, author name and book.. but it was fine

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

May 12, 2021 by caragwapa Leave a Comment

It has been around two weeks since I’ve finished this book and frankly, its taking me some time to conjure up details of the book. Not to say that it’s bad, maybe just a bit generic? I’m sure I’ve read a lot of psychological thrillers like this. You know that ones where the bad guy could be anyone, and there is definitely a *SPOILER ALERT* big twist or some misunderstanding. This one book just hangs along the with the rest of them and does not […]

Too much damage

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

May 11, 2021 by caragwapa 2 Comments

Osamu Dazai is an esteemed author of classical Japanese literature, but he was a troubled man in real life. Like a lot of classical Western authors, he squandered his money on alcohol and prostitutes, and ultimately, died by suicide at a relatively young age. The tortured genius thing is not just a Western trope, I guess. This book, his last before his death, is purported to be fiction, but is almost biographical in how the beats of the story reflect his real life. So maybe […]

A dark topic, but ultimately not as depressing as you might expect

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

May 2, 2021 by caragwapa Leave a Comment

*WARNING, THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS. NOT REALLY MAJOR ONE BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BEFORE READING THE BOOK, SKIP THE REVIEW I read three Lisa Jewell books in succession more than ten years ago. They just seemed to pop up a lot in my favourite second hand book store. From what I remember, they were more or less “chick lit”, some twists but mostly focused on romance. They were light, fast reads, and I liked them but was not totally wowed by […]

But his laptop!

Beautiful Things by Hunter Biden

April 30, 2021 by caragwapa Leave a Comment

I was not going to read this book, but then I heard Hunter Biden on WTF being interviewed by Marc Maron and I was.. intrigued. They talked about his book of course, but some details were unclear to me and I felt that the timeline would be better understood (by me) when read. But what really caught my attention was Maron saying that he was concerned or worried about Hunter still. You could just feel Maron liking, relating to, and being very worried about him. […]

I Need My Blood Pressure Meds

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

April 14, 2021 by caragwapa 1 Comment

In Oklahoma during the1920s, oil was pouring out from the ground and the Osage were being killed. Especially the wealthy ones. The book follows events of how the Osage tribe were driven out of their homes, settled in Oklahoma, and became the richest tribe. Then it moves on to how many of them were systematically, yes, systematically, killed for their oil wealth. Then the ensuing investigation and how it tied to the founding of the FBI by J. Edgar Hoover. The book primarily focuses on […]

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.

About caragwapa