Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About GentleRain

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Your jack of all trades eccentric. Knows a little about a lot and a lot about a little. Tends to mainly read non-fiction (history, true crime, old gossip, etc), SF/F, horror, graphic novels, "genre" books. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: GentleRain's Quick Questions interview.)

GentleRain's Reviews:

“Developing self-trust and self-compassion is a whole journey unto itself.”

Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

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This is a good overview and self-help aligned book for what Devon Price terms as “Masked Autistics.” I am among those and saw a lot of positive press for this book from other Autistic people, so I got it for my birthday and got around to reading it this week. This is a well-written and straight forward text, so it was an easy and enjoyable read. I saw several people were crying reading this because it hit so close to home — I did not […]

Bland Stories, Hack Work, Bad Opinions — 60s Sci-Fi Strikes Again

Shards of Space by Robert Sheckley

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I know there is good 60s SF out there, but the good thing about working through my backlog of old SF I’ve been lugging around is the relief that I can throw this out and never read it again. Shards of Space is a short story collection by Robert Sheckley with some bad stories, some hack work, two decent stories, and a bunch of terrible opinions about eugenics and women. I should probably only give it one star, but there are two okay stories in […]

“I’m finally in the sunshine:” A Good Look At Escaping an Abusive Mother

My Mother, Munchausen's and Me by Helen Naylor

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This is a very sad but ultimately triumphant memoir that deals with the impact of Munchausen’s on both the author’s mother, the author herself, and their family and friends more widely. Helen Naylor’s mother had Munchausen’s Syndrome (also called Factitious Disorder), and over the course of this memoir we see Helen slowly realize that her mother has been lying about her illnesses and abusing her. During Helen’s childhood, her mother says she has ME/CFS and spends most of her time resting and leaving Helen to […]

“It isn’t wrong to want to do other things.”

Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks

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I always enjoy Faith Erin Hicks’ YA work and Ride On was no exception. I re-read it before I started writing this review and liked it just as much the second time, so it’s definitely a keeper. Ride On follows Victoria, who starts riding at a new stable after leaving her more competitive one. She doesn’t want to make any new friends and rejects the attempts to befriend her by the friendly Norrie. Over the course of the novel, Victoria has to figure out if […]

“If you are a shy one, then please try not to settle for living in your isolation cage.”

And Away... by Bob Mortimer

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CBR14Bingo: Funky (It’s a good adjective for Bob Mortimer) Honestly I find this cover scary and have to keep it turned over so I’m not confronted with Bob Mortimer’s face all the time, but I do think it sums up his wacky charm, as well as the dark undercurrent in his work. And Away… is a celebrity comedian memoir, but one by a very smart and thoughtful man, and it has a depth of feeling to it that other memoirs under the celebrity umbrella can […]

Other People Recommended It on CBR and I Also Recommend It!

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

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CBR14Bingo: Dough (I feel like I remember them eating bread in this book? Also there’s the use of currency. I’m struggling with the last two bingo squares.) I read this based off wicherwill’s recommendation — the idea of Tamora Pierce for adults really hooked me, since I am a life-long Tamora Pierce fan. I’m happy to say that this lived up to the hype! I loaned my copy to my mom, so the recommendation chain is continuing. In the world of Paladin’s Grace, gods are […]



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