Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Jenny S

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By day (and night really), I teach writing and help run a writing center at a community college in the Chicago suburbs. However, my superpowers include creating towering stacks of to-read books next to my bed.

Jenny S's Reviews:

Might Just Stick with the Netflix Series (or needs more Henry Cavill)

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

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So after binging the Netflix series, Witcher, right after Christmas, I thought it would be fun to try out the source material by Andrzej Sapkowski—while I was on vacation.  I downloaded Book 1 (Blood of Elves) on Kindle—curious to see how it would compare. The good news is that this book picks up right where the Netflix series ends—with Geralt, the witcher, and Ciri, the young princess who may be more than just a princess, finding each other.  No need to wait for Season 2 […]

When There’s Nothing Left to Burn

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

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This was such a delightfully weird novel that I burned through it than less than a day (pun intended.)  I remember an interview with the author on NPR awhile back and liking the premise—a woman is hired to take care of the step-children of a high school friend, whose husband is a senator with aspirations for higher office.  One wrinkle out of many is that the children catch on fire.  Spontaneously combust. They themselves are unharmed but they can easily set fire to anything or […]

Heroes Aren’t Born, They’re Made

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

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There’s nothing better than starting a book that you don’t know much about and don’t have any expectations for, only to discover that it’s really good and that there are two more out there and a final fourth in the works. Last week, I loaded a bunch of library books on my kindle to read on vacation and this one, Ember in the Ashes, caught my eye both because it was the first book in a fantasy series and it was by a woman of color, […]

Travel the World with Nothing But Hand Luggage

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

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This was a perfect beach read even though it was a bit out of my wheelhouse.  I don’t read a lot of romance though CBR-ers have steered me to a couple of books I’ve enjoyed (anything by Lucy Parker for instance).  I don’t mind a bit of sex but I don’t want the plot to be just an excuse to write sex scenes; I want characters and sexy bits to be somewhat balanced but that’s just me. The basic plot is this.  After a near […]

There Are a Million Stories in the Naked City of Baltimore

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman

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Though Laura Lippman’s newest novel is not the first book I started in 2020, it is the first I finished, thanks to a four-hour plane ride and a pile of newly downloaded library books on my Kindle.  I am a fan of Lippman’s—have been ever since I read the first Tess Monaghan book—Baltimore Blues.  There is a Tess connection here but you’ll have to wait until the end of the book to discover it. The backbone of this novel is the story of Maddie Schwartz […]

Wrapping Up 2019 (More Books Read Than Reviewed)

American Like Me by America Ferrera

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

So Big by Edna Ferber

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill us by Hanif Abdurraqib

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So this has been a year when sitting down to write book reviews has not been my strong suit.  According to Goodreads, I’ve read 47 books and that may actually be missing one or two; however, I don’t think I’m going to make it to a half Cannonball this year. So, here are some books that I read this fall that I thought were worth mentioning, even if I didn’t give them full reviews at the time. American Like Me-Reflections on Life Between Cultures: America […]



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