kniki – Page 9 – Cannonball Read 17

I’d sing this one for supper

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

July 12, 2020 by kniki Leave a Comment

Where the Crawdads Sing follows the life of Kya from the age of around six years old as she learns to look after herself in the wild marshlands of North Carolina. First her mum goes, leaving Kya to subsist in a shack with her father and siblings. Then one by one the older brothers and sisters wander off too, and one day a few years later her father stops coming home. Life then for Kya is a mix of loneliness, poverty and joy. Some townspeople […]

A bit of mystery and a bit of fun.

The Hoarder by Jess Kidd

May 20, 2020 by kniki Leave a Comment

Maud has just started a job as a care worker for elderly, eccentric hoarder Cathal Flood. His rambling, cluttered and spooky house starts throwing out clues of a potential long-forgotten crime, and Maud’s equally eccentric neighbour convinces her to launch an amateur detective case. But people are not who they say they are, and things are not as they seem… Like with the first novel by Jess Kidd that I reviewed back in March, I was a bit sad to leave the characters behind when […]

Coming to a hospital near you…

The Stand by Stephen King

May 19, 2020 by kniki 2 Comments

Why would you read a book about a fictional pandemic when there’s an actual pandemic happening, people ask? I think it’s perfect timing. I spent the first several chapters comparing the beginning of the made-up super-flu pandemic of 1990 to the current world wide spread of COVID-19, diligently jotting down notes about what the president of the USA said (for example, ‘My fellow Americans, I urge you to stay at home. If you feel ill, stay in bed, take aspirin, and drink plenty of clear […]

If you think things are bad now… try living 2000 years ago

Damascus by Christos Tsiolkas

April 15, 2020 by kniki Leave a Comment

I’ve heard great things about Tsiolkas’ writing and even though two of his earlier books (The Slap and Barracuda) were very popular and both made into tv series, I still hadn’t gotten around to reading any of his writing. So, after hearing his interview on Conversations with Richard Fidler (best interviewer around!) about the process for writing his latest book, I decided then and there to read it. I’m happy to report it was a very good decision and I need to go back and […]

Because language has suffered enough…

Death Sentence: The Decay of Public Language by Don Watson

April 10, 2020 by kniki Leave a Comment

When I first read the example ‘The competition policy reforms further improve the performance of government business enterprises through a program of regulation review, enhanced prices oversight, application of competitive neutrality principles and procedures for structural reform of public monopolies,’ on p65 of Death Sentence, I didn’t quite get the author’s point. I mean, I understood what it meant. But the next example of language spelled out exactly why a person like me needed to read this book. ‘Language is a key issue of access […]

Like a bag of nacho cheese corn chips….. I’m sad when it ends.

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

March 2, 2020 by kniki 7 Comments

I admit…. I picked up this book because it’s called Things in Jars and I have lately been possessed of a sudden and all-consuming need to replace my haphazard collection of pantry receptacles with matching glass jars. Don’t they just make the kitchen look so organised and me like a whole-food queen of wholesomeness? Things in Jars has nothing to do with the correct and aesthetically pleasing storage of pantry goods, but it is delicious story telling. It reminds me that reading fiction is a […]

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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