Leedock – Page 24 – Cannonball Read 17

The house of cards continued standing.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

October 21, 2019 by Leedock Leave a Comment

As she did in her second novel “The Dreamers,” Karen Thompson Walker places her characters in the midst of a strange yet believable crisis. Here, for no discernible reason, the rotation of the Earth slows down. The gravitational pull is altered and tides change. Long periods of daylight are followed by long periods of night. Some wildlife begins to die while other types flourish. Plants are no longer able to grow without the aid of artificial light. The plot line reminded me a lot of […]

She’s different. She’s the great exception

Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers

October 21, 2019 by Leedock Leave a Comment

CBR11 Bingo: Birthday! (P.L. Travers born August 9th, 1899) (BINGO! Cannonballer Says square to Summer Read square/Far and Away square to Birthday square) The film version of Mary Poppins has been a favorite of mine since childhood. Even though I was a voracious reader as a kid, I never got around to reading the book. Several years ago, I watched “Saving Mr. Banks,” the mostly fictionalized account of the struggle of Walt Disney to persuade P. L. Travers to allow him to make the film version of her book. While I’m certain that the artistic […]

…in which love and Mormonism bore a part.

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

October 7, 2019 by Leedock Leave a Comment

CBR11 BINGO: Classics (BINGO! Youth square to Banned square) FINALLY! I know that I am so amazingly late to this party, but here I am. I missed the CBR Book Club reading of this. I have read the Lady Sherlock Series (Sherry Thomas) and the AMAZING The Affair of the Mysterious Letter (Alexis Hall) re-tellings. I watched the PBS show and the RDJ movies but never read any ACTUAL Sherlock Holmes stories or novels. Now I have. Ta-da! As I suspected, the bulk of the book was about Sherlock and his crazy mind. […]

…using our legs to proceed across the landscape.

A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson

October 4, 2019 by Leedock Leave a Comment

CBR11 BINGO: Travel (BINGO! Pajiba square to Science square) This is one of those books that I heard about forever ago and passed by constantly on bookshelves. Novels with nature as a character are kind of my thing but non-fiction generally is not. Once again, Cannonball Read BINGO has pushed me to read something I most likely would have never gotten around to. (I’m just 3 squares from a black out, people. THREE and I will see it to fruition!) A quick Google search of “best travel books” landed […]

…how disease sometimes exposes what is otherwise hidden.

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

October 1, 2019 by Leedock 1 Comment

This was another book that was displayed by the wise librarians to reel me in. As usual, it worked. Apparently, Karen Thompson Walker is known for her debut novel, Age of Miracles, which appeared on loads of “Best of” lists the year it was published. I will be hunting that book down immediately. The apocalyptic-pandemic trope is a popular one, but Walker does something completely different with it here. A freshman at a small college in California falls asleep and doesn’t wake up. What soon becomes […]

Who doesn’t want an exploding wicker chicken?

Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

October 1, 2019 by Leedock Leave a Comment

CBR11 BINGO: So It Begins This novel is a re-read for me. I am a huge fan of Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate and Custard Protocolseries. However, her shift to YA in the Finishing School series set prior to the shenanigans in the Parasol Protectorate books didn’t really do it for me. To appeal to a younger audience, Carriger dialled down her hallmark cheeky sexual innuendo and unfortunately some of her witty banter and sass went along with it. I recently read Carriger’s latest and supposedly last full length novel set in the […]

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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