Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Nart

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Nart is an avid romance reader who dabbles in other stuff when she has the spoons. When she’s not reading she’s a bureaucrat both professionally and as an activist because she’s a masochist. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Nart's Quick Questions interview.)

Nart's Reviews:

A world of compulsory sexuality and how it hurts us all

Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen

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This book claims to provide an important perspective of what asexuality can teach us about intimacy and sex more generally. Boy does it deliver. I picked this book up on recommendation from the cannonball brain trust and am only too happy I did. I heard about asexuality first a few years ago and it made very little sense to me. I didn’t know anyone personally who identified that way, so I sought out documentaries to help fill me in. These did not help clarify what, […]

A retired sex worker and a rabbi walk into an education conference…

The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

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If you’re looking for a sweet book that works to dismantle stereotypes around both sex workers and progressive religious people, you’ve come to the right place. Plot: Naomi Grant started her career as a porn performer before transitioning to her own business providing sex education to the masses (think OMGYes.com, which if you’re not familiar with, I encourage you to correct that). She loves teaching but she’s really struggling to find an institution willing to have her, despite her practical experience coupled with a lot […]

Great British Bake Off warm and fuzzies, now in fiction

Battle Royale by Lucy Parker

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This book has delicious food, a believable enemies to lovers plot and emotional maturity. What else do you need? Plot: Sylvie is a charming 30-something who loves creating imaginative desserts. When she competes on Operation Cake, she butts heads with legacy dessert legend Dominic, who is the queen’s favourite baker and a stickler for tradition and elegant design. She’s sent home after her unicorn cake blows up in his face. The story picks up four years later when her bakery, Sugar Fair, located conveniently across […]

“Your horrible apology is accepted.”

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian

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You like historical romance but wish it had better representation of gender identity? Of course Cat Sebastian is here for you. Plot: Charity has been bounced around from place to place until she found work for the Selby’s, country gentry folk with two young children around her age. They became fast friends, and when Robert, the eldest died, she took on his name and appearance to protect Louisa until her future is secure. It wasn’t too difficult to pull off, since she had already attended […]

Cynical realists need not read further

Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

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This book made me feel old.  Plot: Maybell has been tossed around all her life. From a precarious childhood to an adulthood where she disappears into the shadows, she’s never really been able to find a home. Then her great-aunt, a woman she hasn’t seen or spoken to in 20 years, passes away, leaving her a mansion that she once spent a summer at. One hiccup, she’s actually left her half the estate – the other half going to her landscaper and personal assistant Wesley. Both […]

We need a science fiction equivalent to high/low fantasy

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

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I’ve long thought that a story following the normal life of someone during a really pivotal time in history would be quite interesting. I’ve absolutely adored Derry Girls’ approach of regular people living a regular life while mayhem is sort of sprinkled into their lives. Never Let Me Go is an altogether different take on the idea, the softest touch of science fiction. Plot: Ruth, Tommy and Kathy are students at a British prep school. What are they being prepped for? Not anything we expect […]



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