Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About stegolily

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Stego Lily is a mom, educator, and sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast. When she isn't reading, she enjoys playing the piano, gardening, and chasing after her two chaos gremlins.

stegolily's Reviews:

“The greatest happiness…is to sneeze when you want to.”

The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery

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Rebellion flared up in her soul as the dark hours passed by — not because she had no future but because she had no past. Valancy has spent all her life following the expectations of her judgmental family: suppressing all negative opinions and emotions, avoiding any “improper” activities or pursuits, and putting up with endless teasing about her “old maid” status. Her only reprieve is the “Blue Castle” she visits in her daydreams. When she gets the news that she has a terminal heart condition […]

“I am sick of roses, and I am horny for revenge”

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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This review has been a long time in coming. I borrowed Harrow the Ninth on Libby back in February and made it 60 percent of the way through before the app stole it back (one advantage of physical books is that you can keep them way past their due date and just pay them back later, instead of the library yoinking them away through your phone). After two and a half agonizing months on the waiting list, I finally got it back last week and […]

“There is no safety. There is no end…the dance is always danced above the hollow place, above the terrible abyss.”

The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Typically when I read a book series, I try to break things up by alternating with books from outside of the series. I’ve found that if I read too many books from one author in a row, I get burned out and have to take a break from that author for a while. However, in Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea Cycle, I may have found the exception to that rule. I read the first two books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan a few years […]

Two different stories pretending to be one novel

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

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The 19th Wife tells the story of two young people from different time periods, each dealing with the repercussions of growing up in a polygamous society. In 1875, Ann Eliza Young, the titular “19th wife” of Mormon leader Brigham Young, has recently left her husband, her religion, and her community, embarking on a crusade to end the practice of polygamy. In 2007, a young man named Jordan Scott must return to the polygamous Mormon sect that disowned him years ago, in order to investigate his […]

A charming book about a literal killing machine

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

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“Artificial Condition” is the second book in Martha Wells’ acclaimed series, The Murderbot Diaries. I read the first book, “All Systems Red,” a few years ago, and while I liked the premise, I had a hard time getting into it and didn’t continue with the series. I picked up “Artificial Condition” on a whim this month, and this time, I was hooked. Maybe it’s actually better than the first book, or maybe I’m just in a different headspace now. Either way, I found this book […]

“Both repetitive and unprecedented”…and absolutely beautiful

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

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“Our lives here are inexpressibly trivial and momentous at once, it seems he’s about to wake up and say. Both repetitive and unprecedented. We matter greatly and not at all.” “Trivial and momentous at once” feels like an appropriate descriptor for Samantha Harvey’s “Orbital.” The book details a single day in the lives of four astronauts and two cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. Over the course of 24 hours, the characters orbit the Earth sixteen times, witnessing sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets. Most of […]



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