Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Too Close to Home

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

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I guess I’m posting this for other children/daughters of abusive narcissistic parents. I’m Glad My Mom Died is a great book, but I didn’t enjoy it. It’s very funny, but I didn’t laugh. I was mostly terrified for Jennette and heartbroken that her life was so derailed, and my heart and guts sank for her over and over. The book mainly had me analyzing my own life and trying to figure out how I escaped my mom’s house without her completely taking over my identity […]

And Now For Something Completely Bonkers

The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington

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Well, this is certainly one hot mess of a novelette, and it is deliciously illustrated in sketchy (in all meanings of the word) drawings by the novelist herself, a surrealistic painter.  The heroine, nonagenarian vegetarian Marian Leatherby, starts off as quite deaf, but is then gifted with an old school hearing trumpet that lets her hear everything.  But seemingly no one notices it, even though in the drawings it looms over her head like a conning tower.  She has been placed by her children in […]

In the Mood for Some Cocktails and Banter? Plus a Spot of Murder? Here Ya Go!

Collected Millar: The First Detectives by Margaret Millar

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This is a collection of five novels, written by Canadian author Margaret Miller in the 1940s.  The last two were Inspector Sands novels, but I’m afraid he is rather bland, although the second one, The Iron Gates, was a nifty puzzle.  But the first three, the Paul Prye Mysteries, were some good stuff. Let’s let Prye explain his vocation.  “I’m a kind of cosmopolitan quack.  If a lady in San Francisco wants to know why her husband has taken to eating paper bags, she might […]

Horror 101 and Comedy 102

Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky

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Boys Weekend is Horror 101 with Comedy 102. The mix of GLBTQ themes, friendship, love, family, and an odd cult-religion all play together with first the idea of humanity, society roles and more that is taking front stage. You can take the action as a straightforward  horror/thriller story or take it for a deeper meaning, but however you take it know there are possible triggers, such as violence, guns, sexual situations, visual gross-outs and blood. Lots of blood. Totally not for everyone, but everyone might […]

Step up to the Plate

Out of Left Field by Jonah Newman

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I saw the online reader’s copy of Out of Left Field, several months ago and I saved the link for a rainy day. And recently I saw that it was due soon (the end of March 2024 to be precise) and figured I better give it a shot or I would probably lose the chance. What started as a memoir for Jonah Newman, turned into a fiction rendition of his life. Things are clever, humorous, cozy, familiar, fresh, and relatable. Things move quickly enough in […]

Wednesday’s child might be full of woe, but our Wednesday keeps on trying

Wednesday Wilson Connects the Dots by Bree Galbraith

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I was not really the audience for the book Wednesday Wilson Connects the Dots. However, it is well written by Bree Galbraith, has good representation with a diverse cast, and is a familiar story of friendship, business sense and valuing yourself and work. The illustrations by Morgan Goble help transition from a mostly illustrated read to a mostly text read and gives you pieces that might not be picked up by the words. I was not aware this was a series until after reading, so […]



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