Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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This took a little bit to get going, but once it did, I was not able to put it down until I finished it. I loved this book from beginning to end and I just didn’t want it to end. I thought Bardugo’s writing and just lyricism with certain words was fantastic. And this book did a great job of blending history, fantasy, and religion together. “The Familiar” follows Luzia Cotado, a scullion living in Madrid during Spain’s “Golden Age.” Luzia has dreams though she […]

Toil and Troubles

Milkman by Anna Burns

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In late 1970s Northern Ireland, our narrator walks with her nose buried in a book. She does this a lot; she prefers the 19th century to distract herself from the issues that guide her life. One day, the milkman shows up. He knows a lot about her; what she knows about him is that he is an influential paramilitary, and it would not be wise to anger him. He makes it clear that bad things will befall her boyfriend if she continues to see him. […]

Based on a Japanese folktale

The Beckoning Cat by Koko Nishizuka and Rosanne Litzinger

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The cover of the online version of The Beckoning Cat by Koko Nishizuka and Rosanne Litzinger (illustrator) was what caught my attention. This white cat jumped off the screen and meowed “look at my colors, my odd grin and you know you want to read me.” I debated laying down as I was at work and a talking computer screen was more than I was ready for. But I went to get some air and read it a bit later. I would love to give […]

The icon, the myth, the woman

Can You Imagine?: The Art and Life of Yoko Ono by Lisa Tolin

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The spirit of Ono is captured in lovely words and images in the pages of Can You Imagine?: The Art and Life of Yoko Ono by Lisa Tolin and illustrated by Yas Imamura. Though currently available, I had the opportunity to read it via an online reader copy. And though I might not get a finished copy for myself, I do highly recommend getting a copy for yourself, your child and local library or libraries. This is not just a book about Yoko Ono. It […]

When generational trauma meets childhood trauma

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

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This was our March book club selection, and I really enjoyed it. I read the author’s debut novel, Black Cake, in February and I feel like she resolved all the issues I had with her writing in that novel here. If anything, I think she could have devoted a bit more time to the past but she genuinely made me care about the present day characters. Good Dirt in this case refers to clay, and a family’s historical legacy that they trace back to an […]

Boingy boingy goes the car and the jacket and the money and the shovel and the….

Are We There Yet?: The First Road Trip Across the USA by Stacy McAnulty

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Are We There Yet?: The First Road Trip Across the USA is not “ha ha” funny, but there is a tone of humor to the storytelling of Stacy McAnulty and illustrator Elizabeth Baddeley’s book. Maybe it is because I like a good yarn, a good road trip and have an odd sense of humor. But regardless of my thoughts of humor, this is one of my favorite books I read this month (and due to a recent vacation, I had a lot of books read). […]



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