Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Not Exactly Mexican Gothic, But Close Enough

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

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cbr17bingo Border Now this was an interesting one.  Mexican Gothic is my jam, and I thought that this would be along that vein, but it turned out to be definitely its own thing – an intriguing cross between fictionalized family lore and magical realism.  And when I looked up the translation of Part Two – El Tragabalas, I discover that it is the book’s title in Spanish, but it is also the title of a fairly well known Mexican movie from the mid-60s, and the […]

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

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I read this book when I was a kid. It scared the crap out of me and I recall not sleeping for about a week because the thought of ghosts in an old dollhouse creeped me out. Also, in my mind, it was similar to the dollhouse we get in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and I had already had several nightmares about, one two, Freddy coming for you that terrified me right before sleep. FYI, my mom almost divorced my dad over letting us […]

Did a chick? Dud a chum?

The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King

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There isn’t a Constant Reader alive who wouldn’t recognize the title of this post. The lobstrosities that plague Roland the Gunslinger in the second Dark Tower book are one of the only constants in a novel that hurls the reader through different points in both time and space (though always returning to New York City). The Drawing of the Three brings Roland closer to his elusive Dark Tower, but at great cost. Early on, he’s besieged by the horrid, ocean-dwelling lobstrosities, who rob him of […]

Bewitching

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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BINGO: Diaspora! hot take the horror vibes are stronger with this one, but the issue is that we know the monster is real and therefore are just waiting for the shoe to drop. I was so into Mexican Gothic that I keep picking up Moreno-Garcia’s work, hoping to find the same spark. That being said, I find in general that her writing doesn’t quite grab me, and the plot usually falls a bit flat, so they end up being pretty consistently 3* works. I should also note […]

Hot priests, holy tattoos, and machine guns

Covenant V01 by LySandra Vuong

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When I saw Covenant advertised I was not sure if I wanted to read it. One, it was a graphic novel and I’ll read almost anything when it comes to those. But two, it was a fantasy and I’m so-so when it comes to that. Three, it was about religion and I am not usually in the mood for that (unless I am). And four, it was LGBTQ, and for the longest time I was not in the mood for a LGBTQ and religion book. […]

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

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I honestly liked this one and for those who are looking for a book to read for Halloween. The only reason why I gave this one 4 stars was honestly towards the end the long paragraphs of people’s dialogue just did my head in. I just needed some type of sentence breaks I know that Malerman was doing that to make you more enmeshed in the story, but it’s up there with “House of Leaves” for me. I think I would have liked this better […]



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