1940s – Cannonball Read 17

All Roads Lead to the Oedipus Complex

The Fifty-Minute Hour by Robert Lindner

October 18, 2025 by Pooja Leave a Comment

CBR17 Bingo: Red – Behold, the cover. Robert Lindner, a prominent psychoanalyst during the 1940s, relates five unusual cases he has worked on – a murderer, a Communist, a bulimic, a Fascist, and a physicist who believed he was living a parallel life as overlord of a distant star system. I’m not sure where I heard of this book – most likely through the case of “Kirk Allen,” whose story of science fiction delusion is related in the final chapter of the book. While it […]

Her heart was American

Tokyo Rose - Zero Hour: A Japanese American Woman's Persecution and Ultimate Redemption After World War II by Andre R. Frattino

April 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The only reason that the graphic novel, Tokyo Rose – Zero Hour: A Japanese American Woman’s Persecution and Ultimate Redemption After World War II by Andre R. Frattino, is not a five rating is because of the illustrations. While it is understandable why they are in black and white, they were not my favorite things for multiple reasons. I know that illustrator Kate Kasenow did a lot of work on them. I appreciate the hard work, the time and even the final result to make […]

“Maybe all I need is a purpose.”

Singing With Elephants by Margarita Engle

May 22, 2024 by cosbrarian Leave a Comment

11-year-old Oriol wants to go back to Cuba. Ever since her grandmother died, she’s felt lost at her Santa Barbara, CA home. School is difficult, her older sister has less time for her since she got a boyfriend, and the only place she is truly happy is helping her parents at their veterinarian clinic. This clinic is no ordinary vet: her parents are specialty vets, assisting with wild and unique animals. In a show-biz state like California, they have a lot of work. One day, […]

Alas, Not As Fun As the Last One, Still Can’t Go Wrong with PM.

The Case of the Crooked Candle by Earle Stanley Gardner

January 21, 2023 by elderberrywine Leave a Comment

Quick question for any of you nautical types out there. You can see from the title that a key clue involves a candle. Said candle has been burning in an interior cabin on a small yacht, completely unattended for a period of time. Is this a thing, even in the 1940s? Seriously, Gardner? Aren’t those vessels infamously, well, woody? SMH. OK, aside from blatant safety violations, this case had to do with a lot of trotting back and forth along the Ventura coastline, with the […]

Perry Mason without a courtroom in sight. This is a total trip.

The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito - Perry Mason #23 by Erle Stanley Gardener

August 28, 2022 by elderberrywine Leave a Comment

cbr square series Well, now, it’s been a minute, hasn’t it? Man, I love this series, and this one, #23, was just plain fun. Not a courtroom in sight, and instead of Paul Drake putting in a bit of sleuthing footwork for Perry, he gets to be bait. A good time was had by all. Banning Clarke and Salty Bowers are a pair of prospectors, seeking lost gold mines in Southern California. (Ahahaha, sure, boys.) But Banning got mixed up with a wealthy dame (now […]

Fiction or no? Doesn’t matter, SO good!

Storm by George R. Stewart

January 31, 2022 by elderberrywine Leave a Comment

Some things about California never change. Water is the essential element in this state, and there is always either too much or not enough. And sometimes the difference between these two states can be measured in a matter of hours. Much like our recent storm, this one sprang up mid-Pacific, got shoved down by frigid air from the Canadian prairie, and ended up in northern California, dumping rain through the mid-state and heavy snow in the Sierras, with some rain heading off to southern California, […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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