audio – Page 5 – Cannonball Read 17

A Visit from the Goon Squad – A study in character development

A Visit form the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

May 17, 2019 by cheerbrarian Leave a Comment

I’m a bit late to this 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner but those prize giver outters definitely know their stuff. Egan’s work is true mastery of character development and a triumph of the non-linear form. It seems there is little method to her madness, as she jumps to different characters, and different points in history. At times you are puzzled as to how someone relates to the story, and you learn that they used to work for a main character, or a former flame, etc. It’s […]

Do you remember when . . . .

Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe by Serhii Plokhy

March 18, 2019 by Chris Leave a Comment

I vaguely remember the Chernobyl disaster. I remember hearing about it on the news and being scared. That’s about it. Plokhy’s history rectifies that. The book opens with the Swedish discovery of the disaster and includes a detailed account of the disaster itself. Not only the events leading up to it but the human cost of those who fought the faire without knowing fully the risk they were taking. The first tragedy is what happens to the firefighters. But the book isn’t just a detailed […]

By the Stars We Hope

December 7, 2018 by Emmalita 3 Comments

Earlier this year narfna posted her review of Record of a Spaceborn Few and in the comments she assured me that even less happens in this third installment of the Wayfarers series. I was delighted. It is generally acknowledged that science fiction takes our current major concerns and conflicts and sets them in the future, usually a more scientifically advanced future. Becky Chambers tweaks that a bit by having her characters preoccupied with the same minutia that preoccupies us all – our relationships, our work, our […]

Fluff is a great name for a cat.

March 5, 2017 by JCoppercorn 1 Comment

We all have bad days. Difficult months. Challenging years. But every once in awhile, it seems like the stars of “fuck you.” align to create something so cruel that it should be fiction and then hands it to someone and walks away. That’s what happened to Tig in less than one year. People want to make sense of things, so they say it’s random, or God only gives you what He thinks you can handle, or they wonder what you did in a previous life. […]

What We Do for Love and Greed

November 1, 2015 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

Confession time: I listened to this book solely because I decided that I would not be finishing The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood for the Go Fug Yourself book club over on Goodreads. I spent two weeks actively avoiding listening to it on my commute to work, and on a three hour road trip to Philadelphia where I didn’t have a radio in the loaner car from work. I needed a palate cleanser, and I needed a moody atmospheric listen to go along with Halloween. […]

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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