Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Recipes and Stories from Canada would be enough

Taste the Wild by Lisa Nieschlag, Lars Wentrup

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Bingo 20: Landscape As the cover (pictured above) suggests, this book is about Canada (see wooded landscape in mists) in terms of food (it’s part cookbook) and character (it’s part excerpted prose bits from travel and fiction stories, and photography collection too). I can see how all of this could fit together, except that it doesn’t quite work out. The photos are gorgeous but the sentimental/philosophical sayings accompanying them are so out of context that to me at least they come off as either hollow […]

If the improv form Harold were depressing and tragic

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

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BINGO – SHELFIE There is a long form improv format called the Harold. Boiled down, improvisors create three distinct story lines that, throughout the run time of the show, weave together into a single story. All of the seemingly disparate characters and story lines are actually all connected in hilarious and often ludicrous ways, and everyone has a great time. (If you feel comfortable doing so, I encourage you to find a local improv troupe that performs the Harold because it’s a hoot; definitely my […]

READ. THIS. BOOK. (Johnny Appleseed)

Johnny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

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I’m using this as my “They/She/He” square in CBR13Bingo. The thesis of this review is: read this book! I’m going to do my best to describe it to you, but Joshua Whitehead’s words are so much more beautiful than anything I can come up with.  This novel is gorgeous!  Johnny is a young, Two-Spirit teenager living on the “rez” near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. And throughout the novel, Johnny tells of his experiences with becoming. With his supportive mother and his beloved kokum (grandmother), he explores […]

Yet another book to save for when you’re not hungry

The Professor Next Door by Jackie Lau

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CBR13 Bingo: Pandemic This book was granted to me as an ARC from the author in return for an honest review. I had already pre-ordered the book, as Jackie Lau is now an auto-buy for me. While this is technically the third entry in the Cider Bar Sisters series, each of the books in the series works perfectly well as a stand-alone. The first book in the series, Her Big City Neighbor is currently available free, however (as of me writing this), so if you’re […]

Romancing the To-Do List

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

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Lily Chu’s The Stand-In was a very nice way to spend 10 hours and it reignited my off and on search for the perfect to-do list organizer. When The Stand-In opens, Gracie Reed has taken a sick day from work to go see a lawyer about whether she has a case against her gross, handsy boss. After an unproductive meeting, she goes to her local coffee shop, hoping for some decadent chocolate treats to lift her spirits. She strikes out there too. What she does […]

…but you can’t pick your family.

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

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After immersing myself in the Bernie Madoff story following his death, I was kind of caught off guard at a character that, while probably not based on Madoff given the timing of publication, certainly resembles him. This was probably my favorite Inspector Gamache novel so far. It also reminded me of what frustrates me about the series. I’ll share what’s good in the paragraphs below and then post a spoiler alert to express my frustrations, which will mostly be for longtime Gamache readers. Both the […]



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