Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Darker Shade of Magic Re-read: CBR Bingo “I Love This”

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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Due to a bathroom remodel, my husband and I slept in our front room, where all our bookcases are, and when we finally went back to our bedroom a stack of books was unearthed with A Darker Shade of Magic sitting on top.  This book was my introduction to author Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, also known for the Monsters of Verity duology and Vicious.  I devoured the story and highly praised it in a previous Cannonball.  My TBR list is intimidating, so even though I often find comfort in […]

First they convinced them that the afterlife is even better than Disneyland

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

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CBR11 BINGO: Illustrated (BINGO! Reading the TBR corner to Cannonballer Says corner) First, I want to say that the un-athletic yet competitive side of me is totally appreciating this BINGO situation. I enjoyed it last year, but I was less prepared for it. Now, the actual searching for books that fit into the squares that are more difficult for me is actually broadening my reading base in unexpected ways. Bravo, CBR idea makers! I bought a copy of this illustrated novel a few years ago for my son. His middle […]

It’s not the bad people who are brave I fear, it’s the good people who are afraid

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes

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CBR11BINGO: Not  My Wheelhouse (BINGO! I Love This! corner to Award Winner corner) I read across a lot of genres, but I haven’t read poetry since I was in college a million years ago. Taking “Not My Wheelhouse” to mean something that I’m curious about but don’t tend to pick up, I landed on a poetry. I also landed on a poet who is not my wheelhouse. BlackRaven reviewed this a while back and said it best, I think: “I am sorry to say, I […]

A little bit romance, history, and ghost story

Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley

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I have a friend who is an Outlander fanatic.  She re-reads the series every couple of years and the book associated with the tv series season before it is aired.  For the past couple of years at Christmas, I have given her Outlander calendars and one year an Outlander cook book (which she used and it has good recipes!).  Last year I wanted to introduce her to a new author.  My favorite local independent bookstore gave me a couple of recommendations but I settled on […]

HOLD UP. This is the first of a trilogy? Yikes. Part of me wants to know more, and part of me is just too tired.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

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I feel like a bit of a failure as a reader (well, a listener) after this experience. This was not easy. I really wanted to love this story. It was beautifully imagined and written. This story had everything: drama, action, humor, and adventure. The audiobook performance was unbelievable. The African mythology it was based upon made me want to know more. And yet, I barely made it to the end. From Amazon: Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: “He […]

We live over and over in the happening only to be left with what’s already done.

Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera

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CBR11 BINGO: History Schmistory (BINGO! Reading the TBR corner to Summer Read corner) Set in the American south in the 1920’s, this novel fits nicely into the “History Schmistory” square. Just a generation into rebuilding after the civil war and shortly after a boll weevil infestation ruins the cotton industry, the inhabitants of a small South Carolina town and it’s outskirts are scrambling to make ends meet. The novel is told through the voices of three very different women: a first generation free black woman, the matriarch […]



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