Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The dangers of not doing research before traveling abroad

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

by Leave a Comment

I can’t even with these boys. These BOYS!  They can’t seem to use their words with each other.  Baz can be smooth as hell when he wants to, but he and Simon have a verbal block between them, and I can’t even.  I want to smack them both upside the head, or give them a truth serum or something.  They need to talk about their FEELINGS and they just WON’T!   Anyway, we’re in America now, and on a road trip!  Simon, Penny, and Baz […]

The cover makes the book look more exciting than it is

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

by 1 Comment

I know that Ursula K. Le Guin is a big name in influential fantasy authors, especially for children’s and YA.  And I’d never read anything by her, so I figured that I should.  A Wizard of Earthsea is the classic hero’s journey with wizards and magic and dragons and all sorts of other stuff.  What more could you ask for?   Apparently a lot.  I was bored!  Partly due to the story, and partly because of the language. It felt stuffy.  I think she was […]

I took the title of this Bingo square literally

The 1918 Flu Pandemic by Katherine Krohn, illustrated by Bob Hall, Keith Williams, and Charles Barnett III

by 2 Comments

Well, this is timely.  This juvenile graphic novel came out in 2008, and I’m sure the author and illustrators never thought they would have to live through a pandemic themselves.    This is meant for kids around 4th grade, and tries to explain what happened during the pandemic.  It focuses on the speed and deadliness of the virus, but also on the uncertainty.  Some of the things that they did will definitely be familiar with kids today, especially the closing of schools and the use […]

A journey that could not take place at the moment…

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

by Leave a Comment

Ginny is a 17-year-old who embarks on a journey left to her by her eccentric Aunt Peg.  After her death, Peg left Ginny a sent of 13 little blue envelopes and some very strange instructions.  In the first is some money to get to NYC and then London and the rules: she can only bring a backpack, she is not allowed to bring any guidebooks, she cannot bring any extra money, and she is not allowed to use electronics, which includes contacting the U.S. by […]

Ever wonder what a dog is thinking? Now you can find out!

The Last Dog on Earth by Adrian J. Walker, read by Jonathan Aris and David John

by 2 Comments

This was a wild ride!  It starts off slow, with just a man and his dog during the apocalypse.  Or so it seems.  Well, it’s fairly dystopian at any rate.  We get the story from both points of view.  The dog, Linekar, is foul-mouthed with a cockney accent.  The man, Reginald Hardy, is a man just trying to avoid change and survive.  They live in a 10th story flat in London, and have stayed there despite the bombs that destroyed most of the city three […]

How to best lure people into my favorite author…

The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes, read by Kirby Heyborne

by Leave a Comment

When I saw the “Gateway” square for Bingo, I thought for a bit on the best way to introduce people to the wonder that is Drew Hayes.  I mean, Super Powereds is a long haul, and it takes commitment.  I’ve told some colleagues to start with the Fred series, as the audiobook is on the shorter side (a little over 7 hours) and is structured in smaller chunks.  It also kind of eases you into the weird.  (Also, Kirby Heybourne is also a fantastic audiobook […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo