Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“She’s my Small Wonder. I’m her Voltron”

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

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This is a book that I wish had been made into a series. The world of The Windup Girl is strange and serpentine and by the time I was fully immersed in it and was truly in the flow of the story things were heading toward the conclusion. There are other stories in the “windup universe” but no other full length novels. Nonetheless this biopunk environmental cautionary tale contains dynamic characters, political intrigue and lots of fascinating moving parts that lead the reader to a […]

A late 80s-romance novel helps me cross off another square (double bingo)

Viscount Vagabond by Loretta Chase

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2.5 stars #CBR12 Bingo: Shelfie   Official book description: Catherine Pelliston simply would not abide by her father’s wishes and marry the slovenly Lord Browdie. But her escape through the streets of London only seemed to lead her from bad to worse. First, she was robbed. And then, her supposed “rescue” by a kindly old woman stranded Catherine in a bordello — where the handsome Viscount Rand was intent on sampling her wares! A dire predicament indeed-especially when the dashing aristocrat decided to assume full […]

How do you adapt a comic book into an audiobook? (Bingo #7)

Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman

Dream Country by Neil Gaiman

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4.5 stars #CBR12 Bingo: Happy (I never thought that Sandman could be adapted into an audio story, so this made me very happy indeed) Official book description: When The Sandman, also known as Lord Morpheus – the immortal king of dreams, stories and the imagination – is pulled from his realm and imprisoned on Earth by a nefarious cult, he languishes for decades before finally escaping. Once free, he must retrieve the three “tools” that will restore his power and help him to rebuild his dominion, which has […]

Satisfying conclusion to trilogy with dangling threads about where the world can go next: cbr12bingo “Purple”

The Queen of Sorrow: Book Three in the Queens of Renthia Series by Sarah Beth Durst

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Somehow between 2017 and 2018 I forgot I was waiting for the next book in the “Queens of Renthia” series.  It was learning about a new book set in the Renthia world that reminded me I hadn’t finished the original trilogy, and it was added to my next book order.  In happy coincidence half the cover is purple so it qualifies for the purple bingo square! Sarah Beth Durst created a world where humanity is in constant, deadly struggle with the natural elemental spirits of […]

Harry’s back, and this is only the first of the books we get this year

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher

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No rating until I’ve read the second part of the story. Spoiler warning! This is book 16 in a long, ongoing series. This really isn’t the place to start. Normally, I’d recommend that you start with book 1, but the first three books of The Dresden Files are pretty bad, so you’d be better off starting with book 4, Summer Knight. I highly recommend the audio books, narrated by James Marsters. They’re what finally sold me on the series. Official book description: When the Supernatural nations of the world meet […]

“Don’t you hear the bugle call?”

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

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Maisie Dobbs was part of my early effort to read lighter fare in order to forget the pandemic (I read this back at the end of March) and it was more or less successful. Over all I liked the book and the main character and I’ll definitely read the next in the series. Though I admit the pacing of this first book is a bit off which happens frequently when you’re dealing with the initial book in the series. Setting the stage and giving the […]



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