cbr12 – Page 36 – Cannonball Read 17

Just what I needed to cure the pandemic blues

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

July 27, 2020 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

CBR12 BINGO: Book Club Under normal circumstances, I’d be spending a good chunk of my Saturdays volunteering at the zoo. Obviously, that isn’t happening right now, because pandemic. One consequence of that is I haven’t been able to see much of the other volunteers that I frequently spend my Saturdays with, except for a couple of Zoom meetings. I made a casual suggestion that we could form a book club; one person got excited and ran with it, and we ended up with a small […]

A Storied Life: The Autobiography of Book – No Money!

Book by John Agard

July 26, 2020 by Dome'Loki Leave a Comment

Book was given to me from my mother and so fits the “No Money!” square of bingo. This a really cute concept, it is the history of books presented as an autobiography of, Book. Book narrates to you its history and development throughout the ages. This slim volume is written for a younger audience but it also would make a cute gift for the bibliophile in your life (which is how I ended up with it). Book is eager to share and proud of its […]

An island off an island

Bruny by Heather Rose

July 26, 2020 by Merryn Leave a Comment

“Because to live on an island isn’t just a location. It’s a sense of belonging. It’s history and sacrifice. It’s a choice to be remote. It’s a kind of metaphor.” I grew up in Tasmania, Australia’s island state, a place that has become a literary symbol of beauty with something dark hidden in the mist. Mainlanders, a group I now belong to, tend to look down on Tasmania as a dull backward place where nothing much happens except incest, while flying down for short […]

The world was silent when we died

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

July 25, 2020 by Merryn Leave a Comment

Biafra lived less than three full years, from May 1967 to June 1970. Its national symbol, half of a yellow sun, shining from the flag, gleaming on the arms of soldiers, hanging on a string around the neck of proud citizens. Today, for those who have heard of Biafra, the image most likely to come to mind is a starving child. Our story starts in the early 60s, Nigeria newly independent from Britain, ethnic fault lines papered over by a map wilfully ignorant of cultural, […]

Murder ballad with a swinging beat

Jazz by Toni Morrison

July 25, 2020 by Merryn Leave a Comment

Jazz. The themes are laid down, a story old as dirt, a triangular tangle of middle-aged man and wife and young girl with the tragic end at the beginning. “Can’t rival the dead for love. Lose every time.” Harlem, 1926. The pulse of a city, “in halls and offices people are sitting and thinking future thoughts about projects and bridges and fast-clicking trains underneath”. These people have come north in the Great Migration from the rural south to the northern cities, looking to escape the […]

Faking consumption to get husband’s attention: Debut

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

July 25, 2020 by Dome'Loki Leave a Comment

To Have and to Hoax is the debut novel by Martha Waters and was a fun choice for that bingo square. Five years ago, Lady Violet Grey, during her first season, found herself in a compromising position on a dark balcony with the handsome Lord James Audley. Sparks flew between the two of them and when discovered by Violet’s mother, he instantly proposes. A love match is unusual in their society circles and for the first year everything seemed perfect. Violet is an avid reader, […]

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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