Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I was prepared to eye-roll through this entire thing– I couldn’t put it down though

Tarot Academy 1: Spells of Iron and Bone by Sarah Piper

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Magic is real, and the world knows it. Unfortunately for the witches and mages, magick is also illegal, and Stevie just performed powerful magick on a non-magical person. Powerful enough that he died. Stevie must now go into hiding at the magical academy that previously threw out her parents for their heretical views. When she arrives at the academy she starts her journey to master her magick (which is largely based on the Tarot) in order to complete the work that her mother started and […]

“I forgive no one, and no one forgives me.”

Human Acts by Han Kang

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The Gwangju Uprising was a popular revolt calling for the democratization of South Korea in 1980. Students who protested against the martial law government were imprisoned, tortured, raped, or executed by government troops which led to citizens taking up arms against them. The murder of fifteen-year-old Dong-Ho by soldiers is the event that loosely connects the individual stories in this book that take place during the uprising itself and then over the following 30 years. This is a book that can make a reader lose […]

…one unalarmed emergency door away from disappearing forever.

Stay Sexy and Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How To Guide by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

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CBR12 BINGO: Debut This whole hermit lifestyle I have been living for the last five months has yielded a handful of healthy side effects. In an unprecedented turn of events, I have turned to walking as a quarantine-induced anxiety and stress reliever. My sister gave me her old FitBit and my non-athletic competitive spirit kicked in. I WILL get in at least 13,000-15,000 steps EVERY DAMN DAY. Those circles WILL BE closed. If I’m not feeling like slapping on a mask and braving the city sidewalks […]

How to wrestle some success from a dress, a snake and a song.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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CBR12 BINGO: Green Square A book about the making of a narcissistic, ruthless and calculating leader is either the most perfect book to be reading right now or the worst. I really can’t decide. In Collins’ prequel to her Hunger Games series, the games are pretty primal. The district tributes aren’t all dolled up, given a backstory, housed in elaborate apartments or fed extravagant buffets. They are kept in a cage at the zoo until they are dumped into a war torn arena to duke it out. […]

I am not going to take you on top of a moldy sarcophagus.

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

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CBR12 BINGO: Red I am already worried about the day when Raybourn stops writing these Veronica Speedwell mysteries. Truly. These books and Sherry Thomas’ Lady Sherlock series are what fill the little hole in my heart that Gail Carriger left when the Parasols and Protectorate series ended. I need my witty banter laced with sexual tension. I yearn for characters with quirky occupations, impeccable fashion sense and taste for tea and sweets. Give me passages like this and I am satisified: “Veronica,” he said flatly, ” I am not going […]

Revolution

The Black Jacobins by C.L.R. James

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BINGO: No Money Best for: Those interested in the history of enslaved people who successfully fought back. In a nutshell: Enslaved people revolt against the British, Spanish, and French over twelve years, eventually creating Haiti. Worth quoting: “The cruelties of property and privilege are always more ferocious than the revenges of poverty and oppression.” Why I chose it: I received this as a birthday gift this year. Review: You will be shocked to learn that I, a white woman raised and educated in the US, […]



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