Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I just want to find Arthur Less and give him a big hug

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer

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When I received a copy of Less is Lost, the follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel I so enjoyed in 2018, I wanted to start reading immediately. But I also wanted  to reread Less, to see whether it would still delight me as much as I remembered. I summoned some self-control and started at the beginning, and I’m so glad I did. Less is the story of Arthur Less, a middling author who, to avoid RSVPing to the wedding of his former lover of nine […]

A cautionary tale that will probably never appear on a Florida school library shelf

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

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CBR15Passport Different Genres: juvenile fiction  Eugene Yelchin is a talented illustrator and writer. I first became aware of his work through the brilliant The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, and then last year I read and reviewed his illustrated account of his childhood, The Genius Under the Table. Special thanks to Black Raven for recommending that book and for giving Breaking Stalin’s Nose to me for the holiday exchange. Yelchin was born and raised in the Soviet Union and left in the 1980s. While he would […]

Love, Death, Murder, Justice

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

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CBR15Passport Book I own Everybody loves this book, the first in a series, and I am no different. Richard Osman is always entertaining whenever he appears on British TV shows like Taskmaster or Would I Lie To You, and his wit, intelligence and humor are evident throughout this delightful murder mystery set in a bucolic retirement community. The  murders and sleuthing are expertly written and the characters are completely charming. Especially impressive though is Osman’s portrayal of love amongst senior citizens trying to keep meaning […]

“Hello, Hart-ache.” “Hello, Merciless”.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

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CBR Passport Challenge: New to Me author In a world very unlike our own, most people live on islands and when people die, they are not buried in coffins, but rather placed in boats and sent out to sea (like when we bury someone in the ground) or the boats are cremated. So undertakers don’t just need to know the rituals of cleaning and treating a body, there are rituals to follow and sacred words to be spoken – but they need to be able […]

Kate’s back, baby!

Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews

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4.5 stars While this book is the start of a new chapter in the lives of Kate Daniels and her family, I suspect this book will work a lot better if you’ve read at least some of the previous thirteen books and various novellas. As always, I would recommend strongly skipping the first book (as do the authors themselves). Start with book 2, Magic Burns. Set seven years after Magic Triumphs (and about two years before the events of Blood Heir), Kate, her former Beast-Lord […]

‘The Habsburgs were the first rulers whose power encompassed the world, and they achieved greatness by luck and by force.’

The Habsburgs: The Rise and Fall of a World Power by Martyn Rady

In The Last Emperor of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World by Edward Shawcross

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For all the royal watching going on right now, its the British Royal Family that’s hugging the spotlight. And, really, how could they not? Liz the Second—who we all thought was destined to live forever—shockingly popped her clogs last year. And now her grandson seems to be taking his turn airing out the dirty laundry, much to people’s delight. But the lives of royals are always ripe for high drama, if you are into that kind of thing. So I’m going to ring in the […]



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