Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelvy Van Pelt

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CBR Bingo – Bodies, Bodies Have you ever read a book that included a POV of an intelligent, and even a bit condescending, octopus? Van Pelt grips your attention right out of the gate with that device as we jump POV from Marcellus (the octopus) to Tova (the widow) and see the beginnings of their unlikely friendship, despite the fact that they aren’t even the same species. Marcellus’ body itself is a character as you see him squeeze through an improbably small space out of […]

“We’ve got story enough here to eff up more than one young life, but it is a project.”

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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CBR Bingo – In the Wild When I heard that Barbara Kingsolver had written a Pulitzer Prize winner I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I was a huge fan of her 1999 Pulitzer finalist “The Poisonwood Bible” and have enjoyed a number of her other books so I knew I was going to like this book and I was right. This book is in my top five for the year. Kingsolver is a brilliant writer, creating characters that are both common and […]

“To die is different from what anyone supposed, and luckier”

The Gilded Ones (2021) by Namina Forna

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CBR Bingo 15 square Africa, because author Namina Forna was born and raised in Sierra Leone, on the west coast, a former British colony. It was first called Serra Lyoa, or Lion Mountain, because it was first “discovered” by Pedro de Sintra, a Portuguese explorer in the 15th century, who feared lions in the rolling of thunder in the hills around the harbour. I know this because I learned it in school, because when I was little I went to school in said hills, and […]

That’s not how any of this works….

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

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CBR Bingo- You are Here I am on my couch, watching a lot of GBR, under a blanket. It’s Great British Baking Show, with murder! Oh, and set in Vermont. Betsy Martin is Prue, the bestselling author of a number of baking books and called “America’s grandmother.” She has been hosting a show called “Bake Week” for years. In this version, the baking competition takes place in Betsy’s sprawling mansion, and the contestants sleep there. There are many of GBR’s typical characters; the young one, […]

Of course cats are sentient and working with villains

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

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CBR15 Bingo: Adulthood – Charlie struggles with many of the downsides to adulthood, loans, parental loss, divorce, and barely scrapping by.  Bingo #3! History (replaced with Nostalgia) to Europe. John Scalzi is almost an auto buy for  our household.  However, the most recently trilogy had us feeling a little cold.  Then last year’s The Kaiju Preservation Society was a spectacular showcase of what makes Scalzi such a fun writer.  Based on The Kaiju Preservation Society I was already looking forward to my preorder of Scalzi’s newest […]

A fairytale in all but name

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

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CBR15 Bingo: Using my Getaway key to replace History with Nostalgia and make bingo #2! Diagonal, History to Sex.  I used Nettle and Bone for nostalgia because fairytales always make me feel nostalgic for my childhood reading.  Note: It has been awhile since I listened to this book and I have forgotten names.  Also, I don’t know how names are spelled so please forgive any transgressions. It feels like a few weeks ago (but the reality is it was probably several months ago because time is […]



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