Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Adventures, Both Realistic and Fantastical

The Book of Road and Kingdoms by Richard Fidler

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Richard Fidler’s Conversations on ABC Radio has been a reliable source of book recommendations in the past. His own writing makes for a some excellent reads as well. His main area of interest is the rise and fall of long ago civilizations –  I have previously reviewed Ghost Empire, whose focus was Constantinople and the Byzantium. This time his focus is Central Asia, and the travelers that crossed the region during Islam’s Golden Age. The Book of Road and Kingdoms is also the name of […]

CBR16 Bingo Week 17 Check-In

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Welcome to the CBR16 Bingo week 16 check-in. Check your numbers, check your tags. Ask any questions you might have. This is the kick-off post with the card, description, and rules. The Players: BlackRaven – 25 reviews, Blackout Bibliophile – 2 reviews carmelpie – 19 reviews, 5 Bingos CoffeeShopReader – 22 reviews, 5 Bingos Debcapsfan – 3 reviews drmlz – 4 reviews ElCicco – 25 reviews, Blackout elderberrywine – 13 reviews, 1 Bingo esme – 1 review faintingviolet – 21 reviews, 5 Bingos Jake – 25 reviews, Blackout […]

“All I’ve ever tried to do is the right thing. If that’s so very different from how things have been done before, then what’s done before was wrong.”

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

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CBR16 Bingo: Smash – This book combines elements of fantasy (dragons) and science fiction (steampunk). The cultures depicted also smash and clash together throughout the book. All Anequs wants to do is live in peace with her tribe, content to be ignored by the Anglish conquerers who’ve taken over most of the continent. However, when she bonds with the first dragon to hatch on their island in generations, she must attend their academy and adapt to their ways if she hopes to keep her dragon. This […]

“In these islands there is no certainty. Bring your own food, your own gods, your own flowers and fruits and concepts. “

Hawaii by James A. Michener

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CBR16 Bingo: Détente – This book is all about all the different peoples and cultures that came to settle the Hawaiian Islands, and ends at the point that they really begin to comfortably and fairly coexist. Hawaii is a beautiful place with a complicated history, having over the course of more than one thousand years been settled by many peoples from many places, all of which have wrestled over its lands and wealth and made their indelible mark. This book is over a thousand pages long […]

The Other Side of Huckleberry Finn

James by Percival Everett

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CBR16 Bingo: Fanfic – This book is a reimagining of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which centers the viewpoint of the runaway slave Jim who accompanied Huck on his travels on the Mississippi. Jim is well-known as Huckleberry Finn’s runaway slave companion, but in this retelling we meet him as James, a character for who the stakes are higher and the world much more vicious than we ever glimpse in Mark Twain’s classic novel. It’s been a long while since I last read […]

Only Room for One Goat at the Top

The Feast of the Goat / La fiesta del Chivo by Mario Vargas Llosa

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This is my first go-around with Mario Vargas Llosa, and this book was the month’s choice for a world literature bookclub that was held back in May.  I had known for weeks that this was the chosen book, so I thought I had plenty of time to track down a copy to read. However, when I checked the local e-libraries, none of them had any of Vargas Llosa’s books available—in English. Interestingly, Harris County’s online library seems to have almost his entire back catalog in […]



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