Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I’ve got mixed feelings about this one

Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel by Bonnie Garmus

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Lessons in Chemistry is a novel of extremes. It details horrible loss and heartbreak, but it also delivers moments of humor. Its main female character suffers misogyny, abuse, and  debasement, but she also finds the courage to fight back tirelessly and valiantly not just for herself but for others. It’s generally an enjoyable read, but my overall impression is that it was rather fantastical. Despite every bad thing in the world happening, somehow our unlikely downtrodden protagonist perseveres. Nothing wrong with that, but given that […]

“And he’ll burn our horizons / make no mistakes”

The Song of Achilles (2011) by Madeline Miller

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Spoiler alerts for a Bronze Age epic poem, I guess, also content note for discussion of sex in this review. I liked this but I didn’t love it. Homer’s Iliad is about blood and fire and gods and fate, about a war that made heroes and villains into legends that echoed through the ages (and sometimes switched their positions). The Song of Achilles is about one of these heroes, the titular Achilles, he of the heel, and his lover Patroclus, and it’s…sweet? And (rather surprisingly) […]

This was a disappointment

The Gods Time Forgot by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzales

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Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC. My opinions are my own. Rua remembers nothing from before she woke up in a muddy hole in upstate New York. Her maid and everyone around her claims that she’s Emma Harrington, missing for two days, but Rua while Rua may look just like her, she is certain there is nothing of Emma in her. Emma’s wealthy parents are determined to try bury the scandal of Emma’s behaviour, which isn’t made easier when Rua […]

A romance about audiobook narrators, by a queen of audiobook narration

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

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Sewanee (pronounced Swanie, several characters call her Swan) Chester was a child actress on a popular sitcom, but a serious injury while filming her big break as an adult led to her losing an eye and becoming permanently scarred, so now she makes her living as an audiobook narrator. While it may not be as glamorous as acting, she’s very good at it and has won several awards. Early in her career, she also narrated romance novels, but now her cynicism makes it too hard […]

Neighbors can be a nuisance, especially when they start murdering each other

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

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Neighbors. If they aren’t blasting their radio at 4 a.m. or blocking your driveway, they’re cutting down trees or letting their kids ride their skateboards over your flowerbed. Disagreements between neighbors don’t usually lead to murder, though, unless you live in Florida or are a character in the fifth installment of the Hawthorne & Horowitz mystery series by Anthony Horowitz. Close to Death centers on a gated neighborhood called Riverview Close, comprising just six homes. Five of the households get along splendidly, but the newest […]

I was kind of lost, too

Superman: Lost by Christopher Priest

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This was another Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pick and while I liked it, I did not find it as compelling as Famous Last Words. Superman: Lost is a graphic novel that involves time travel, PTSD, despair and hope. It is a commentary on our current political climate but also a reflection on our responsibility toward others and the duty to help those in danger, even when our help is unwanted. The story opens with Superman and the members of the Justice League going on a mission. Clark […]



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