When The Dark is Rising started I was very confused. It was supposed to be the second book in a series, right? But, it starts with completely different characters and in a different village than Over Sea, Under Stone. Only as time goes on, do we see the connection. Will Stanton is the seventh son of a seventh son and just about to turn 11 years old. Up until that point, he is a normal kid who has no idea there is anything special about […]
And Poof! They Were Gone
Book Bub loves to sell dystopian fiction at a discount price and therefore, I read a lot of dystopian literature when I’m too lazy to go to the library and/or hack into my mom’s Kindle account (note: I’m not actually hacking, she gives me permission, but it feels cooler when I say the word hack). This book caught my attention though because Stephen King mentioned this series on twitter several times (and not in a “the publishing company gave me money for this blurb kind […]
Sarah Dessen, Jr.
A few weeks ago, I got my BookBub email of the day, which included this book. The description said, “for fans of Sarah Dessen,” and I said, “hey, I’m a fan of Sarah Dessen. This must be for me.” And I downloaded it. Yesterday I read it in pretty much one sitting during all of the football games that were on in my house. And yes, it had Sarah Dessen-like qualities. But Sarah Dessen is the master, and Robin Benway is just her student. Still […]
Let’s Start This Party with a Bang!
Flex took me a while to get into; I started reading it a chapter here, a chapter there, and then all of a sudden, wham. Had to finish the book. Couldn’t put it aside.
In which I am outraged by a book’s audacity to be poorly written, edited, and titled
This book made me unreasonably angry, so here I am, entering the world of the Cannonball Read as an outraged reader. I really wanted to love this book, because it’s about something about which I know nothing. But I wasn’t able to learn much. The narrative is completely scattered, and there are an astonishing number of tangents that are distracting and irritating. I mean, total non-sequitors. An example, “The story [of a prank pulled by Filippo Brunelleschi], known as “The Tale of the Fat Carpenter,” […]
Just put some nails in your wall. Please.
I read Myquillyn Smith’s home design book The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful last year and I hated it. I’ve never read Myquillyn’s blog, but I do follow a lot of similar DIY décor blogs. I reread it for CBR8, and…I guess I came around a little. My original complaints still stand, so I’ll address them first. What is the deal with the nail holes? People apparently being terrified to put nail holes in their walls was mentioned at […]





