Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Norse inspired marriage of convenience

Tears of the Wolf by Elisabeth Wheatley

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I wouldn’t have said that I was on Norse or Viking kick this year and yet this is somehow the fifth Viking/Nordic inspired fantasy novel I have read this year (three of them were part of the same trilogy, though, The Bloodsworn). I discovered Elisabeth Wheatley because her book goblin reels/videos kept showing up in my feed, and then I realized she wasn’t just a fellow reader and book lover but an author so I decided to try her latest release (there’s a sequel coming […]

“Wealth is just security. Luxury is living care free.”

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

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4.5 stars CBR17 Bingo: Culture (A lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds, countries and cultures are forced together for a time during World War II) Official plot summary: January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society’s troubles. Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel’s aristocratic owners, have trained her […]

I’m not sure what was true

Almost True by Clarice Lispector

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I am not the reader for Almost True by Clarice Lispector. It did not “grab me” but I know several people will find this amusing and clever. The illustrations are unusual and have a little fun going on but are also not over the top silly. Yet, they are oddly abstract with a realistic touch, Once I realized that it was translated by Benjamin Moser I figured that it was the translation of things that was not being liked by my reading ear. The text […]

Adopt from the Shelter for Slightly Magical Pets. It’s magically mischievous

Hocus and Pocus and the Spell for Home by A.R. Capetta

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cbr17bingo  Purple (cover) Recently I said in another review you can judge a book by its cover. Sometimes there is something about it that lets you know it is going to go in X direction (or XXX as a recent coloring book with an Alice from Wonderland in a dress so short you can tell if she was a natural blond or not). Thankfully the cover of Hocus and Pocus and the Spell for Home by A.R. Capetta and illustrator Charlene Chua tells a radically […]

Do you think I read a lot?

Clara the Triumphant Rhinoceros: A True Story by Jane Kurtz

Woody's Words : Woodrow Wilson Rawls and Where the Red Fern Grows by Lisa Rogers

Woods & Words: The Story of Poet Mary Oliver. by Sara Holly Ackerman

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Biographies are a fun genre.  You can find out fun facts about favorite authors, poets or even rhinoceroses. Yes, rhinoceroses can have a biography, too. After all, it is hard for them to hold a pencil in their hoof for them to write an autobiography. Therefore, I will start off with Clara the Triumphant Rhinoceros: A True Story (in case you doubt me that this is a biography of a rhino, there is “true story” in the title). Jane Kurtz created a story that gives […]

Halloween stories are not just for one day

Murray's Howl-o-ween: A Halloween Picture Book by E. G. Keller

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Unlike Murray in Murray’s Howl-o-ween: A Halloween Picture Book by E. G. Keller I love the country (though “after cow” isn’t my fave scent). Murray is a dog that likes the sounds and smells of home. He’s less than impressed with the odd smells, the weird  decorations and the company (a cat). But eventually, he will learn about the wonders of something called Halloween and the treats are much sweeter than the tricks of earlier. Due in July 2025, it will be out in time […]



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