Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Grief of Wisdom

Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler

by Leave a Comment

That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. – Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (NKJV). Nayler’s Where the Axe is Buried reminds me of the Book of Ecclesiastes. It is, in my mind, the least hopeful and most useful book of the Bible. All of this has happened before, and […]

Sunrise of the Weeping

Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins

by 1 Comment

I took a much-needed break from my brief—yet frustrating—foray into the romantasy genre to return to my comfort zone: dystopia. And Sunrise on the Reaping did not disappoint. The book begins back in the bleak, coal-dust-covered District 12, as Haymitch Abernathy prepares for the reaping of the Quarter Quell. It’s been 25 years since the Dark Days, and what better way to mark the anniversary of the end of slaughter than we MORE slaughter? Specifically, by sending double the number of children to their deaths […]

A Mother Must Never Look Away. A Good Mother Can Do Anything.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

by Leave a Comment

Frida Liu is a 39 year old woman, recently divorced and co-parenting their 18-month old Harriet with ex husband Gust. On one of her custody days, Frida is dealing with days of insomnia and Harriet has an ear infection. In a burst of insomnia-fueled insanity, Frida puts Harriet into her bouncer and leaves to go get a cup of coffee. Then she remembers that she left an important document at the office, and so goes to get that. Then she has to answer some emails. […]

A Desperate Race in a Dystopian World

The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker

by Leave a Comment

Ed is an average English guy living in Scotland with his wife and two young kids. He’s probably depressed, is definitely out of shape, and is starting to wonder if he drinks too much. He wakes up early after one too many glasses of wine to the cries of his infant son, Arthur. After getting him his bottle, he takes Arthur on a walk to the local shop to pick up the newspaper. But the streets are strangely deserted, the shop is closed, and the […]

Crime syndicates, clairvoyants and angelic figures

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

by 4 Comments

I remember meaning to read The Bone Season when it came out but then before I got around to it, seemed like the reviews and reactions from people whose judgement I trust was pretty middling so I didn’t prioritize it, and never got around to it. I quite liked A Priory of the Orange Tree (and the prequel novel) so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Samantha Shannon had gone back and revised The Bone Season for its 10th anniversary and it was Narfna […]

I read Snow’s story to get to Haymitch

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

by Leave a Comment

This is one of those books I have had almost since it was released and yet just kept skipping over. Because of course I want more of The Hunger Games but also, fuck Snow. However, with the new novel focused on Haymitch, that I definitely want to read, I ended up finally deciding to read it – even if I considered skipping it all together.



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo