Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I spent New Year’s Day in Hogwarts.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter, #1) by J.K. Rowling

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First of all I have read this book more times than I can count, literally. I know I’ve read this first one at least twelve times because that’s how many copies of it I own, but that is a gross underestimate because many of those copies I have read multiple times (especially the battered paperback I still have from 1999). I also used to re-read every year, and every time a new book in the series came out, so I’ve read this one the most. My OCD […]

When that ticking clock does more than keep you up at night….

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It seems appropriate that I finished my cbr10bingo for #The Book Was Better? on Halloween as it was a scary(ish) book called The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs. I think I read this as a kid about thirty years ago. This is probably why I have no real memory of it. Therefore, I was reading it for the first time. I had hoped to read it as the movie just came out. And while I am not a Jack Black fan, […]

This book wasn’t written for me, and I feel fine

Dreadnought by April Daniels

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Roger Ebert used to talk about how important emotional response was to him as a critic, often more important than the technical and artistic merits. Even the most technically and artistically exquisite film could be a hollow and unsatisfying experience if he didn’t connect emotionally, and the opposite could also be true: sometimes, without any other explanation, a seeming piece of trash could be surprisingly fun simply because it connected to something ineffable inside him. So when the whole “Brie Larson commits white genocide against […]

Excellent Fantasy Series to Get Hooked On

The Black Tides of Heaven (Tensorate Series) and The Red Threads of Fortune by Jy Yang

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With their Tensorate series, author Jy Yang has created a world divided between those who have and those who lack the ability to manipulate the physical world through their own formidable powers. The “haves,” known as Tensors, are able to use their mind/spirit to influence the workings of the Slack, ie, earth (gravity), water (motion), fire (temperature), metal (electricity), and forest (flesh and blood). In this world, the “haves” rule with an iron fist and little mercy, but even so, amongst these privileged individuals there […]

Just a few long-leggedy beasties

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I was 100% not in the mood for this book and probably should have put it down as soon as I realized that. The thing is, it’s hard to put down a new release library book knowing you’ll have to go to the back of the lengthy hold queue. Still, I wasn’t in the mood for something whimsical and slightly cutesy, so I didn’t enjoy Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance as much as I think I might have at a different point in time. The plots […]

Visiting the Land of Stories

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On the recommendation of a friend, I bought The Wishing Spell for my 9 year old daughter last year for our family winter solstice book exchange.  She devoured it and immediately began urging me to read it.  “Mom, you’ll really like it.  It’s so good!”  So far in her life I’ve always been the one making recommendations of what to read.  She was very excited to have a book she wanted to share with me.  “It’s as good as Harry Potter!”, the highest praise she can […]



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