Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“No one tells you before you procreate that the hardest thing about being a good parent is that you never feel like one.”

The Winners by Fredrik Backman

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I have been reading Fredrik Backman since A Man Called Ove. I mean reading everything he has ever written (including the novellas).  So, when a friend suggested we go see him at a local library, I jumped at the chance. I have seen lots of author presentations (I call myself a bit of an author groupie), and his was one of the best. He was wonderful: well spoken, polite, humble, insightful, smart, and most of all, very funny. The event included a signed book, so I […]

The Cartographers (DNF)

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

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I come from the review school of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” and so generally avoid sharing my did not finish (DNFs) books. I’m a mood reader! Taste is subjective! Don’t yuck someone else’s yum! I’ve set books aside thinking I hate them and picked them up months later and fallen absolutely in love! So, yeah, this is very strange and uncomfortable for me, but this book made me so angry I have to share. Basic synopsis: […]

How to handle mental health issues in a novel

The Art of Insanity by Christine Webb

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CBR15passport – a new to me author My Cannonball15 is off to a great start; I’m three for three so far. This book, The Art of Insanity by Christine Webb, was an “extra surprise” gift from Black Raven as part of the CBR14 Holiday Book Exchange. It is a wonderful story about a high school senior named Natalie Cordova who has bipolar disorder and who struggles with the illness, its stigma, and her friends’ and family members’ reactions to it. Author Christine Webb tells readers […]

“I’m not holding you against your will; I’m holding you against your car.”

Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard

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CBR15 Passport Challenge: Books recommended by friends #1 When a list of attributes that “Mr. Perfect” must have goes viral, the worst that the four authors think will happen is some unwanted publicity – but they realize that things can get much worse as someone begins picking them off one by one. I picked this book up on a whim – I’d never read this book before, but one of my Goodreads friends reviewed and it seemed like a fun read. Most of the romantic […]

The good ass-kicking shepherd

The Wee Free Men: A Tiffany Aching Adventure by Terry Pratchett

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In a discussion somewhere back in CBR14, someone mentioned Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series, which sounded fun, and I wish I could remember who brought it up (Narfna? EDIT: Yes! it was Narfna, just found it!) because I’d like to say thanks. This was a delightful read, as Pratchett stories tend to be. I love this one because the protagonist is a nine-year-old girl, a witch in the making, who is smart, practical and no-nonsense but still a child with much to learn. As usual, […]

Art Is Power

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

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I’m not sure I can discuss this book coherently. I’ve started and stopped and rewritten this review so many times I’m starting to feel dizzy. How do I convey the perfect writing, the depth of emotion, the complex characters, the history and meaning and joy and sorrow Grace D. Li has managed? In a freaking heist novel??!? The audacity! Let’s start with the basic plot: steal back the five bronze zodiac animal heads that were looted after the burning of Beijing’s Old Summer Palace and are […]



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