Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Cats don’t really feature prominently in this narrative (Bingo)

Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart

by Leave a Comment

Nowhere Book Bingo: From the decade I was born (1970s) Smart Bitches Book Bingo: Published in 2000 or earlier (first published 1976) CBR16 Bingo: Vintage (published 48 years ago) Briony Ashley is working in Portugal when she recieves word that her father has died, in what appears to be a hit-and-run accident. Her father didn’t die instantly, but had time to ramble some strange and slightly mysterious things, among them a warning that Briony needs to be careful. She goes home to what is now […]

Fun Middle Grade Medieval Action Adventure

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

by 3 Comments

I’ve been eyeing this book since it came out when I was probably 12 years old but it had never really clicked for me although I have enjoyed all the Avi I’ve read. The time somehow was right this month and I churned through this in short order. I think it was partially because all I was able to read for about two and a half months was reading for grad school and my brain was desperate for something adventurous and straight forward. Crispin: The […]

C I Yikes

Libra by Don DeLillo

Poisoner In Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control by Stephen Kinzer

The Ghost by Robert Harris

by Leave a Comment

Recently, I read three different books featuring CIA chicanery (two were fictional). This was unintentional but I figured since the themes were similar, I’d just batch review them rather than do individual ones. Libra***** This was a re-read. I liked it the first time. I loved it now that I: a. had a better since of the Oswald timeline after reading Posner’s Case Closed and b. could appreciate the meta-narrative structure in a way I couldn’t before. This is the only DeLillo book I can really […]

“Montserrat had three loves. One was horror movies. The other was her car. The third was Tristán.” CBR BINGO – Disco

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

by Leave a Comment

Okay, so this rating makes it seem like I wasn’t a huge fan of this book, but I liked it, I really did! It’s been over a month now, and it’s still in my head and it feels good, hasn’t soured, haven’t forgotten it. But I had a bit of a hard time getting through it while reading, and the magic system was a bit too woobly for me. This is fantasy horror book set in Mexico City in the 1990s, following Montserrat, a film […]

“I know you’re out of practice, Shiloh, but the point of bringing men home isn’t to argue with them.”

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

by Leave a Comment

4.5 stars Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Plants or flowers on the cover Cary and Shiloh were best friends in high school. They saw each other every day, told each other everything, and were utterly inseparable. Everyone thought they were in love and would end up together, but by graduation, they’re still just friends. Both come from unstable family environments and dream of getting out of Omaha. Shiloh is going to college to become an actress and Cary has joined the Navy. Once Cary finishes boot […]

Charlotte Holmes is accused of murder

A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas

by Leave a Comment

3.5 stars Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: the latest or last book in a series CBR16 Bingo: fan fiction This is book 8 in the series, and really not a good place to begin. Start with A Study in Scarlet Women. Charlotte Holmes, more used to solving murder mysteries, now finds herself questioned by the police, the main suspect in the murder of Lord Bancroft Ashburton. Inspector Threadles is concerned for her, but needn’t have worried, Ms Holmes isn’t going to let something as tiresome as […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo