Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Narfna, thank you for reviewing Ace, the book I didn’t know I needed.

Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About, Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen

by 23 Comments

During Cannonball Bingo, I read The Sound of Stars in which a character identifies as ace or maybe demi-ace.  The use of ace as an identifier was unfamiliar to me and a google search later brought me to the definition of ‘ace’ being a shorthand for asexual.  My initial thought was that was interesting as I hadn’t been familiar with the term but then ‘ace’ got tucked away. Then I read Narfna’s review  and had the realization that asexuality was something I needed to look further […]

“There is a pay phone by a truck stop near the town of Leonard, Arizona. Sometimes at night it starts to ring.”

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

by Leave a Comment

I was first drawn into Emily St. John Mandel’s world back in 2015, when Station Eleven caught my eye after popping up in a few “best of” lists.  It became an immediate favorite, and I know that love is shared here within our CBR community! I’ve read it twice since first picking it up, most recently in March, right as the world started to dip further and further into pandemic horror. I wrote in a previous review that I would not have picked up The Glass Hotel […]

this novel, much like a duck’s uterus, is a tangle of paths and twists

Family of Origin by C. J. Hauser

by Leave a Comment

Nope- not just referencing duck biology on a whim; ducks and their inner workings are integral to this story! Labyrinthine reproductive parts, family secrets, climate change, and possible reverse evolution are wound together into a tight knot by C.J. Hauser, and it is up to you to untangle, smooth, and rearrange the beautiful mess within. If you are totally in the dark re: duck workings, please go and watch Isabella Rosellini’s Green Porno entry “Seduce Me”. Obviously NSFW, definitely educational AND fun! Half-siblings Elsa and […]

Dark stuff of fairy tales

Of Salt and Shore by Annet Schaap

by Leave a Comment

Do you want to read The Little Mermaid story but with a big twist? Okay, maybe that is not enough. How about do you want to read about a young girl who is dealing with the death of her mother, her father’s drinking, keeping the lighthouse light burning and a real do-gooder teacher? I will loss in a boy who lives in the houses tower and likes biting people as they come into his room (after all, he has to keep up that “monster” persona), […]

‘Geoffrey’s mum told us “If you take a hen’s egg from under her and she just looks at you and doesn’t do anything, put that egg back.” Peace and quiet is a sign that something’s wrong. Peace and quiet is like a broken response, a sign of people in pieces.’

The Opposite House by Helen Oyeyemi

by Leave a Comment

Helen Oyeyemi is a story teller. Her work is steeped in religion, folklore, and mythology. Her characters breathe prayer and power. She will grab your attention quick, and send your spiraling through your own identity. Her stories whip in and out of the fantastic; one moment a character is studying for an exam, and the next they are overcome by the power of an ancient healer. She is one of my favorite authors. She’s absolute magic. I picked up What is Not Yours is Not Yours when […]

I’d probably read the phone book if Gene Luen Yang wrote it

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

by Leave a Comment

When Gene Luen Yang first started creating graphic novels, I wonder if he thought, “Someday I going to write one that has Superman fighting the Klan that is based on the 1940’s radio program.” And in 2020 out comes Superman Smashes the Klan with its connection to that past and all too relevance today. While this is not my favorite Yang graphic novel (mostly because, while I like Superman, he is not my favorite DC character and honestly have less interest in his stories), it […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo