Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I liked it, but I am obviously untrustworthy

What the Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong

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I admit I have a problem with objectivity. I love Rutger Hauer, and I know people think his movies are terrible, but I watch and love them anyway. (Although even I recognize that Hobo with a Shotgun is WRETCHED.) Sometimes my lack of objectivity makes it hard to write a review, though! I liked John Dies at the End, I loved This Book is Full of Spiders, and I enjoyed Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. I am a David Wong fan. So! I’m pretty sure […]

What to do when both the title and the back blurb are lies

John Dies at the End by David Wong

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I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up John Dies at the End. I think maybe a little bit of Welcome to Night Vale mixed with Sandman Slim, and possible a bit of Men in Black. This book is not any of those things, either in combination or alone. I should also admit that I have not seen the movie, don’t remember having heard of it before, and definitely have no plans to ever watch it now. I did not really enjoy […]

Airport fiction, a great read, and a new favorite.

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69. Die Trying by Lee Child (3 stars) I’m not entirely sure why I keep returning to these kinds of books. I don’t know what “kind” of book it is, other than “airport fiction”. You know the kind; the mass market vaguely defined fiction that goes down easy without leaving much of an aftertaste. Easily digested and forgettable, these books cover the literary landscape without leaving any kind of quantifiable mark. They exist to sell books, and they sell books because they exist. I don’t […]

This Kind of Read Like Someone’s Recounting of a Wacky Fever-Dream, and I Honestly Kind of Dig It

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You know when you’re dreaming and something absurd and surreal happens but your dream self is just like, “yeah, that makes sense”? That’s what the progression of this book and the characters’ reactions felt like to me. They just kind of rolled with everything, despite it being a ridiculous ride of the supernatural and things that don’t entirely make sense. A crossover between our world and another filled with monsters and other strange beings and seemingly arbitrary rules of what is possible and what is […]

I want to go back and read this again for the first time.

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So, I think I found a new favorite writer. The kind of writer that necessitates my active engagement whenever a new book is published. I mean, look, this book didn’t fundamentally rewire my brain. I’m not re-invigorated, or inspired to change my life. This isn’t like when I read Moby Dick last year. But this book was good. And John Dies at the End was just the right blend of chaotically eccentric and delightfully whimsical. And Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits was charming, and fun, […]

I Love This Book But I’ll Never Recommend It To Anyone

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There’s absolutely no reason why I should like or even love this book. In fact, I’m not going to recommend it to anyone I’ve ever met (on the Internet or in real life)…ever…because I don’t want to be judged on this book.  John Dies at the End is uneven, it definitely feels like something someone published piecemeal on the Internet before it was picked up by a publishing company (oh wait, it was), it needs a much better editor because there are issues with a […]



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