Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Two mysteries for Flavia. . .well, maybe one and a half

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley

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Cozy mysteries are a great solace during troubling times, which makes me wonder why I’ve bothered to read anything else since 2017. I started reading the Flavia de Luce series at the end of 2020 and finally got around to picking it back up a few weeks ago. (Thanks, ‘Murica!) For those unfamiliar with the series, it stars an 11-year-old girl named Flavia de Luce who is an aspiring chemist and amateur detective. No doubt she would take offense to both the “aspiring” and “amateur” […]

He had me at apostrophes

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer

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On page 36 of Dreyer’s English, author and Random House copy chief Benjamin Dreyer makes use of the fearsome CAPS LOCK key to make a point about never, EVER using an apostrophe to pluralize a word. Having been driven to contemplate felonies by the sight of signs saying, for example, “DVD’s for sale,” this was enough to win my loyalty. However, Dreyer goes on to explain that in Britain these unnecessary punctuation marks are called “greengrocer’s apostrophes,” because you’re likely to find them on signs […]

“Men were too often nervous to learn of things that contradicted their dearest falsehoods.”

The King at the Edge of the World by Arthur Phillips

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You know that feeling you have when an author you love has a new novel out? When you scoop it up and get to reading, because previous novels have dazzled you? When you dig in with excitement and anticipation because you know it’s gonna be great? And then you get to the last page and realize it was. . .  fine? Arthur Phillips has written two of my favorite novels of the 21st century: The Egyptologist and The Tragedy of Arthur. Granted, Kim’s Favorite Novels […]

“It’s a calming thing, to learn there’s a word for something you’ve felt all your life, but didn’t know was shared by anyone else.”

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig

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That sentence from the introduction of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows sums up what this book is about. A dictionary of “made-up” words (I know, as if there are words growing naturally in the wild somewhere), it gives voice to the thoughts and feelings that we have every day but didn’t know anyone else shared. Part linguistics, part philosophy, part self-help, and a (very little) part humor, this book will make you feel, above all else, that somebody out there gets you. Author John Koenig […]

“We knew it was coming, but we behaved inconsistently.”

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

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Reading Emily St. John Mandel is like falling asleep to the sound of rain: The words wash over you and a steady drumbeat of beauty lulls you into something like perfect contentment. Just reading the loveliness of her sentences would be enough, but then she continues to dazzle by leading your thoughts into new possibilities about the universe, as your mind is apt to drift to questions of cosmic import in the moments before sleep, while those steady drops beat against your windowpane. It’s hard […]

This will be a short review considering the length of the book

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

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I started reading this series during the early days of the pandemic, and it’s proven to be satisfying, escapist fun for me. I stumbled upon this latest entry in one of my local Little Free Libraries, so I decided to read it before CBR BINGO hits, because at 927 pages, there’s no way I was going to let it eat up prime BINGO scoring time. That said, I’m going to write this review in list form of likes and dislikes. Dislikes: 927 pages. There is […]



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