Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Listen, direct action—direct action is the third best feeling in the world.” “What’s the second?” “Peeling off a wet swimsuit.”

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

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This isn’t the oldest thing on my TBR–that honor probably goes to either of Arundhati Roy’s novels The God of Small Things or Ministry of Utmost Happiness–but it’s definitely a long simmering recommendation from Lydia. But once I read the blurb, it made it so hard to pick up. When is anyone in the mood for reading about 1980s and the height of the AIDS pandemic? Even if it is in Chicago, which isn’t one of the cities we usually associated with the time period? Ergo, the multiple […]

Some Carryovers from Last Year and Two from This Year

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

The Cat Who Taught Zen by James Norbury

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

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Muse of Nightmares I was not expecting that. I was not expecting the call-backs to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, and that was so cool. This was already a book I was loving, and that bumped it right on up to 5 stars for me. This isn’t a spin-off or sequel, so you don’t have to have read that trilogy to enjoy this one, but I loved the sense of mild continuity. Muse of Nightmares picks up where Strange the Dreamer left off. Minya […]

Final Reviews of the Year :)

Save Our Forest! by Nora Dasnes

Camp Prodigy by Caroline Palmer

Crush by Tegan Quin & Sara Quin (Words) and Tillie Walden (Art)

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It’s probably fitting for me to wrap up the year with another middle grade graphic novel review roundup, considering how many comics I read this year. This was a good reading year for me overall, even with the gap during the summer for all the academic article/textbook I had to do. I think I was able to lean into reading for pleasure and having less stress about what specifically I was reading, and as a result I read a lot of things that I enjoyed […]

reading while hungry can be hazardous to your health

The Pairing by Casey McQuinston

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This book should not be read while hungry–and I’m saying this, as a vegan who couldn’t eat about 90% of the things they sample in this book. (I am currently in the middle of making lunch, and honestly this book shouldn’t be thought of while hungry either) (ugh the lunch came out badly and now I’m too grumpy to try again) There is a romance plot here–best summed as “chaotic bisexual exes sleep and eat their way through Europe in a misguided attempt to prove […]

or books written by authors I love but whom I lack alerts for

The Duke at Hazard by K.J. Charles

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This is how you create an interwoven universe in Romancelandia, my friends, take note take note. I am starting to believe that every gentleman in K.J. Charles’ England who isn’t a villain might be queer or gay in some way, because that’s certainly the vibe so far. Who else is left to be the hero of the next novel? Because there needs to be a next novel. Even though it does feel very tidily fixed up here? Our main characters are the Duke of Severn, […]

My Name Is Brave

My Name Is Brave: LGBTQIA+ by William Anthony

My Name Is Brave: The Environment by William Anthony

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My Name Is Brave: LGBTQIA+  by William Anthony (due January 2025) is a nice book and a good introduction on LGBT+ issues, but it has been done before. You could find this information in almost any book on the subject. However, the addition of showing how the reader can partake in helping this or another cause they need to be brave for, is good.  The mixture of photographs and drawing bring to life a handful of advocates. In a few pages each we see a transgender […]



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