LGBTQIA – Page 18 – Cannonball Read 17

I’m really disappointed by how this one turned out :(

Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out by Ryan Love

September 25, 2023 by narfna 2 Comments

A mediocre execution of a really fun and sweet concept. Not mad I read it but I wish it had been better. Ugh, that cover is so cute! Look at the little grandpa in his pink shirt and bowtie and he’s bonding with his grandson over coming out as gay! UGH UGH. So here’s the premise that made me fall in love with this and order it from the UK because it’s not published in the US: Arthur has been happily married to his best […]

And What Comes After Bans?

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

September 22, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

Read as part of CBR15bingo: gender and banned. Maia Kobabe is a non-binary writer whose book Gender Queer has been banned at many schools and libraries across the country. It almost made perfect sense that when I saw I had to read a banned book on gender for this challenge, I’d get to Maia Kobabe’s work. Maia’s book seems to have been the spark that ignited the fires of book banning in Florida. I will not argue that most Americans have a complex understanding of gender. […]

CBR BINGO – On the Road: “. . . happiness comes not from bodily pleasures or wealth or power, but from living a life that’s right for your soul.”

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune

September 13, 2023 by narfna Leave a Comment

This was very sweet and a little bit unhinged, which I of course always appreciate. This is actually a bit more in line with Klune’s self-published stuff, with darker themes and humor with a little more of an edge to it. I am REALLY curious to know what the original story in this book looked like; he’s vague in the end notes but apparently somebody told him the world wasn’t ready for it (????) and things were changed up pretty heavily. There are some light […]

CBR15 Bingo: Hold Steady (my first actual Bingo!)

Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovski

September 2, 2023 by Malin Leave a Comment

CBR15 Bingo: Hold Steady (Wren is in quite a rut at the start of the book) Official book description: Wren Roland has never been kissed, but he wants that movie-perfect ending more than anything. Feeling nostalgic on the eve of his birthday, he sends emails to all the boys he (ahem) loved before he came out. Morning brings the inevitable Oh God What Did I Do?, but he brushes that panic aside. Why stress about it? None of his could-have-beens are actually going to read […]

August 2023 Leftovers

Red Cat by Peter Spiegelman

You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy

Gangland by Chuck Hogan

Death and the Good Life by Richard Hugo

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexa Coe

Britt-Marie Was Here by Frederik Backman

Occupied City by David Peace

Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman

Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum

Run Time by Cathy Ryan Howard

Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline

None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

The Club by Ellery Lloyd

Not in Bronxville by Rita K. Farrelly

September 1, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

Unquestionably the worst month in the calendar. Red Cat*** It’s not the writer’s fault that I just finished Robert Kolker’s excellent Lost Girls in light of the apprehension of the man they think is the Gilgo Beach murderer. But my threshold for murdered sex workers was low going into this. I only finished it because it filled a specific square for my library summer reading game. It’s not bad; the mystery is done well but it doesn’t stand out as far as the rest of […]

This book got canceled because of its author’s online behavior, but I think we should be reading it anyway.

Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing by Lauren Hough

August 30, 2023 by narfna 11 Comments

I just need to write this review. It just needs to happen. I read the book back in APRIL and it is now August. I’ve been letting the whole THING around this book and it getting canceled and review-bombed get to me. This was a book club pick for one of my in-person book clubs, and my friend Alison who picked it definitely picked it in part because it was a controversial book and she likes drama. If you’re not aware of the drama surrounding […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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