Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Yellowface: what a wild ride

Yellowface by RF Kuang

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mood music: t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l – willow smith This book was a wild ride. I had a very love-hate relationship with it, and it took time to finish because of this. A social commentary about the literary publishing world, it tackles issues with diversity and inclusivity and how minority writers are boxed into specific genres by their publishing companies in service of diversifying the signed authors. The story follows June Haywayd, a young […]

“What sort of man would wish to murder the president of another land? None but a barbarian.”

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

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CBR15 BINGO: Politics, because it addresses U.S. and Belgian involvement in the Congo In 1959, evangelical Baptist preacher Nathan Price takes the word of God to the Belgian Congo, bringing his wife and four daughters with him. Though the mission is supposed to last one year, the family’s stay is extended through the sheer stubbornness and bad judgment of their patriarch and, while the novel spans 30+ years, the majority of it takes place in the few years that Price is actively proselytizing in a […]

“Happiness is a garden walled with glass: there’s no way in or out. In Paradise there are no stories, because there are no journeys. It’s loss and regret and misery and yearning that drive the story forward, along its twisted road.”

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

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In another time or another headspace, I might have given this five stars. If I ever re-read, I probably will. Unfortunately, my brain was just not in the mood for a long, measured, thoughtful, historical literary fiction novel when I read this back in April (!). I should probably have done the audiobook instead. (Anyone know if it’s any good? I’ve never heard of the narrator before.) *Have I EVER been in the mood for a Margaret Atwood? 🤔 I somehow managed to read The […]

Sometimes the Hype is Real

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

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I don’t love reading books that have all the buzz. The ones on all of the must read most anticipated best of lists. That get picked for all of the book clubs. I’m not inherently opposed to popularity. If anything, I find myself too swayed by all of the opinions. I’m overcritical or underwhelmed usually. It helps if I let some time pass, so it doesn’t feel so in my face. Library hold lists make this easier. My hold for Yellowface came in and I […]

An earlier novel by a favorite author

The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

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CBR15 BINGO – Relation”Ship”, for the relationships between four high school friends and their families, both known and unknown I suspect I’m like most readers in that I first encountered Emily St. John Mandel when I read her brilliant and heart-aching Station Eleven. Since then, I’ve eagerly awaited her new novels and, having caught up on those, I finally turned to her earlier works. The Lola Quartet, published two years before Station Eleven, is the story of a group of high school friends in Florida who […]

Not my usual thing, but very enjoyable.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

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I will be honest, I only got Black Cake from BOTM because it was the only Book of the Year in 2022 that I hadn’t already read, and you get a free one every year. I didn’t want to say no to a free book. And I’m glad I got it! This was highly readable and emotionally affecting, even if it wasn’t always able to hold my attention perfectly (lots of little breaks for romance novels, fanfic, etc. — I am who I am). And […]



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