Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Who is really lost here?

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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And the saga of my conflicted feelings for audiobooks continues. With a highpoint, admittedly, but conflicted those feelings still are. I spend a lot of time in front of screens for work, reading documents etc., my eyesight has suffered this year and since I, for some odd reason, cannot bring myself to cancel my audible subscription, I’ve decided to try listening to audiobooks before bed. And boy does that work! 15 minutes in and I’m fast asleep! It stretched out my “reading” time for this […]

Perfume, Chocolate, and Spies

The Scent of Secrets by Jane Thynne

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I have a dirty little secret that I suppose I’m confessing to the world: I like booksellers more than librarians. Librarians are usually concerned primarily with the administration of their office. Understandably so! I’d just as soon know what I’m looking for in a library so I don’t have to inquire for a librarian’s help. Usually, if I’m going to one, it’s because I want to get a specific something. Rarely do I browse in the library. Bookstores, as I’ve whittled down my wishlist over […]

Ladies do buddy cop stuff in early 20th century steampunk Egypt

A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark

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To be clear from the get-go, I hope A Master of Djinn is the first of a series. It’s got an interesting world, a twist of the classic steampunk which takes the perspective of the Egyptians not the English with a strong reliance of the local folklore/mythology (as opposed to the European traditions), it’s got some interesting characters, like Agent Fatma a queer lady Agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, Siti her capricious lover, and Agent Hadia rookie partner. Some of […]

Mar(e)io of Rocksburg (Easttown)

The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes by K.C. Constantine

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Like many this past month, I watched and enjoyed HBO’s Mare of Easttown. I especially liked the first tier suburban Philly setting, the commitment to local culture, and the character-focused thrust of storytelling, even as there was a murder mystery to be solved. There was empathy for people and their situations in life, all of it centered around the titular Mare, the town detective. I wanted to read a book with similar traits. Long Bright River is the easiest and obvious answer but I read (and enjoyed) that one […]

“Friday was back to normal, if the actions of suspicious would-be heirs competing for a two-hundred-million-dollar prize could be considered normal.”

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

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This was so good! I’m so mad I didn’t read it as a kid. I mean, I’m an adult reading this for the first time, and even though I’m notoriously bad at figuring out mysteries, this was still quite the puzzle. It was just as well-constructed as an adult mystery, just with a different tone. And a main character called Turtle. What I liked best about this, besides the puzzle-like nature of it, was the human kindness it had at its core. It’s been since […]

You Englishwomen are all the same. So modern with your bicycling machines and pamphlets on voting.

An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn

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Dear Ms Raybourn: You may never stop writing your Veronica Speedwell novels. I will not permit it. Many thanks. Book 6 in the Veronica Speedwell Mystery series, is, as they all are, a damn delight. If you haven’t read them, please do. If you do read them, know that this one does not disappoint. Everyone’s favorite lepidopterist and taxidermist are on a momentary mystery solving and near death experiencing lull. As they work side by side to create an exhibit honoring the late mountain climber Alice Baker-Greene […]



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