Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Greatest? City in the World

Manhattan Noir by ed. Lawrence Block

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Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: ring. One of the suggestions for this category was “reaching for the brass ring.” Many move to Manhattan to reach for the brass ring. Most of these stories are about how they failed.  Sorry to those who actually read all my reviews because I know I repeat myself constantly. But man, I just love the Akhasic Noir series. I already love cities, those I’ve been to, lived in, can only dream of. And there’s just nothing better than Manhattan. […]

Learn, Baby, Learn

Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richie Narvaez

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Read as part of CBR16Bingo: Disco. The book is set in the 1970s, in New York City, has a prominent theme at a discotheque and has the word “disco” in the title. Imagine if Harriet the Spy was a high school girl of Hispanic descent in 70s Brooklyn and you’d have the vibe of this one. There are two stories here, one about Holly and the other about Xander. I don’t want to spoil them but the dueling narratives do not imply an unlikely friendship. […]

Heretics

Dissolution by CJ Sansom

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Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: Horses. This book features people riding horses as a practical matter because it’s set in the 15th century.  First of all: RIP CJ Sansom. I didn’t know until I started this that he had recently died, and sadly just before Shardlake, a tv series based on these books, was released on Hulu. I read Sansom’s Dominion years ago and thought it was decent. I grabbed this not long after but eventually gave up on keeping it, as I just needed to clear […]

She’s a Killer Queen

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

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Read as part of CBR16Bingo: Part 2. This is the second in the Gretchen Lowell and Archie Sheridan series, which currently has six books and is apparently counting.  I’m trying hard not to be a jerk here. This is me. Look people should write whatever they want. And have fun with it. Writing books is hard. A gender swapped Silence of the Lambs? Hell yeah, baby! Sounds right up my alley, even if I don’t like serial killer books. Ok so this is gonna be a […]

Feeling lost after loss

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

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When you’ve been a children’s librarian for years, it is easy to get burnt out on the material. For me, that also meant I got cocky. Can any kids book really hook me anymore as a bitter adult who has READ IT ALL? Are there any GOOD STORIES LEFT? Yes, of course, to both of those things. THE LOST LIBRARY by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass proved just that. The last day of fifth grade is approaching, and Evan is pretty nervous about moving up […]

Stag Party

The Hunter's Daughter by Nicola Solvinic

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Read as part of CBR16Bingo: dun-dun. This is a mystery novel, also a backstory about the daughter of a serial killer, so there’s a lot of dun-dun to it.  Those who read my reviews know I’m not a fan of serial killer stories, particularly diabolical serial killer stories. It’s not just that Silence of the Lambs broke the mode, though that is part of it. It’s more because serial killer stories are so…F-WORD…boring! Oh look at me! I’m such a tortured soul because of trauma! And since […]



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