Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I Bought into Amazon’s Author Exploitation Again

Under the Mistletoe: Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

Under the Mistletoe: Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

Under the Mistletoe: All by My Elf by Olivia Dade

Under the Mistletoe: Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur

Under the Mistletoe: Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria

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I mean, I assume it’s exploitive. It is Amazon. Having had some success with the Improbable Meet Cute collection for Valentines  Day, and, as someone who absolutely loves a Christmas novella, I paid for one (the Ali Hazelwood) and borrowed the other four of these Under the Mistletoe “get to know a romance author with a  free read” stories. I imagine Amazon is doing the same thing as telling someone to work for free for the exposure. I hope they were compensated in some way. […]

“Don’t look at me like that’s my fault. I’m just telling you shit I know.”

Fugitive Telemetry (Murderbot Diaries #6) by Martha Wells

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Last fall I started a full Murderbot Diaries re-read in the lead up to our Cannonball Read book club about all things Murderbot. I got five stories read, but then November and December happened, and I did not get to finish in 2024. But that’s okay, I have the remaining books in my custody for January and I can get to the last new-to-me Murderbot (System Collapse) in just a couple of weeks!  My main takeaway this time through Fugitive Telemetry is that I missed […]

Starting 2025 Off with a Quick but Sad Read

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

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After following CBR for nearly a decade, I finally decided to join, so here is my first review! I chose this book to fulfill the “By an Irish Author” prompt in the Goodreads Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge and the “Author’s Last Name is Also a First Name” prompt in the 52 Book Club Challenge. “As they carried along and met more people Furlong did and did not know, he found himself asking was there any point in being alive without helping […]

“When I’m sad, I read. I can go on reading for hours. Reading quiets the turmoil I feel inside and brings me peace. Because when I’m immersed in the world of a book, no one can get hurt.”

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, #2) by Satoshi Yagisawa

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Here I sit, on the precipice of completing my reading goal of 52 books, read and reviewed. And just like last year, I needed a teeny tiny book I could tear through to get the job done. And that’s okay, dangit! Last year ended with the first book in this slim series, so it’s appropriate that I visit the Jimbocho district of Japan once again. When we begin, Takako and those in her life are doing much better than they were in the first volume. […]

I, Misanthrope Bot

All Systems Red - The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

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Having finished my first Murderbot novella, I have the same feeling as I did when I finished Gideon the Ninth – I’m a REAL cannonballer now! Between my husband and countless cannonballer’s reviews, I can’t seem to take two steps without bumping into a hearty endorsement of the Murderbot series. However, similar to Gideon the Ninth, this first installment wasn’t a total hit for me. Perhaps I’m just contrarian or maybe my expectations were too high. But I didn’t love this misanthropic robot as much […]

The power of the spoken word on full display

The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

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I experienced the classic novella Heart of Darkness through the animated voice of the acclaimed Kenneth Branagh, which I daresay is the ideal way to go about ‘reading’ this book.  It worked particularly well for two reasons: The novella is written in the style of a story that is being told aloud to his shipmates, so audiobook works particularly well Branagh’s interpretation of the text and intonation on certain phrases was, in my view, a preferable interpretation of the text than could otherwise be read. […]



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