Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Parable of the Sower-Graphic Novel

Parable of the Sower by Damien Duffy

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Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review. So the thing is this is my least favorite of Butler’s works. The story had a lot of plot holes that the graphic novel of course cannot and does not fix. Taking place in 2025, we follow the character of Lauren Olamina and her family that are living in what remains of areas around Los Angeles. Told in the first person, we get Lauren’s “insights” into her family, […]

A gripping time-travel slave narrative

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Kindred was our June Cannonball Read book club selection. I decided to read both the original novel by Octavia E. Butler and graphic novel adaptation by John Jennings and Damian Duffy. Both works focus on Dana, a young writer living in 1970s northern Los Angeles (much like Butler herself). She is recently married and moving into her new home with her older white husband, Kevin. They seem quite in love and happy. Dana is unpacking some books when suddenly and inexplicably she travels through time […]

Second time reading, second time not adequately expressing feelings in review.

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I would like to lodge a protest at the start of this review against the practice of writing reviews for books that you have too much to say about. (Often too much to say leads to having nothing to say.) I had a really hard time writing a review for this excellent book the first time I read it. I did an all right job three years ago conveying some of my feelings, but mostly I have so many thoughts and feelings about this book […]

35: A beautifully depicted dystopia with religious leanings

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I have the book club pick coming up in July, and I decided to read something that had been on my TBR for a while. So I went with Octavia E. Butler’s The Parable of the Sower. I had read Kindred last year and really liked it, plus I was intrigued by the dystopian aspects of Parable. So it was to my delight and surprise that I found myself really connecting with this novel and pondering many aspects of it. Lauren Olamina is our protagonist, […]

Book Club Discussion Post: Kindred

Kindred by Octavia Butler

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The time has arrived (and no limbs were lost in the process); we’re going to spend the next two days talking about Kindred. It’s our “most popular” category Anniversary Read so I’m very interested to hear how you feel this book rates in your all-time Cannonball list. Ground rules remain the same as they always have. For those of you who might be joining in for #CannonBookClub for the first time (hello new friends!) all are welcome. All of our topics are numbered and we […]

The Cellar Door is an Open Throat

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Last week I went to a conference in southern California. I took Kindred along, hoping to have time to read a few chapters. My first day there, I sat outside on my lunch break to read. I couldn’t put Kindred down (except, I had to in order to get back to the conference). I finished it before I came home. I read most of it sitting outside in a comfy chair, in beautiful weather. The contrast between my life and Dana’s at that moment felt […]



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