Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“In Swahili it’s called utu. In Zulu, the word is ubuntu. It translates to ‘humanity,’ but what it really means is ‘community.’ I am because we are. Our humanity is tied together.”

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

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Yet another book being done a disservice by its cover. (Should I switch careers and become a book designer? I have zero art skills but I could supervise people who do and like make decisions and stuff!) Anyway, it’s an attractive, colorful cover that I really like the look of, but it doesn’t convey at all the tone of the book or what it is about. I can’t even tell this is a fantasy from looking at this cover, and this is definitely a fantasy, […]

It seems I can love horror

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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CBR15 BINGO: Dwelling. Hill House is not only integral to the story but also a character in itself. Like many American high school students, I read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” in ninth grade and then proceeded to ignore Jackson for the majority of my book-consuming life. First published in The New Yorker in 1948, “The Lottery” was shocking for its twist and has been banned or challenged in school districts for being, among other things, anti-family. Given the influence Jackson had on American literature, I’m […]

M for Mature

Sensor by Junji Ito

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It was Saturday and I had two options, stay at home and do laundry and not get any reading done, or take an hour or two at the library and try and get some reading done. Besides, I had to pick up some interlibrary loans anyway. I picked the library (now, you need to understand that I work at an independent bookstore, where I have access to free books, usually brand new, never touched reader copies, not like that library version of Nimona that had […]

Prunella: A very nice skeleton, ah, girl, ah skeleton …. individual

 Prunella and the Cursed Skull Ring by Matthew Loux

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I have wanted to read Prunella and the Cursed Skull Ring by Matthew Loux for a while now. I had access to an online reading copy, but it “time out” on me. Then recently, it mysteriously returned. The planets had fallen into place and it was finally the right moment to read what would be an interesting story of who really is the monster and who is not, while in the meantime, adventures await. The surface story is simple, and for the ages (strong reader, but can […]

Through the Desert

Frontera by Julio Anta, Jacoby Salcedo

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CBR 15 Bingo: Guide – Guillermo has spent his afterlife guiding migrants from Mexico safely across the Sonoran Desert. Mateo is desperate to return to his life in Arizona after he and his family are deported back to Mexico, but that desperation makes him reckless. Lost in the desert, he must rely on someone he’s not even sure exists if he’s going to make it to safety. This is a graphic novel about Mateo, a teenage boy who is trying to cross the border into […]

Of butterflies and spirits

A Blanket of Butterflies (The Spirit of Denendeh Volume One) by Richard Van Camp

As I Enfold You in Petals (The Spirit of Denendeh, Volume 2). by Richard Van Camp

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A while back I found a reader copy request form. After asking and receiving it, I realized it was book two. I did find book one, but never got around to reading it. After receiving the second book, there was still no reading of it. I only realized why I had the delay the night I read them. They are books that must be read “at the right time,” otherwise you will not be ready for them. The books were A Blanket of Butterflies (The […]



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