Roald Dahl – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

Do People Who Ban Books Even Read Them?

James & the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

October 14, 2022 by Ale 5 Comments

This book was in the “Banned Books” display at my library, so I picked it up on my way to the check-out counter. The last time I read James and the Giant Peach, I think I may have been in the 4th grade, so this was really like reading it for the first time. As an adult, I have to say the descriptions of the child abuse inflicted on James by his aunts was really disturbing, so I was shocked to find out that’s not why […]

Longs and Shorts

The Big Book of Reel Murders by Ed. Otto Penzler

My Head! My Head! by Robert Graves

The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty

The Twits by Roald Dahl

Heart by Jade Anouka

Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny

The Real Cool Killers by Chester Himes

The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch

The Ophelia Network by Mur Lafferty

Deep Hole by Don Winslow

Legal Immigrant by Alan Cumming

Our Town by Thornton Wilder

The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder

The Cube by Adam Rapp

Endgame by Samuel Beckett

Pale Sister by Colm Toibin

Enemies, A Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer

June 8, 2022 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

The Big Book of Reel Murders – Edited by Otto Penzler – 4/5 The concept of this collection is still mostly pulpy stories (though with some other older stories and more contemporary stories not really pulpy) that were made into films. It should really be called “Reel Crimes” as not every story involves a murder, but the concept mostly works. It ends up being a little frayed throughout as apparently it’s just much easier to get some rights to stories than others, so like the […]

Its Time for Me to Say Goodbye to Dahl

The Witches by Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (Illustrator)

February 25, 2022 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

Roald Dahl was one of the authors who dominated my childhood reading which makes sense as he is one of the most celebrated children’s authors of the 20th century. I spent a lot of time deep in a few of his books, seeing bits of myself in his protagonists. But this is my goodbye to him. Dahl was an unrepentant bigot. He was profoundly anti-Semitic, perpetuating harmful tropes and falsehoods for years in his public statements and books. Dahl is also easily read as a […]

Mixed Bag of Mixed Bags

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell

Steel and Other Stories by Richard Matheson

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Going Solo by Roald Dahl

Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert Heinlein

V2 by Robert Harris

June 2, 2021 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

The Wordy Shipmates – 4/5 Stars I wonder how many people know that if you’re from parts of the country, you’re basically not taught about the Puritans at all. You get the same kind of education that Sarah Vowell talks about early in this book with discussions about “the first Thanksgiving” and plenty of other oblique, but not entirely in depth look into the early colonialization of New England. In the South, you’re mostly taught about Jamestown, or your own respective colony (if you had […]

“I understand what you’re saying, and your comments are valuable, but I’m gonna ignore your advice.”

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

December 21, 2019 by narfna Leave a Comment

Maybe because I read it as an adult, this was only an okay reading experience for me. The only other Roald Dahl I read for the first time as an adult rather than a kid was The BFG, but I still loved that book. So maybe this is just a book that only works well for kids. Also, unlike a lot of Dahl’s books, it hasn’t aged very well. The basic gist of the plot is that Mr. Fox and his family live in a […]

If Uncle Stevie’s name is on it, odds are I’m going to read it.

Flight or Fright by Stephen King, Bev Vincent

October 10, 2019 by scootsa1000 1 Comment

CBR11bingo #TheCollection Its no secret that I am not a huge fan of flying. I understand that it is the safest way to travel. But I usually choose to drive if I can. I like to be able to choose my own route, to leave when I want to leave, to stop when I want to stop. I like to be in control of my journey. I think the lack of that control in an airplane is part of what makes me uneasy. Oh, and […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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