Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Hunting vampires is always a dangerous business

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton

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I’ve had Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton on my shelf for several years. This is the first book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. As a lover of vampires and urban fantasy, I have been curious since it’s been around a long time. I finally decided to pick it up for Dewey’s readathon. One of the bingo challenges was to read the oldest book on your to-be-read shelf. The story introduces us to Anita Blake who is a private investigator. She is licensed to […]

What the Smuck?

Lisey's Story by Stephen King

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

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While I have been COVID telecommuting, I have tried to get out in the early afternoon for a nice 45 minute walk. I’ve been listening to a bit of Stephen King while I walk — I’ve already read all of his books, so listening (even to the scary stuff) is somewhat easy and comforting. If I lose my train of thought, no big deal. The story just goes on. This year, I listened to two books I had previously read, Lisey’s Story and ‘Salem’s Lot. […]

Two Comics and a Horror

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughn, et al.

Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and Dave Mazzucchelli

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

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Read two comics and re-read a horror classic. All good in their various ways, two not living up to the potential of greatness and one with said potential… Paper Girls, Volume 1 A lot of folks warned that this one would be confusing but being a huge “Saga” fan, I was willing to give Brian K. Vaughn the benefit of the doubt. And it paid off. It’s a good table setter for what promises to be a good story. I liked the characters and, I’ve […]

Some Legends Don’t Withstand the Test of Time

Bram Stoker's Dracula by Bram Stoker, Edited by Jan Needle

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Full disclosure, I had no idea I’d ordered the edited and abridged version from the library, but I decided to give it a go anyway since the abridged version was still some 400 pages. I never had to read “Dracula” in school, and while, like most people, I’m aware of the general premise of the story, my goal of reading at least one classic a year put this on my spooky-reads list for Halloween. Long story short, A real estate agent, Jonathan Harker, goes to […]

“In the clear and steady gleam of electric lights, superstition turns to foolishness; in the crucible of the combustion engine, false beliefs are burned away.” (Bingos #9 & 10)

Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Zoraida Cordova & Natalie Parker (editors)

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My Halloween read this year is this collection of new vampire tales edited by the team of Zoraida Cordova and Natalie Parker. I enjoy vampire stores because they offer so many different views onto the human condition, if you go looking for them. In Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite Cordova and Parker, along with the assembled authors, take the time to dig in and explore these angles – with postscripts by Cordova and Parker after each story. Let’s handle individual stories in […]

“In the end, we are always our hunger.”

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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That cover is gorgeous! And hey, who doesn’t want to read a book about a vampire and her glowing dog? “Bribes could buy almost anything back north, but this was not the North. This was good old Mexico City, which had fallen to the Spaniards but would not yield to vampires.” In this alternate world, vampires were revealed to the world in the 1970s, leading to political upheaval all over the world. While the rest of Mexico may be controlled by various vampire gangs, Mexico […]



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