Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About ElCicco

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Married, mom of two, history PhD, feminist. I've been participating in Cannonball Read since CBR4. I love to read, and writing reviews keeps me from reading without thinking. I feel like I owe it to the authors who entertain me to savor their creations. It's like slowing down and enjoying a delicious meal instead of bolting your food. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: ElCicco's Quick Questions interview.)

ElCicco's Reviews:

An adult story with some triggers

Yerba Buena: A Novel by Nina LaCour

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Cbr15bingo Queer Lives, bingo Yerba Buena is a beautifully written and conceived novel about love and loss. Its two main characters, Sara and Emilie, have experienced trauma and tragedy at a young age. As adults, they are each trying to find their place in the world and perhaps find love with each other, but they still struggle with the ghosts of their pasts.  Sara and Emilie grew up in very different environments but share similar problems. Emilie’s family’s Creole roots are in New Orleans, but […]

Excellent short story collection

Walking on Cowrie Shells: Stories by Nana Nkweti

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CBR15bingo Africa This book was a finalist for the Caine Prize for African writing  This 2021 collection of 10 short stories, Nana Nkweti’s debut work, is a riveting read. Each story is thought provoking, some are shocking, all are brilliantly written. This is the kind of book you could read quickly but it deserves to be savored.  Nana Nkweti is a Cameroonian American writer, and her stories focus on the experience of being a “hyphenated American.” For some who have come to the US from […]

For the birds

Angel Catbird Vol. 1 by Margaret Atwood, Johnnie Christmas, Tamra Bonvillain

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Cbr15bingo strange worlds Yes, in this final month of CBR bingo I am in a rush to get as many squares checked off as possible. As a result, I am scouring our home bookshelves for anything that can help me fill in my remaining squares. Angel Catbird Volume 1 is a graphic novel that has been sitting on the shelf for years. I remember when it came out, I was kind of excited to see that Margaret Atwood had written it. I am a fan […]

“All it takes is one voice, singing in the darkness.”

Rainbow in the Dark: The Complete Saga by Comfort Love and Adam Withers

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Cbr15bingo nostalgia, bingo This 2013 graphic novel would fit a number of categories for bingo, but given its overall message, I am using it for “nostalgia.” Rainbow in the Dark takes place in a world that looks like ours but that has been taken over by a dark force called the Gloom. The people are unaware that they are in its grip until a band of warriors frees them. Their response to that freedom is what drives the narrative forward and makes the story relevant […]

Chocolate used to be considered a health food. Where did we go wrong?

Great Moments in Chocolate History by Howard-Yana Shapiro

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Cbr15bingo edibles (bingo) Back at the beginning of May, my younger son asked me what I would like for Mothers Day. I told him that anything related to books, coffee or chocolate would be nice. He hit two out of three with this book, Great Moments in Chocolate History, published by National Geographic (2015). Howard-Yana Shapiro is a plant scientist and chief agricultural officer for Mars, Inc. This is a guy who knows chocolate science and provides a lot of interesting facts in relating the […]

Who died and made you king?

Unruly: A History of England’s Kings and Queens by David Mitchell

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Cbr15bingo Europe I’m not sure how my husband got his hands on the official UK version of this book; the US version is out tomorrow (Oct. 3) with the subtitle as shown in the photo, not the subtitle on the UK version which I have put in the title bar. But he knew I would love it because we are both fans of David Mitchell from the various British panel shows he has been on. Mitchell describes himself as a comedian, and he is, but […]



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