Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Ale

I'm adjuncting in creative writing, and I'm in the midst of finishing a novel I'd like to send for publication by the end of 2019. CBR has definitely helped my writing since now I know what readers are looking for and not looking for in their works. So, thank you, CBR! Hopefully someday, we'll be able to review my novel on this blog. :)

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Ale's Reviews:

Sand and Sea, and a Little Victorian Mystery

The Hotel Under the Sand by Kage Baker

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There’s a huge bargain book shop not far from my house where my dad and I sometimes go to spend a Saturday morning thumbing through the racks. Books are literally stacked to the ceiling and there’s not much organization, but you can pick up hardbacks for $2.00, and it’s fun just to see what’s there. The Hotel Under the Sand had been tossed on a shelf amidst a bunch of nature books and non-fiction, but the title caught my eye. I’d never heard of Kage Baker before, but the little note under the title from Publisher’s Weekly claiming she’s ‘the […]

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Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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7/11/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:21 |

Travel History

Topographies by Stephen Benz

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I got an advanced copy to do a review for The Literary Review, and while travel essays aren’t normally in my wheelhouse, this collection was a winner. Benz travels widely from the Florida Everglades to the Moldovan post-Communist landscape, the deserts of the American West and to the streets of Central America. Historically minded, and introspective of both the culture of the landscapes and the people who inhabit them, Benz’ accounts are a vivid and engaging story of overlooked places and history. The collection is divided into two parts, Reading the American Landscape, chronicling Benz’ American treks including the Everglades, portions […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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7/2/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:18 |

Just Short of Amazing

Pump Six & Other Stories by Paolo Bagigalupi

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How have I not heard of Paolo Bagigalupi until right now? A colleague of mine recommended “Pop Squad,” and it was life changing. I had to go out and find the whole collection. Bagigalupi’s writing is an amazing mix of darkly twisted but heartfelt prose. His short story collection, Pump Six & Other Stories, covers eleven forays into his speculative imagination. My favorites were “The Fluted Girl,” “Pop Squad,” and “Pump Six,” but all the stories in the collection share a new look on post apocalyptic worlds and the price of immortality. Speculative short fiction is hard to get right; […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Just Short of Amazing"

6/3/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:17 |

Step By Step

Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess by Rachel Hoffman

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Several lovely people on this site have reviewed “Unf*ck Your Habitat” with rave reviews, and I’m totally a sucker for a fun title and I hate cleaning, so I decided to give this book a go. And it’s every bit as good as everyone says. Hoffman breaks cleaning down into short bursts of what she refers to as 20/10s or 20 minutes of doing something and 10 minutes of rest. That way something is always getting done, but it never feels overwhelming. It starts to feel less like a chore and more like part of the day. As a person […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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5/15/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:16 |

Did We Really Need that Character?

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

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I picked this up on a whim at a used book shop. The cover was nice and the first page was really intriguing. I got into it right away, and the story starts out with an incredibly compelling narrator, Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee escaping to England for asylum after a terrible event occurs in her village. As the story unfolds, however, the plot goes crazy-pants and we’re introduced to a second narrator, Sarah, a British magazine editor who met Little Bee through terrible circumstances on a vacation to a Nigerian resort. I will spare you the crazy-pants plot in […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Did We Really Need that Character?"

4/25/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:15 |

Serial Bad Writing

The Killer Book of Serial Killers by Tom Philbin and Michael Philbin

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For a research library, my university’s stacks are pretty lacking in texts that are actually helpful to most students’ work, so I often help out my students by taking out books from my own library system. This is how I ended up with The Killer Book of Serial Killers. I would never have selected this myself based on the cover alone, but my student found it and was intrigued, and who am I to judge the sources he wants to use for his Criminology final? We discussed a few of the features in it while he was sitting in the office, […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Serial Bad Writing"

4/24/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:14 |

Fresh Fantasy

How Long Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

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It took me a long time to get through this book, but not because I didn’t like it. I really loved many of the stories in this collection. Jemisin’s prose is tight, and fresh, and wonderful. She creates full-bodied characters in small spaces, and in many ways, the largest reason it took me almost a whole month to read was because I’d be so bereft at having to leave a  character or environment that I love, and I simply wasn’t ready to move on to the next one. It was like experiencing book grief over and over again, which is […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

Share the post "Fresh Fantasy"

4/18/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:13 |


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