Cannonball Read 14

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Beware: At war Or at peace, More people die Of unenlightened self-interest Than of any other disease.

Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler

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  Octavia Butler’s sequel to Parable of the Sower is no less prophetic than its predecessor. The language is raw and unsparing but never revels in the pain the characters go through. It is also not without its small moments of joy. The found family of Earthseed is put to the test in this book and though they do not come away unscathed they manage to survive because of their strong bonds of community and love for one another. The story picks up five years […]

Well I certainly couldn’t…

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacy by Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar

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  It’s not an easy thing to make you laugh and fill you with incoherent rage but this book manages to do just that. Written by late night host Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar, You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacy is a series of stories of the everyday racism dealt with by Lacey, who lives and works in Omaha, as told to her sister Amber who now lives in New York. Obviously this is not to say that there is no racism […]

“Who carved a mountain into a cathedral?”

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

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  If you are missing the political machinations and betrayals of Game of Thrones and aren’t sure if GRRM is going to finish the last book before he shuffles off his mortal coil, you should definitely check out The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It has all of that AND it’s a finished series so no waiting for the next installment. This book is the first of a trilogy, plus a novella and a book of short stories. The story follows Yiene, whose mother was the heir […]

Darling it’s better down where it’s wetter.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

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  I listened to this book via the podcast Phoebe Reads a Mystery which is voiced by Phoebe Judge of the famed Criminal Podcast. She reads one to two chapters a day of a classic mystery (though I’m not sure if this most recent selection qualifies). This book follows a reluctant passenger aboard the Nautilus, a submarine which must have seemed truly fantastical the time of the book’s 1869 publication, and it’s secretive Captain Nemo. French oceanographer Pierre Aronnax has, along with his faithful servant […]

God is Change

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

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Add this one to the list of books I wish I’d read in my teens rather than a butt load of Stephen King. Octavia Butler’s frighteningly prescient dystopian novel needs to be added to every high school curriculum. It is a story of economic and societal collapse, climate disaster and survival in the face of unspeakable pain and loss. It’s a difficult read but none of the horrors feel gratuitous. It comes with many trigger warnings; rape, harm to children, harm to animals and fires. […]

The real bookstore was the friends we made along the way

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane

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  A book about a bookstore is catnip for me. I’ve had this one on my shelf and I selected it randomly. The story follows Clay Jannon, whose tech job goes away during the Great Recession (2008 edition). Clay takes a job working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. Penumbra himself is a benevolently odd man who imposes very few rules on his employees. It soon becomes apparent to Clay that there is something out of the ordinary about Mr. Penumbra, his store […]



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