Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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blauracke

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The Tygers of Wrath Are Wiser Than the Horses of Instruction

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

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A series of gruesome deaths occurs in a remote corner of southwestern Poland. Janina, an elderly woman who spends her time on astrology, translating William Blake, and animal rights, is convinced that the victims, all of them hunters, were murdered by animals taking revenge. Many elements of a conventional murder mystery can be found in this book: a revenge plot, someone taking justice into their own hands, means and opportunity aligning perfectly in a single moment. Others, like a true investigation or a pool of suspects, are completely missing. On top of that, Tokarczuk throws an additional layer over 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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11/25/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:60 |

Where Is Home When No One Is Home?

Behold the Many by Lois-Ann Yamanaka

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In 1913, three young sisters suffering from tuberculosis are sent for treatment to a Christian orphanage in the Kalihi Valley in Hawaii. Only the oldest, Anah, survives to grow up, marry and have children of her own, but all her life she is haunted by the loss of her family, and the dead seem determined to make her life miserable. This is one of the most beautiful and poetic books I’ve ever read but the beauty is blanketed so heavily by sadness and a sense of resignation in the face of inevitable seeming failures that it is hard to fully […]

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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11/20/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:59 |

“Why, all the greatest magic comes down to blood. And who knows blood better than a woman?”

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

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Set in the Regency era, the book follows Zacharias Wythe, recently appointed Sorcerer Royal of England’s Unnatural Philosophers, who has to contend not only with rising opposition against his rule from his fellow sorcerers, but also a mysterious drain on the available magic in the country. Political crises, the question of women’s magic use, and the unstable relationship with Fairyland on which England depends for its influx of magic are all problems he must solve. On the surface, this is a pretty standard fantasy romp with dragons and other strange creatures, spells and magical artifacts, and a supernatural world that […]

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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11/15/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:58 |

There’s a Reason for Every Relationship

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li

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A collection of ten short stories, this is a poignant and honest look at the lives of utterly ordinary people that play out in front of cultural constraints and political intrusions. Topics like the relationship between husband and wife, filial duty, the families that we make ourselves, and the societal expectations that put shackles on even the most human experiences are explored in a somber but touching way. Almost all of these stories are amazing, and it’s hard for me to pick a favourite. The most obvious front-runner is a story that links the practice of having eunuchs as servants […]

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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11/11/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:57 |

Keep hold of what you love…

Record of a Night Too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami

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Someone travels through the night in a place where anything can and apparently will happen, a sister mourns her older brother who disappeared shortly before his wedding, and a woman steps on a snake which then moves in with her. This is a collection of three surrealistic novellas that are loosely connected by the themes of love and loss. Reading this is a real experience, it’s going through the rabbit hole and just having to roll with anything that happens afterwards. The first story is the most extreme; it is a dreamscape, filled with rich imagery and fantastic happenings like […]

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 "Keep hold of what you love…"

11/6/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:56 |

Like Saturn, the Revolution Devours Its Children

The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier

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With the French Revolution as the historical background, du Maurier tells the story of a family of master craftsmen who prefer to live in a world of their own, with distinct traditions and rules, but when civil war breaks out, even they must choose a side. This is apparently based on du Maurier’s own family history, and the story is told by a fictional version of one of her ancestors. This is a great piece of historical fiction, and what sets it apart from other books taking place in this rather famous period is that it is told from the […]

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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11/4/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:55 |

It was a dull and boring night…

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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As a 10-year-old, Daniel Sempere visits a mysterious place called the ‘Cemetery of Forgotten Books’ and chooses a book by the unknown author Julián Carax. Over the years, he tries to find out more about him, only to discover that someone is searching for all of Carax’ books just to burn them, and that he himself may possess one of the last copies. This is supposed to be a gothic novel full of doomed romance, tragedy, and mystery, but in the end, it is mostly an anaemic disappointment. The characters are caricatures of themselves; the bad guy, for instance, 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.

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10/29/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:54 |

The Longest Journey

Magellan by Stefan Zweig

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In September of 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set out to find and sail a presumed passage between the Atlantic and the South Pacific in order to find a Western route to the highly coveted Spice Islands. Although not planned as such, this journey ended up the first circumnavigation of the world which proved that the Earth is a round, rotating ball. Magellan himself did not live to see its conclusion as he died during an unnecessary battle in the Philippines, but the important events had already taken place at this point: He had discovered the passage between mainland South […]

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 "The Longest Journey"

10/24/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No:53 |


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