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:

Suspicion

Symposium: A Novel by Muriel Spark

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There is something about writers from Scotland, rather like those from Scandinavia, that just brings along the darkness. Reading Muriel Spark’s short 1990 novel Symposium reminded me of a read from last year, Elspeth Barker’s 1991 novel O, Caledonia. Both novels feature old moneyed families fallen on hard times in Scotland, and both cast a gimlet eye on the intellectual, propertied class. Also, both are excellent, quick reads. Symposium is a murder mystery that happens while a dinner party is occurring. Sparks takes us in […]

1984/Julia

1984 by George Orwell

Julia by Sandra Newman

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Over the years I have read 1984 maybe half a dozen times, always for class-related assignments when I was a student or when I was a teacher. It has probably been over 20 years since my last re-read, and I’m glad I picked it up again before reading Sandra Newman’s Julia, a take on 1984 from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover. I have always found 1984 to be a challenging read; dystopian fiction is unsettling and the end of 1984 is tragic. […]

“We never thought of ourselves as witches….For this was a word invented by men, a word that brings power to those who speak it, not those it describes.”

Weyward: A Novel by Emilia Hart

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Weyward is a novel about three women in three different time periods but from the same family line — the Weyward women. It is a story of women who don’t fit, who are “wayward,” and as such are feared and abused. Yet this is also about women who find their strength in that which sets them apart and who learn to love and empower themselves as a result. There are some supernatural elements to this story, and while I think that adding the supernatural to […]

Beautiful book whether you’re a baking newbie or a pro

What’s For Dessert: Simple Recipes for Dessert People by Claire Saffitz

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Cbr15bingo Guide, Bingo BLACKOUT Last year I reviewed Claire Saffitz’s first cookbook Dessert Person, giving it two thumbs up. Her second collection, What’s For Dessert, is another great collection of recipes organized in a way that is super helpful to the baker, whether novice or pro. As I pointed out in that earlier review, I am not exactly handy in the kitchen but I do like baking. The biggest obstacle I run in to is that half of my household is gluten/casein/soy free, which can […]

The perfect mix of war and noir

Five Decembers by James Kestrel

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Five Decembers by James Kestrel won the 2022 Edgar Award for best novel. It is a solid murder mystery that involves a classic noir detective story paired with international intrigue and  the Pacific Theater in WWII. Main character Joe McGrady is army brat who went to college and later served in the army before settling in Hawaii and becoming a detective in the Honolulu Police Department. His boss, Capt. Beamer, is a chain-smoking benzedrine-inhaling hard nose who hates Joe and makes it clear that he […]

A little romance

The Thorn and The Blossom: A Two-Sided Love Story by Theodora Goss

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The Thorn and The Blossom is a novella by Theodora Goss which uses the tale of Gawain the Green Knight from Arthurian legend as a point of departure. Goss takes the legend, updates it to the modern age and provides her readers with a charming love story told from two perspectives. The Thorn and The Blossom is the story of Evelyn Morgan and Brendan Thorne, and it is the story of Gawan, Queen Elowen, the sorceress Morva and the thousand year curse. The reader can […]



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