A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre
The problem, for me, when trying to finish a whole Cannonball, is that I read a lot of very long books that take me a long time to finish, and then I spend a week in a book coma, and then it’s July. So around August/September, I think oh shoot this is not going to work, and then I find a ton of random novellas so that I can reach my goal. The choice of these shorter books is based solely on feasibility (length). Sometimes […]
The Scar (New Crobuzon #2) by China Miéville
The Scar is the second of the New Crobuzon series by China Mieville, but you certainly don’t need to read the first (Perdido Street Station) to understand or enjoy the second. This is a long book with a lot going on! Let’s do a quick summary. Bellis Coldwine, our complicated protagonist, is a professional translator on a ship from New Crobuzon voluntarily going into exile after the events of Perdido Street Station. Her plans immediately collapse as she finds herself “press-ganged” by pirates onto a […]
Swann in Love by Marcel Proust
Last week, on a road trip, I thought, “I am turning 43 on Monday and I have never read Proust” So I Googled “which Proust to start with” and the internet told me that Swann in Love is the place to start. This novella can stand alone, but it is actually a section of Swann’s Way, which in turn is the first volume of Proust’s famous In Search of Lost Time. The plot is pretty straightforward: Swann, a high society bougie fellow in fin-de-siecle Paris, […]
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
I read and enjoyed The Unseen World a few years ago, and then sort of stopped paying attention to Liz Moore until someone at work mentioned that she was reading God of the Woods and I was like “Liz Moore, sounds familiar??” I was delighted to 1. remember how much I enjoyed The Unseen World, and 2. discover new books from Liz Moore! Wow! I generally do not like “coming of age” books because I am grumpy and I think few people write about that […]
The Dragon of Og by Rumer Godden
Our 2025 read-aloud journey continues! I found this one thanks to a list along the lines of, “If you liked The Hobbit…” We read it in one afternoon (it’s very short), and both kids give it two thumbs up. The titular dragon has a lovely home under a pool in a river belonging to Lord of Tundergarth, a home found for him by his thoughtful mother. He is a shy, quiet dragon who eats only one bullock every 2 or 3 weeks, from the cattle […]
Travel Light by Naomi Mitchinson
When my daughter asked “Are there any girls in this story?” during our reading of The Hobbit, I set out to find a book with girls and dragons where the girl isn’t just along for the ride. I came across Naomi Mitchison. I wouldn’t be surprised if other Cannonballers are familiar with Mitchison, but I had never heard of her! She was an extremely prolific (over 90 books!) contemporary of Tolkein, who, among other things: …was able to write anywhere, which helped because – as […]
