So, I sat down to compile the 2019 stats the other day anticipating a week and a half of drudgery. Drudgery I would get some degree of nerd pleasure out of, but still drudgery. Only to discover that – none of my XML formula’s (that I use to harvest data from this website, which I then turn into the CBR database) worked. So I pulled up the home page, and find that everything looks different. Uh oh. After verifying my code strings, and making a […]
Short story review dump (part one)
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Barn Burning by Haruki Murakami
Mastiff by Joyce Carol Oates
A Village After Dark by Kazuo Ishiguro
King of the Elves by Philip K Dick
The Second Bakery Attack by Haruki Murakami
So I was nerding out a couple weeks ago, and started another database. This time, I wanted to compile a list of all the stories written by as many well-regarded authors as I could think of. It started off with just novels, but quickly grew to include short stories. Which means the database got out of control pretty quickly. I knew that many (most?) authors publish a lot of short stories – but when you actually see them all lined up….. It made me realize […]
Last book of the year!
Starsight by Brandon Sanderson
In before the freeze! I didn’t come close to a Cannonball, but I did my best. I read the first book in this series this past February, and loved it immensely. Like everything the last couple months, I had trouble getting into this book. But, it’s Brandon Sanderson, so I stuck with it. And I’m very glad that I did. I could’ve avoided the difficulty had I just re-read Skyward, but it all worked out in the end, I guess. To start with, the book […]
I’m horrible
American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer
The Institute by Stephen King
Mountain Man by Keith C. Blackmore
In Distant Lands: A Short History of the Crusades by Lars Brownworth
I’ve been bad the last couple months. I finished all these books by early October, and have probably started a dozen books since then without finishing anything. And I’ve been reading Brandon Sanderson’s Misborn for about three months. I’m liking it, but I just can’t finish it for whatever reason. This hasn’t been a good Cannonball for me. But, much like my first Cannonball in 2015, I have the birth of a child to blame. Anyway, I’ll still try and review these books the best […]
If only we had started tackling climate change 60 years ago
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
CBR11 Bingo: Award Winner I read almost no alternate history – but I absolutely love the thought experiments. I read this book for two reasons: I don’t think I read enough award winners, and I know I don’t read enough books written by women. Most of my reading is for pleasure. I’m not necessarily trying to challenge myself, or expand my horizons. I’ve tried reading books held in high esteem by people much smarter than I, and I even tried reading more literature a couple […]