Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I've been doing this since 2015, and though I'm not going to read a hundred books a year, I plan on doing this for the foreseeable future. I also maintain the Cannonball Read database, and make infrequent updates on our reading habits. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: ingres77's Quick Questions interview.)

ingres77's Reviews:

The slow horror of watching your life fall apart, one terrible decision after another

Come Closer by Sara Gran

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I had low expectations going into this book, but I was in the mood for something quietly horrifying and unsettling. I saw someone praising this on Reddit, and it was freely available on Audible. And it was exactly what I wanted. Which is to say, it left me deeply unsettled. Amanda, an architect in what appears to be a happy marriage, finds her life slowly unraveling. It starts off with  a quiet tapping in her apartment that she and her husband can quite track down. […]

Compassion

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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All I could tell you about this book prior to having read it was that it was about racial justice, and was written from the perspective of a girl whose father, Atticus Finch, is one of the most beloved characters in American literature. I’ve seen the movie. Watched it in college some twenty years ago. And while I remember loving the movie, I don’t remember much about it beyond that. Unsurprisingly, the book is pretty damn good. As is the case with many of the […]

I, too, like a rousing sci-fi series about a murderous robot that wants nothing more than to watch soap operas.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Network Effect by Martha Wells

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Before I get into the reviews, I’m just going to preface this by saying I don’t really remember all the individual books, but Murderbot is one of my favorite characters ever. All Systems Red (5/5) “Murderbot” is the self-chosen name of a security android appointed with the task of protecting a team of scientists surveying a planet. It is a rogue SecUnit, however, and has overridden its governor, unbeknownst to everyone else, and wants nothing more than to disengage from the world and watch soap […]

A flawed but engaging read that has taken me about 13 years to read.

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

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I’m not sure when I first became aware of this book, but I bought it over a decade ago, before I met my wife. Before I had much of a life to speak of. Recently separated and having lost a fairly good job in the midst of what felt like a pretty terrible economic meltdown, I was going through my own little existential crisis. Working two jobs that weren’t really sufficient, I was struggling to find myself – to find meaning and purpose, a sense […]

I feel like this is the kind of book that sticks with you

True Grit by Charles Portis

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We all know this story, right? I feel like a lot of people read this book a decade ago when the Coen brothers released their adaptation, starring Jeff Bridges. Prior to that, of course, was the 1969 movie starring John Wayne, for which he famously won his only Oscar. I say “famous” because I grew up hearing how he was the greatest movie star of all time and only won one golden statue, as if that were somehow and oversight that invalidated the whole award […]

Two very different books, two very different reactions

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

Blood Music by Greg Bear

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On a Pale Horse (1983) by Piers Anthony – 4 stars Zane is poor. Jobless. He lives a pathetic existence, and has little to look forward to. A shop keeper attempts to sell him powerful gems that can give him everything he wants. A magical gem that can point him in the direction of a woman who will love him absolutely? Tempting, but Zane can’t afford it. How about one that will grant him wealth beyond imagining? Absurd – that would have to be far […]



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