Cannonball Read 15

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About melanir

CBR 8
CBR  9
CBR10 participant
CBR11 participant

I like books, but I'm SUPER picky about them. To clarify- a three star rating means that I liked the book and found nothing objectionable in it. As 3 is the average between 1 and 5 this means the book is an average read, perfectly competent but not outstanding.

melanir's Reviews:

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> Articles by: melanir

Ghost Ships and Magic

Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler

February 1, 2019 by melanir 2 Comments

Ship of Smoke and Steel is an enjoyable fantasy that squeaks into the YA label because the protagonist is a teenager. The violence and sex in the book make it suitable for older teens at best, and boy do I feel like a prude saying that. I found out about this book thanks to John Scalzi’s wonderful segment on his blog “The Big Idea” where an author tells you about a book they have coming out and how they came up with it. I find […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: Django Wexler

melanir's CBR11 Review No:7 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: Django Wexler ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

It’s Not the Destination, It’s the Journey

The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

January 28, 2019 by melanir Leave a Comment

This was reviewed recently on Cannonball Read and it piqued my interest enough that I not only purchased it, I moved it way up the TBR pile. It is an excellent novel that is let down by it’s execution. The concept is great, the theme is thought provoking and well executed but there are moments where the plot needed tightening and there is one section where the gross prejudices of the author come out in ways that almost stopped me from reading (and stopped many […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Mystery Tagged With: Stuart Turton

melanir's CBR11 Review No:6 · Genres: Fantasy, Mystery · Tags: Stuart Turton ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Everything I had worked for, all my years of study, had been to purchase for myself this one privilege: to see and experience more truths than those given to me by my father, and to use those truths to construct my own mind.

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

January 16, 2019 by melanir 5 Comments

Educated is the memoir of Tara Westover who, despite being in her early thirties, really does have a story to tell. My mother read this in her book group this past fall and raved about it to me, so much so that I bought it immediately on my kindle. I started reading it about week ago, and was immediately mesmerized. The prose in this book is compelling and hypnotically readable. I’ve been sitting on this book for a week trying to figure out how to […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir Tagged With: Tara Westover

melanir's CBR11 Review No:5 · Genres: Biography/Memoir · Tags: Tara Westover ·
Rating:
· 5 Comments

Falling in Love with the Spirit in the Sword

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

January 11, 2019 by melanir Leave a Comment

I have sung the praises of T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon many times here on Cannonball. Her books are autobuys for me, and I have never been disappointed with them. They are funny, clever, sensible fantasy romps and I love them to pieces. I love her world building and they way that so many of her novels are reactions to other stories. For example, in this book Kingfisher was annoyed by Elric (Michael Moorcock’s Elric? I haven’t read them, I’m not familar) and claimed the real victim […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: t kingfisher, Ursula Vernon

melanir's CBR11 Review No:4 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: t kingfisher, Ursula Vernon ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Sable *in context* means black, and other crafting annoyances.

Ami Ami Kittens: Seriously Cute Crochet! by Mitsuki Hoshi

Literary Yarns: Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Books by Cindy Wang

January 8, 2019 by melanir 4 Comments

When I received Ami Ami Kittens as part of the Cannonball Book Exchange I was super, duper excited. I had put it on my Amazon wish list as a kind of “hm… this craft looks fun and I think I would like to learn more” kind of thing and wasn’t much more motivated to pick up the craft then that. And then it arrived in my book exchange and I got excited, because it gave me an excuse to try it. For the record, I’ve […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: amigurumi, Cindy Wang, crafting, Mitsuki Hoshi

melanir's CBR11 Review No:3 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: amigurumi, Cindy Wang, crafting, Mitsuki Hoshi ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

The sky looks comfortingly mundane compared to the garish kaleidoscope of the stained glass. It makes Rose yearn to be reliving any one of a thousand ordinary days spent with her ordinary older sister, who has now done this extraordinary thing and died.

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

January 3, 2019 by melanir Leave a Comment

Every time I find a Liane Moriarty book that I haven’t read yet, I celebrate. However much I end up liking the book, I know that I’m in for some kind of treat. Her writing is engaging, and her characters lively. No exception here. I quite enjoyed the book, despite some irritation at one of the character arcs. It might be my second favorite Moriarty book. The book is about the various relationships between sisters, daughters, mothers, grandmothers, and friends. Oh sure, there is the […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Liane Moriarty

melanir's CBR11 Review No:1 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Liane Moriarty ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • MsWas on I was right to kidnap this book.That is a hilarious and inventive way to give that book. I will have to keep that in mind.
  • Emmalita on I was right to kidnap this book.Ok, but your gift giving game is excellent!
  • Emmalita on OK, I Need to Talk About These BooksThere are some books that are addictive even when they make us feel bad about ourselves after reading them. I can see how these books...
  • Malin on “One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.”I really want to read this, I'm just worried that it being set in a fictional version of Norway is going to push some peeve...
  • Michellers66 on I was right to kidnap this book.I am not familiar with Benjamin Stevenson and delighted to try one of his books, think I will start with Either Side of Midnight per...
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