Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


“Abnasio’s smile was so kindly you could shave with it.”

Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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I don’t know if Tchaikovsky’s interest in spiders preceded his writing or followed it, but the man writes a lot of books that try to force people to have compassion for spiders. But dude makes it work. Plot: A spider’s home in a forest is attacked by a team of adventurers on a holy quest to defeat a powerful, evil wizard. A deal was offered – the adventurers get what they need in exchange for not killing all the spiders. And what did they need? […]

I, Misanthrope Bot

All Systems Red - The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

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Having finished my first Murderbot novella, I have the same feeling as I did when I finished Gideon the Ninth – I’m a REAL cannonballer now! Between my husband and countless cannonballer’s reviews, I can’t seem to take two steps without bumping into a hearty endorsement of the Murderbot series. However, similar to Gideon the Ninth, this first installment wasn’t a total hit for me. Perhaps I’m just contrarian or maybe my expectations were too high. But I didn’t love this misanthropic robot as much […]

Chaotic Orbits? Yes, Please!

Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis

How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis

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After seeing Beth Revis talk about mocking a particular billionaire in her new sci-fi heist series, I saw that the Audible sale made it very very affordable. So I bought it, listened to it, and then bought the second book on sale, too. Sadly, the third book, Last Chance to Save the World, isn’t out until April. The story is great. The primary narrator, Dara Rosenberg, is a delight. The secondary narrator, David Bendena perfectly expresses his character’s frustration in each book’s epilogue. I highly […]

“To accept evil without challenging it, would be to condone it.”

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig

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I am a huge fan of Barack Obama’s reading lists, and I usually pick up many of his suggestions. But Obama also often includes a hefty biography on his annual list, and these books are generally too much of a commitment for me. I was ready to skip King: A Life (2023) by Jonathan Eig, just because I didn’t have the time, but then I figured I could listen to it on Audiobook. I already knew the basics of King’s life from school, but I’d never done […]

The power of the spoken word on full display

The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

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I experienced the classic novella Heart of Darkness through the animated voice of the acclaimed Kenneth Branagh, which I daresay is the ideal way to go about ‘reading’ this book.  It worked particularly well for two reasons: The novella is written in the style of a story that is being told aloud to his shipmates, so audiobook works particularly well Branagh’s interpretation of the text and intonation on certain phrases was, in my view, a preferable interpretation of the text than could otherwise be read. […]

“Never f*** anyone you would be upset having to kill, that’s my new motto.”

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying (Dark Lord Davi, #1) by Django Wexler

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Firstly, you’re either going to like the tone and style this is written in, or you’re going to bounce right off it. I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about how vulgar and horny Davi is, and blaming it on a man writing a woman. Having read from this author before and seen how he can write women, and also, the other women in this book, I’m gonna vote no on that one. Women can be horny and vulgar! You might not like that, and […]



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