Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“A safe fairyland is untrue to all worlds.”

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

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It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.   By now, I think practically everyone has either read the book or seen the movies, hopefully both. (Full disclosure: I will judge heavily anyone who has only seen the movies; why would you do that to yourself?) The book, as is frequently the case, is loads better. No unnecessary romantic subplots, no characters who are dead making appearances, no characters showing up far too many years […]

Quite a Grab Bag

Waiting for the Fear by Oguz Atay

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cbr17bingo Black A collection of stories from an unusual author, a Turkish writer who lived from 1934 to 1977.  Some of them are fables, some are mystical, and a few are more realistic.  For me, some resonated, and some were impenetrable.  And a few had a sly sense of humor. Like Not Yes Not No, which cracked me up.  A young man gets a job answering letters to a paper asking for personal advice (think Dear Abby).  M.C. writes in to state he has written […]

Expansion of Serpent Lore

Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

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cbr17bingo: green  This book took me on an emotional ride that was worth every moment. We continue to spend time with the same characters as the first book—the Vestrit and Haven families, Kennit, and Brashen—plus one of the Rain Wilders and a Companion of the Satrap. We also get more time with Amber and Paragon, which I loved. The characters are adjusting to the new and evolving situations in which they find themselves. Malta remained intensely frustrating for a large chunk of the book, as […]

Anarchy in the UK

Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey

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CBR Bingo: ‘O’ I bought Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey a few months ago, essentially on a whim (I liked the title and the cover). I’d vaguely heard of the author (he wrote The Girl with All the Gifts, a book/movie that has been recommended to me before, but that I’ve never actually gotten around to reading/watching yet), but I was basically going in blind. I picked it up recently because it’s a short standalone novel, which I like to read to break up bigger […]

When your abandoned lighthouse is not so abandoned after all

The Ghost of Wreckers Cove by Angelica Del Campo, Christian Argiz and Liniers

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Cbr17bingo G (G is for Ghost) When I find a book from Papercutz I usually have an extreme I really like this or I really don’t. Now, granted The Ghost of Wreckers Cove by Angelica Del Campo, Christian Argiz and Liniers (illustrator) had a few bumps as I am an adult reader who has to remember sometimes you need to suspend your “reality need” for the sake of a good story.  I was debating if I wanted to read this graphic novel as it looked […]

Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus, elves, flying reindeer and lots of love

North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta

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Cbr17bingo N (N is for North and Nobody will believe what our main character does!) North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta is probably one of the best books I’ve read this year. I love the historical aspect (the birth of tracking Santa because of a misprint in an advertisement in 1955) and while maybe it was not the most original with the grief and family connection/friend interaction, the ending was worth that familiarity of grief and the healing process. It is fun and quirky. […]



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