Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Stephen King’s sprawling historical time-travel epic

11/22/63 by Stephen King

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At work I have a Book Friend who reads mostly horror. He gives me horror recommendations, and I give him sci-fi recommendations, and we both try to enjoy each other’s genre of choice, to varying success. At the other’s insistence, we have both read genre staples without being convinced of their universal relevance (though I have more right to feel aggrieved about this arrangement because Slaughterhouse Five was like 250 pages and It was fucking 1,200 pages, Dorian). It was not for me. I finished It, because I’m a […]

He wanted to roll over and invite her to pet his belly, but he was in human form and it was a little too soon to be asking for that.

Fangs So Bright & Deadly by Piper J. Drake

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In the first of Piper J. Drake’s Mythwoven series, Wings once Cursed & Bound, Marie, a witch, is helped by two nine-tailed foxes while she is a part of a team rescuing Peeraphan. We know them only as Fox Number One and Fox Number Two, but that very short scene also reveals that they work with a morally grey organization called Babel, they took part in Peeraphan’s kidnapping and then regretted it when they learned the purpose, and they are very, very impressed with Marie. It […]

“Three words, large enough to tip the world. I remember you.”

Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victora Schwab

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In five-ish words: Memory, Magical, Love, Connection, Cursed This is a classic example of if the positive reviews are piling up about a book from many people who you trust their book taste, go ahead and read it already! I don’t know why I was hesitant to read it, I think in my mind I conflated it with the movie “Age of Adeline” which seemed drab to me but this book was much more than I bargained for and not at all what I expected. […]

Second Verse, Same as the First! But a little bit louder and darker

Haru Book 2: Summer by Joe Latham

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In February 2024 I read book one of Haru by Joe Latham (or Haru 1: Spring). In August of 2024 I read Haru Book 2: Summer still by Joe Latham. Both were read via an online reader copy but I was thinking I would purchase copies of both when book two came out. However, it is not due until October 2024 and I am glad I did not wait. This is because Book Two is much darker than Book One was. Things are more layered […]

The Art of the Con

The Lies of Lock Lamora by Scott Lynch

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This is like a grittier, adult Six of Crows (though I would argue that SoC doesn’t feel particularly YA). The main character, Locke, is highly intelligent, and the book features found family, cons, and morally gray characters whom you nevertheless root for. Be aware that there is a notable absence of plot armor – Lynch doesn’t pull punches when it comes to violence or death. Lynch interweaves present day Locke and company, who call themselves the Gentleman Bastards, as they work on a con while […]

Fairy tale villains and loving sisters

Into the Goblin Market by Vikki VanSickle

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Recently I located a list of books that were recommended by other booksellers across the country. I found the picture book section and said, “Online reading here I come.” And I was able to read most of them (I have one in physical form so I passed and I have two more to read), but one that really stuck out to me was Into the Goblin Market by Vikki VanSickle and Jensine Eckwall as the illustrator.  It is a contemporary folktale or fairy tale that […]



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