Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Tower of Cards

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang

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There’s a lot that I liked about this book, so in true form for me I’m going to start with two things I really didn’t like. First, you get one subtitle, max. Zero is preferable, and two or more is asinine. Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution reeks of trying to have it not just both ways, but all ways. Pick a title and stick to it. Babel would have worked just fine on its own. Secondly, […]

I Hope It Doesn’t Suck

The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman

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Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: smash. This book is a vampire novel, a historical fiction novel, and a mystery novel all rolled into one.  Christopher Buehlman’s Between Two Fires isn’t the kind of book I’d normally read: gonzo fantasy. But it came highly recommended and — in spite of itself — it worked. The imagery was overpowering and the narrative eventually caught up with it near the end. It made sense for the kind of story it was trying to tell: take the apocalyptic overtones of […]

A “ragtag band of space gays”

Cosmoknights, Volume 1 by Hannah Templer

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I have been poking around reading Cosmoknights, Volume 1 for ages now. I have had and lost multiple online copies. I thought about ordering a copy, decided against it and then one day I found another online edition. I waited and waited to read until one day I was cleaning up the links I had and found it again. Okay, okay. I get it! The book is from 2019 and still I have an active link? Guess I better read it! With Hannah Templer’s graphic […]

Walk on the Wild side with magic

Amulet Volume 9: Waverider by Kazu Kibuishi

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The Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi was a big hit when it first appeared on the shelves of my bookstore, and I understood why, even though at the time I was just starting to get into graphic novels and fantasy was something I was reading again. It had a lot of pop and mystery. Things were fantasy, but had elements that were relatable, they even could be considered believable even though things were fantasy all the way. And the main character was also spunky and […]

What do Kafka, a doll and a bunch of dinosaurs on picture day have in common? Nothing, except all are from the publisher NorthSouth

Wish You Were Here: Postcards from Franz Kafka by Bernadette Watts

Picture Day at Dino Play by Sean Julian

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One day I was sitting at my desk, trying to remember what the next thing on my To-Do list was, as I had misplaced it (I’m thinking of adding “Find Last To-Do list you lost” to the new To-Do list), when I got an email from the wonderful contact I have from NorthSouth books. They were asking me to take a quick survey about their books/operations and as a thank you, I could have a book sent to me. Well, yes, I’m all about free […]

Cooking and a Big Mix-Up

Summer Vamp (A Graphic Novel) by Violet Chan Karim

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Summer Vamp (A Graphic Novel) by Violet Chan Karim is a fun book. It is not an OMG BEST EVER book, but fun. I enjoyed reading it. As an adult, I am not the intended reader, but I can see where kids will love the vampire angle and the ideas of “coming of age” in a silly and relatable way. And at the same time it is a “grandparent book” or “This is a nice book with nothing really bad happening so the grandparent will […]



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