Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

This guy wanted to be Tolkien so very badly.

The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1) by Guy Gavriel Kay

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I was but a wee little fetus when this book was published in 1984, so I should probably give it some leeway—it was 38 years ago, times have changed, this probably seemed great back in the day, the genre hadn’t evolved yet, blah blah blah—but I don’t want to, and I’m not going to. This book is the sort of stuff new writers churn out when they are getting their own voices under them, almost nothing but imitation of things the author loves with small […]

I found this Persian-inspired fantasy intriguing.

This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom, #1) by Tahereh Mafi

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I always try to go into books with an open mind and wanting to like them; it’s not fun for me to read books I don’t like. But even so, I haven’t had great luck with YA fantasy in the past so I mostly stopped reading it. For some reason, as a genre it’s particularly vulnerable to publishing trends and the resulting books often end up feeling the same as all the other books to me, even when having seemingly original sounding premises. Also, I’m […]

Meet Booger Lizk’t of Elberon or Tommy Tomkins to you

Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy by Jonathan Hill

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I finished this book in a day, starting at the dentist, finishing as I enjoyed some cold pizza (shh don’t tell my dentist) from dinner, and it became a new favorite.  Granted, Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy might not be an OMG BEST BOOK EVER, but I really enjoyed how we take the being different theme and make it (while specific to our hero Tommy) a generic idea. That is a favorite thing about science fiction/fantasy. You take the Idea You Want to Present […]

A Wonder of a Woman

Nubia: Real One by L. L. McKinney

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Overall, Nubia: Real One is a modern telling of the superhero genre with concerns for today. While the art was not a hundred percent “my thing” it is clever and fits the tone of the story. Robyn Smith created illustrations that are classical graphic novel with comic overtones and works as both a blanket to hold the text and characters and be independent of it. I am not sure if they have reinvented the story of Nubia (outside of probably giving her two moms and […]

“Twoflower was a tourist, the first ever seen on the discworld. Tourist, Rincewind had decided, meant ‘idiot’.”

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

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Cannonball Read Bingo Square: Series Setting foot inside Terry Pratchett’s Discworld has been a goal of mine, but I have (and continue to feel) intimidated by the undertaking. From my understanding, you can start wherever because although the books are all in the same universe, there aren’t traditional sequels or one linear arc to the story, so they don’t have to be read in a particular order. For some people, that would be freeing, but I find the power of limitless choice overwhelming; I prefer […]

The Necessity of Violence

Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators Revolution by R.F. Kuang

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I think my mixed feelings are going to come out so I’ll say up front that this is way outside of what I usually read, and while I appreciated that it is a very good book, I often didn’t enjoy reading it. I appreciate it more than I love it. But, I think it’s a worthwhile read. Maybe don’t pick it up right after you put down a book that owns your whole heart. This book is also in conversation with The Secret History and […]



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