Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Three books – all different

One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus

House of Gucci by Sara Gay Forden

The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan

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I’ve been reading a lot lately, and trying now to catch up on reviews.  This is kind of an eclectic mix of genres – YA, real life drama and fantasy. One of Us is Next This is book 2 after One of Us is Lying which I enjoyed.  This one isn’t quite as absorbing, but still enjoyable.  It’s a YA book, with the main characters in high school.  There are some younger siblings of the characters from the first book, along with some new additions.  […]

“There’s always the sun. Always, always, always the sun.”

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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Klara and the Sun  is the strange, sweet, and highly enjoyable new book by Nobel Prize-winning British writer Kazuo Ishiguro.  This odd fantasy world is typical of what to expect from Ishiguro.  The story takes place in a dystopian future where AF (Artificial Friend) robots are purchased as companions for children.  The story is narrated by Klara who is an AF.  Having the story told from a robot’s point of view may seem odd, but you grow to love Klara as she innocently tries to […]

A Dungeon for Bibliophiles

The Stygian Library by Emmy Allen

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Another RPG sourcebook! I’m slowly emerging from the month-long frenzy known as midterms, but RPGs are still pretty much the only thing that can hold my attention. I heard of The Stygian Library when I was browsing some DnD forums, looking for cool homebrew ideas. Everyone who mentioned it recommended it realllly strongly, so I figured I’d pick it up. They were right! The Stygian Library is a collection of rooms, details, and encounters based in a labyrinthian library. In play, the DM rolls dice […]

This is a journey …..

Steeple by John Allison

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Steeple is a perky journey that John Allison takes us on to find Satan and the good works they do. No, it is a journey that Allison takes us on to find a DILF (or a Priest I would like to friend on Facebook). No, it is a journey of a new Church of England minister, named Billie, who used to dabble in things as a teen, has her car blown up on her way to her new assignment, and who offers her thumb to […]

Power of the Greenwitch, lost beneath the sea…

Greenwich by Susan Cooper

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In 2020, I started an occasional readathon I participate in – The Dark is Rising readathon, which is a seasonal reread of my favorite book series! Basically, we read the series on its own timeline, taking on each book in the season it’s set. And so I reread the first book in 2020 summer (Over Sea and Under Stone) and reviewed it here, and then I am pretty sure I reread the second book at Christmas (The Dark is Rising) but forgot to review it. […]

Delight in Violence for sure, but not entirely the book I was looking for

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

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There were things I liked about this book (the fashion! the sombre realities of colonialism!) but they were largely outweighed by clunky writing that’s simultaneously too verbose and too brief. Not to malign youth, but I upon reaching the author bio and seeing that Gong is currently a student at UPenn I definitely had a moment of “ah, yes, makes sense.” These Violent Delights is not, as I initially thought, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet in 1920s Shanghai. It’s obviously not not that (all the characters make an […]



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