Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I can’t believe I’m going to say it, but the movie is better

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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I saw this movie years ago, when it came out in theaters, and I remember liking it. I’m a bit of a sucker for tragic romances, though. After discovering that I really like F. Scott Fitzgerald last month, I thought I’d give this story a go. And while I did enjoy it – I actually think the movie is quite a bit better. The movie abandons much of the plot, and significantly changes the characters. In the movie, Benjamin is abandoned by his widowed father […]

Go Kel Go Kel Go

Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce

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And with this, the final chapter (so far) in Kel’s story, we finally see our stoic fledging come into her own as Protector of the Small. I think this series maintains a tense, 4 star rating throughout, which is pretty impressive when I think of the number of trilogies/multi part books where I apathetically push through some middle bits to get to the Good Stuff. With these books, I found myself usually as intrigued by the middle bits as by the Big Stuff. In some […]

It’s kind of like if Harry Potter was destined to destroy the world, crossed with the Hunger Games, and Hogwarts was actively trying to kill you

Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

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Naomi Novik burst on the scene with her Temeraire series but around book 4 or 5 I lost interest.  Then last year I finally read Spinning Silver and was reminded what a good author she is and was excited to find out that a new book was forth coming in the Fall, Deadly Education.  Attending one of her virtual release events whetted my appetite and I have been eagerly waiting for Deadly Education to rise to the top of the TBR, I’m happy to report it lived […]

Mexican Gothic!

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I love gothic novels. I love gothic films. I love gothic stories, in general. And I loved this one. I’ve never read a gothic novel that takes place outside of Europe, unless they’re on the East Coast of the U.S. And to set one in Mexico was such a great choice. Though, the menacing family and house are purely English and very familiarly gloomy. Mexican Gothic follows Noemí Taboada as she travels from her exciting life as a beloved socialite in Mexico City to a […]

Closer to the end, the books get longer

Squire by Tamora Pierce

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I’ll say that I didn’t like Squire quite as much, even though my issues with it were largely mitigated by the opportunity to be around Raoul of Goldenlake. Similar to the Circle Opens series of books that followed the Circle of Magic books, Squire has us moving away from school and the rhythms of usual life. I suppose that’s why I would be a terrible Knight (although I’d squire the shit out of Sir Myles of Olau). Kel wants to go out and make a […]

Reading these books makes me feel very weak

Page by Tamora Pierce

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It’s now been a day and I have read almost 70% of the entire series. One of the things I like best about all of Pierce’s work is how much detail and time she gives to the little things, the everyday rhythms of life. Both First Test and this book are short (<250 pages, I believe) but you don’t feel like you were cheated out of journeying alongside Kel. Now, to be fair, the first book is only slightly shorter than the second and yet covers only […]



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