Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

If you like David Mitchell, you’ll probably like it.

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

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Hello! I love David Mitchell. Sometimes I don’t understand David Mitchell. Recently I learned he’s only 52, i.e., a couple of months *younger* than me, and so much younger than he was in my head, and was all, “You bastard!” But what has any of that to do with The Bone Clocks? Why, nothing at all! The Bone Clocks is somewhat similar in structure to Cloud Atlas, though not as complicated…structurally. It’s plenty complicated. There are immortals among us! There are good immortals and bad […]

A- for general story, B for narration and characterization, overall entertaining fluff

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Vol. 4 by Satoru Yamaguchi, Nami Hidaka

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In some ways I am about to continue my most recent review. A while back I thought I was ordering volume 4 of the manga (see previous review) when what I actually ordered and what showed up was volume 4 of the light novel series upon which the graphic novels are based. What this means is that the story is further along. The question then becomes do I read the book I accidentally bought even thought that means I may be missing some in-between that […]

Two Gaimans with Pictures

Pirate Stew by Neil Gaiman (author), Chris Riddell (illustrator)

A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman (author), Rafael Albuquerque (author, illustrator), Rafael Scavone (author), Dave Stewart (illustrator)

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Pirate Stew (2020) – 2 stars Meet Long John McRon, Ship’s Cook the most unusual babysitter you’ve ever seen. Long John has a whole crew of wild pirates in tow, and—for one boy and his sister—he’s about to transform a perfectly ordinary evening into a riotous adventure beneath a pirate moon. It’s time to make some Pirate Stew. This should be a fun little tale of pirates, flying ships, doughnut feasts and magical stew but it falls flat. For me, the real problem of this book […]

That is the hardest I have ever had to work to read fiction

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

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Do not start this book if you are looking for a light, fun read. Do not start this book if all you want to do while reading is scan a page and flip the page. Do not start this book if you are uncomfortable with feelings of unexplainable dread. House of Leaves is not an easy read. It took me a full two weeks to finish reading. Not only are there footnotes and footnotes that have footnotes, but the way the words are typed on […]

A labyrinth…. an ocean…. references to Narnia…. everything I’ve ever wanted

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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The Other calls him Piranesi, but he’s fairly certain that isn’t his name. But he’s not sure what else it could be, so he supposes that will do for now. Piranesi is alone (except for the Other) in the House, made up of infinite Halls and Antechambers and Vestibules, populated by only the fish and birds and massive, incredible statues. Oh, and 13 skeletons. Piranesi spends his days fishing, exploring, documenting, and tending to the House. There are Tides to calculate and seaweed to gather […]

My first review *GULP*

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

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I’ve been a long time fan of Jennifer Donnelly, reaching back to when she was writing sprawling historical fiction novels (I reread Tea Rose at least once every couple of years). I was delighted when she ventured into fantasy, especially fairy tale rewrites. Her first attempt- Stepsister (what happens to the so-called wicked stepsisters of Cinderella after she marries her prince)- was awesome. I had high hopes for Poisoned, a take on Sleeping Beauty. Overall? A fun read. Great characters. As always for Donnelly, well-written. […]



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