Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The tree of our family was parted – branches here, roots there – parted for their lumber.

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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I first found Ta-Nehisi Coates when my friend recommended The Beautiful Struggle to me. I found it very moving and have since read every book Coates has written. I’m also using The Water Dancer for Cannonball Bingo. It is filling the “Repeat” square. I am repeating “Uncannon” since Ta-Nehisi Coates is not an old, white man. In a story about slavery, Coates uses the words “Tasked” and “Quality” instead of slave and master. Hiram Walker is one of the Tasked. His life is relatively comfortable compared to some of […]

I wish I was at Hogwarts

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

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BINGO I WISH This is another review by Lala, the 11 year old.  She is the biggest Harry Potter fan and chose this book to review for the Bingo I Wish category, because who doesn’t wish they could be at Hogwarts? My favorite book in the Harry Potter series is the 1st one, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone if you are reading the American version).  I like this book best because it is the beginning.  It sets up all of the […]

A truly awful book to blackout my bingo card!

Mary Bennet and the Bloomsbury Coven by Beth Deitchman

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So, this is another published Pride and Prejudice fanfiction.  I mean, so are all of them I suppose, but even the title screams “fanfic.”  And if I had come across this book with this description online, I would have passed it by.  But a hard copy was handed to me, and so I set out to read it.  So let’s journey together, shall we? *Note – will contain massive spoilers*   It’s bad.  Mary has taken to reading novels instead of more “serious” works, her […]

This book is Too Much but I still liked it.

The Memory of Souls (A Chorus of Dragons, #3) by Jenn Lyons

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“My brain hurrrts.” Is what I wrote immediately upon finishing this book. I tell you what, there have rarely been series that I feel such weird conflicting thoughts over. I was super peeved at the beginning of this book, getting myself all worked up at how annoyed I was, and then I went and started having a good time with it. Bottom line: This series’ worldbuilding very often gets in the way of it being an enjoyable book to read. There is just WAY too […]

“May your Paths be safe, your Floors unbroken and may the House fill your eyes with Beauty.”

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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I actually read this back in September but let it fall through the cracks, and haven’t rated or reviewed it until now. Part of me also just wanted to sit with it, alone, and see what happened. I will say that I was verrrry close to giving this five stars. I was thoroughly charmed while reading it, very quickly began feeling a deep, affectionate love for Piranesi, and felt weird whenever I put the book back down. It kept pulling me back, and I was […]

Two sets of friends for two new early readers

Do You Like My Bike (Hello, Hedgehog #1)? by Norm Feuti

Bunbun & Bonbon: Fancy Friends, by Jess Keating

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The nice thing about working in a bookstore is that you can find books you might not be exposed to otherwise. I can pick up a book that would not be first on my list to read, read it, then find out who the perfect audience is. Or not recommend it at all. (Yes, I am looking at you zombie Christmas tree book). And here are a few of my thoughts on two books that are meant for the younger crowd to see if you […]



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