Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Featured Review Archive

These reviews, which were promoted in CBR social media, on our homepage, and in Pajiba Love, appear below by review publication date, not by date featured.

 

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allen Poe

by Leave a Comment

After watching Mike Flanagan’s outstanding The Fall of the House of Usher, I felt compelled to revisit some Poe and look for references I’d missed on my watch through. I recognized the name Arthur Gordon Pym (the Usher attorney) but didn’t realize it was Poe’s only novel until looking deeper. With it being free on Audible I figured I had to give it a shot. It’s weird as hell, first of all. And gruesome. Some of the most horrific scenes in any Poe story happen here: […]

“First your actions change, then your thoughts, then finally your feelings, in that specific order.”

Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas by Alexi Pappas

by Leave a Comment

In five words: Olympic, inspirational, poetic, raw, memoir This book came like a wrecking ball out of nowhere and hit me upside the head, in the best way possible. “Run like a bravey. Sleep like a baby. Dream like a crazy. Replace can’t with maybe.” I had never heard of Alexi Pappas but a run club friend, knowing I love to read, loaned me her copy of the memoir of this Olympic runner/poet/filmmaker. I took it to a Silent Book Club meet-up and read non-stop […]

Feeling lost after loss

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

by 1 Comment

When you’ve been a children’s librarian for years, it is easy to get burnt out on the material. For me, that also meant I got cocky. Can any kids book really hook me anymore as a bitter adult who has READ IT ALL? Are there any GOOD STORIES LEFT? Yes, of course, to both of those things. THE LOST LIBRARY by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass proved just that. The last day of fifth grade is approaching, and Evan is pretty nervous about moving up […]

Vampires in Old Mexico (AKA Texas). What’s Not to Love?

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas

by Leave a Comment

cbr16bingo horses Mexican gothic has, to my surprise, become a new favorite genre for me.  It’s a different flavor from the British gothic that I grew up on, more of a sense of connection between the living and the not-so-much living, that seems to be a part of the Dia de los Muertos Mexican mentality.  So it’s always a treat to get a new sort of being, such as the vampires in this book.  So yes, they want to drink blood for nourishment (not unheard […]

Classic Sci-Fi: Should You Read It? The Foundation Trilogy

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov

by 1 Comment

Classic Sci-Fi: Should You Read It? is a self-imposed project in which I read pre-1990 science fiction novels and categorize them as “classis sci-fi you should read,” “classic sci-fi you should read if you’re all hardcore about it,” or “classic sci-fi you don’t have to read.” For background on my project, please see the introduction to my review of 1984. Foundation Synopsis Foundation was written by prolific sci-fi author Isaac Asimov in 1951. Like his I, Robot, the text consists of interrelated short stories set […]

Frankenstein but plants and gay!

A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock

by 2 Comments

I saw a reel on Instagram from the author talking about this book, and I was immediately sold. Frankenstein? Queer? Messy, messy characters? Sign me up! And this absolutely delivers on all fronts. The beginning of A Botanical Daughter is a little slow, but it perfectly sets the scene of Grimfern, an estate inside a greenhouse outside the closest village, and the three main characters – Gregor, botanist and lord of Grimfern; Simon, taxidermist and romantic partner to Gregor; and Jenny, local village girl whose […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo