Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Destroyed Me

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Rating: 5 Stars SLIGHT SPOILERS BELOW – If you don’t want to read on, just know that it’s a really freaking good book. In a nutshell: Joan is an astronaut in the US in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The book tells the story of hos she becomes an astronaut, what that means for her, and the relationships she builds, set against the backdrop of an emergency on board the space shuttle in late 1984. Best for: Those who enjoy books that feature romance […]

“The past cannot be cured”- Elizabeth I, Queen of England

Shadow of Night: A Novel (Book Two of the ALL SOULS SERIES) by Deborah Harkness

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I read A Discovery of Witches two years ago, and was suitably unimpressed. (Well, not unimpressed, more like I loathed it.) Then last year, for some unknown reason (I blame having bronchitis and being in the mood to mindlessly binge watch), I watched the entire series on Netflix. (I also watched Shadow & Bone, about 11 seasons of Supernatural, and all of Bridgerton that was out at the time; don’t judge me for any of it. I told you, I was delirious with bronchitis.) So […]

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it.”

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

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Back in 2022 I read and loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built and its companion book Prayer for the Crown-Shy so when I came across the Read Harder task this year to read a novel where a character uses they/them pronouns I immediately took the excuse to add a re-read of these Becky Chambers books to my annual to do list. I normally don’t use re-reads for Read Harder challenges, but because my soul has been crying out for a good cathartic cry with Sibling Dex and Mosscap I decided that it was okay this time.   […]

On Proust, memory, and relationships

Departure(s) by Julian Barnes

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CBR18 BINGO: Left, because this is Julian Barnes’s last novel; ergo, there’s nothing left I’ve always had a difficult relationship with Julian Barnes. Sometimes I read a line and think, “What a genius. No wonder he won the Booker Prize.” Then I read a bit more, and I just feel tired. Departure(s), which Barnes has said is going to be his last book, is a blended novel, comprising elements of memoir, essay, and fiction. This format is what prompted me to realize that, as a […]

Heavy on Quirkiness, Light on Depth

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer

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CBR18 BINGO: Wheels I have been wanting to try Andrew Sean Greer, and this really piqued my interest when it came out. Plus it has such a charming cover. Alas, it did not meet my hopes or expectations. The narrator is semi-nameless. He is called Giovedì by his employer, but that’s not his real name. He was hired just out of college to travel to Italy and archive the contents of Villa Coco, owned by the Baronessa Lisabetta (AKA Coco). While there, he hopes to […]

Mists and Mystery

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

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Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson, is Book One of the Mistborn Original Trilogy. Although I read a good amount of fantasy, I have, for some reason, never read any Brandon Sanderson. But, since this year is the 20th anniversary of the original publication of Mistborn, I thought I’d give it a shot. And I’m glad I did. Mistborn is a very good book. The world-building is phenomenal, from the political system to the actual sad, gray, ash-covered lands. The magic system is new and interesting, and […]



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