Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

For I had seen with startling clarity that the two are connected, the fall of New Bethany and the rise of Disney’s Magic Kingdom.

The Magic Kingdom by Russell Banks

by Leave a Comment

Closing out CBR14 with a whimper, not a bang, folks. This is one of those books that I’m sure will get rave reviews. There are probably countless deep dives out there about how this book is an indictment of capitalism. And it is. It is about a lot of relevant things, but it’s also very boring. The story of a boy who grew into adulthood within various utopian societies throughout the United States should be interesting at least. But it isn’t. I’m going to blame […]

For you the entire world will still be too little.

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas

by Leave a Comment

This is book 6 in the Lady Sherlock Series. Forge ahead if you are already reading. Stop and grab the first 5 if you have not. Fresh from solving cases and dodging death, Charlotte, Lord Ingram, and Mrs. Watson are “hired” by their nemesis, Moriarty, to check on the welfare of his daughter. Well, more strong-armed than hired, to be honest. Moriarity claims his daughter is under the thrall of a religious cult and is being kept at its compound in a remote seaside town. […]

Embarrassment, as it turns out, is more powerful than information. And shame is the enemy of truth.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

by Leave a Comment

This is one of those books that I will be thinking about long after I finished it. When, in 1955, hundreds of thousands of women of all ages spontaneously turn into dragons, the government’s official statement is that the women “disappeared.” Scientists who defy the government’s gaslighting call it the “Mass Dragoning” and begin to study the phenomenon. Much of that study is driven undergound by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Meanwhile, families are left to pick through the wreckage, both literally and figuratively, of […]

If Crooked Kingdom continued for an additional 700k words

Dealing with Our Demons by ravenyenn19

by Leave a Comment

Kaz removed the paper to reveal a hat just like the previous one she had ordered for him nearly a year ago, but of even better craftsmanship. He picked it up and turned it over. The inside was lined in black suli silk identical to what Inej had worn tonight, but just inside along the seam, stitched in red silk thread, was a ‘K’ next to a heart. The font was the exact replica of a playing card. The ‘K’ did not stand for ‘Kaz’. […]

“All stories end the same way, don’t they.”

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

by Leave a Comment

This book was heartbreaking and beautiful, just as you might assume a finalist for the National Book Award would be. It was an incredibly well written story about love and friendship, told across decades. One story line takes place starting in 1985, when a group of men – friends and lovers in Boystown in Chicago – are creating their own memorial service for their friend, Nico – the first death from AIDS that has hit this small community (but not, unfortunately, the last). The other […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo