Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

One word titled books, hold lots of wonder

Thankful by Elaine Vickers

Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall

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Sometimes when I combine picture books into one review it is because by themselves writing 250 words on each means writing more words about the book than are in the book(s), and a combo review is a fun way just to get good books out there. And sometimes, like these two books, there is a theme connecting them. This time it is the illustrations are similar with its real and traditional illustration combinations.   Thankful by Elaine Vickers can be a book one uses year-round. […]

I promise there is pudding under the whipped cream (I needed a snack break)

Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection by Matt Dembicki,

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I would like to compare the newer edition (2021) of Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection to the one I read (2010) as some of the text used does not reflect modern expressions or what is considered politically correct. However, the afterwards of the editor Matt Dembicki, shows the process of working with the authors, storytellers and artists and the care taken to represent the people. This is a good book to teach how cultures express themselves (language flow fits cultural influences), plus how […]

“He kissed for his enjoyment and mine, and we staggered and stumbled our way to the ground, still kissing for the sheer glory of being alive, the wonder of finding a congenial soul in the world, and the very real prospect of being dead before the weekend.”

The Henchmen of Zenda by K.J. Charles

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This honestly might be five stars on re-read, but I’ve been handing out five star ratings like they’re candy, and I’ve come off my book high now. This is a strong 4.5 stars for now. Firstly, this is a retelling of The Prisoner of Zenda, a Ruritanian Romance/Adventure/Swashbuckler from the late 1800s, written by Anthony Hope. I’ve never read the original, but before diving into this I did read the detailed summary of the book and I’m really glad I did that, because it was […]

Life: it’s not nothing

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida: A Novel by Shehan Karunatilaka

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The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is the winner of this year’s Booker Prize. Set in 1980s Sri Lanka, the action takes place amidst the violence of Tamils versus Sinhalese versus Indians, not to mention a variety of outside groups and organizations connected to them. The main character is a photographer and gambler, the gay son of Burgher/Tamil mother and Sinhalese father. Maali Almeida says he is not on any side partaking in the violence in Sri Lanka, that his goal is to take the […]

More Books, More reviews

The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall

Robot Visions by Isaac Asimov

The Between by Tananarive Due

Mad about Shakespeare by Jonathan Bate

Startide Rising by David Brin

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

The Woman Who Killed the Fish by Clarice Lispector

Real Hero Shit by Kendra Wells

We had to Remove this Post by Hanna Bervoets

The King's Indian by John Gardner

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The Machine Gunners – 4/5 I picked up this book because it was on the Guardian’s top 1000 novels list and since I had never heard of it, it sounded interesting. It IS interesting, and it’s more interesting that the title might otherwise suggest to you. There’s some irony in the title because the would-be “machine gunners” are a group of raggedy London kids during the blitz. This group is mad as hell that the blitz has otherwise disrupted their childhood, and the novel does […]

Lessons in Self-Care

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis

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This weekend I finished two books that felt like generous hugs. The first is the extremely popular Lessons in Chemistry. This book tells the story of Elizabeth Zott – a chemist who quietly and fiercely determines that she will not be relegated to all things feminine because she is a woman (and though the book says it doesn’t matter, it points out on multiple occasions that not only is Elizabeth Zott a woman, she’s a beautiful woman). She’s brilliant but also incredibly immune to societal stereotypes about […]



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