Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Retro-modern piece of art book

A Great Gorilla by Vera Gereke

by Leave a Comment

While the artwork of A Great Gorilla by Vera Gereke was not my personal favorite, as it was a tad too abstract for me, there is an audience for it. I can see how these illustrations will be given awards, honors and people will be talking about them. (Or they will in mid-to-later March 2027 when the final product is available, unless you find an online reader copy like I did.) The story is simple, there is a giant, empty cage in the zoo. In […]

A little French romance

The Red Notebook: A Novel by Antoine Laurain

by Leave a Comment

The Red Notebook was a recommendation from the owner of the bookshop down the road from me. It is a charming little love story that starts with a rather dark event. As the story progresses, the main characters give the reader glimpses of their past loves and losses, their fears and hopes. Set in Paris and featuring art, literature and a bookstore, this really is a cozy story for the cooler days and longer nights ahead. On her way home from a friend’s one evening, […]

It’s true, they do do that

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

by 2 Comments

We Solve Murders is the first book I read this year, and still the best. It’s by Richard Osman, writer of the Thursday Murder Club series (which I have since started, and which I also like, but not as much). It’s also probably the first of a new series but so far the only entry. The central pair of sleuths here are a father- and daughter-in-law, which is at least fresh. The daughter-in-law is a high-class bodyguard who’s protecting a super-successful later-in-life author whose main […]

With Joe Montanga as Fat Billy

Thinner by Stephen King; Richard Bachman

by 6 Comments

Cbr18 Bingo – Wheels from all the cars in the book, including the one that the protagonist used to kill an old woman. By accident. A recent conversation encouraged me to try Thinner by Stephen King, written as Richard Bachman. The first time I found the story, I recognized it. Not because the story had permeated pop culture by the time I got to it, but because my grandmother used to tell me about the books she read. But she told them as if they […]

Shout out to the crones!

Nettle & Bone: A Novel by T. Kingfisher

by 3 Comments

According to the book cover, this is the story of a princess who dreams of killing a prince rather than marrying one. Just in time for spooky season, this murderous tale has ghosts, witches, goblins, skeletons, fairy godmothers, and curses. And a little bit of romance, too. Nettle & Bone was a funny, exciting read that actually deals with some serious subject matter — spousal abuse — so trigger warning for that. Marra is a princess, the third daughter of the queen of the Harbor […]

E. M. Forster, you absolute gem of a man!

Howards End by E. M. Forster

by Leave a Comment

CBR18 BINGO: Summer, because the tryst between Helen and Paul that starts the plot rolling happens in the summer Double BINGO – Across: Success, Justice, You, Wealth, Summer Down: One, Wheels, Summer, And, Repair After finishing E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India, I had an urge to revisit Howards End, a novel I hadn’t read in close to 40 years.  It was a close race, but I do believe I enjoyed Howards End even more. (Note, this review contains some minor spoilers.) The story […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo