Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

And Poetry for All

The Red Ear Blows Its Nose: Poems for Children and Others by Robert Schechter

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I enjoy poetry. But recently I have concluded that I need fun and lighter poetry. Yet, I want it to be adult aimed. The Red Ear Blows Its Nose: Poems for Children and Others fits all categories but being only adult geared. However, I do not think a child would mind sharing their poetry book, nor the adult either. These poems were the best of both worlds. Oh sure, maybe they could have been a smidgen more serious, but what was grabbing me was that […]

An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

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My father has this theory that the only reason people usually say that the book is better than the movie is because they encountered the book first. If you read the book and then watch the adaptation, you’ll be caught up with what got left out of the movie and thus find it wanting. Whereas if you saw the movie first, you’ll be more likely to agree with the filmmakers that the book is overstuffed with unnecessary characters and superfluous scenes. I usually try to […]

Follow the rules. Get Revenge.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and Danica Novgorodoff

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I was not sure I was going to like the graphic novel version of Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. It started out oddly, slow, and frankly a tad uninteresting. (Semi-spoiler) even the death of one character was not grabbing. It was not until the main character seeks revenge did things get intriguing. The way the character is going to/getting revenge, the way they are slowly building to a climax (that makes the information come to light, showing the foreshadowing), the way the other characters […]

Riddle Master

Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip

Heir of Sea and Air by Patricia McKillip

Harpist in the Wind by Patricia McKillip

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The Riddle-Master of Hed Re-reading this since the first time I looked at it a few years ago, I am stuck by how much more I enjoyed it the second time around. I read first about ten years ago in the full collection with all three books, and finished this first volume, and never went back. We begin in Hed, where Morgon, the prince, has recently returned from a mysterious voyage. His sister first finds an old crown under his bed, and when she confronts […]

Dan Simmons Short(er) fiction

Looking for Kelly Dahl by Dan Simmons

Ninth of Av by Dan Simmons

On K2 with Kanakaredes by Dan Simmons

The End of Gravity by Dan Simmons

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Worlds Enough and Time – Novellas This collection of novellas came out in 2002 and represents recent writing for Simmons. I think I first heard of Dan Simmons with the publication of The Terror, but it’s also possible that I read The Terror because I really like Ilium. I just don’t recall which I read first or when. Anyway, one of the things that happens when you read a lot of Dan Simmons is that he comes across as very hard to pin down in […]

Maigret Roundup

Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon

The Misty Harbour by Georges Simenon

The Liberty Bar by Georges Simenon

Maigret by Georges Simenon

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These  are all short mystery novels by Georges Simenon with the character Maigret solving a crime, usually in some non-local capacity. Maigret is part of the “flying squad” which means that he travels around the country as a travelling detective and solving crimes that are too big for local police. Yellow Dog In this novel, the sixth in the series, Maigret is called in where a local wine dealer is shot on his way home and it’s unclear who and how many people might have […]



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