Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Humanity, Ethics, Love – Taking On All the Big Questions

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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Best for: Those who like deep, emotional, thoughtful novels that are more character driven than plot-driven. In a nutshell: Klara is an AF waiting to be chosen by a child. Why I chose it: Never Let Me Go remains one of my absolute favorite novels. I saw all the great reviews this one was getting and decided to pick it up. Review: It’s hard to speak about specifics in this book without spoiling it, so … I think I’m going to spoil it. Before the […]

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Slewfoot by Brom

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In 17th century England, Abitha’s father sells her off to pay his debts; the end result is that she is shipped off to the American colonies to become the bride of Edward, a man she has never met. Edward turns out to be kind and generous, if meek in the face of his boorish cheat of an older brother, Wallace. The Puritan community that Abitha and Edward live in expects women to be consistently timid and obedient, never heard and seen only in the pursuits […]

“Finding the ocean was as simple a matter as letting a river lead you in the direction it wanted to go most.”

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

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This one didn’t make me cry nearly as much as its predecessor, Psalm for the Wild-Built, but that shouldn’t make you think that it didn’t have an emotional impact, it did make me tear up on more than one occasion. Because this novella is a meditation on what we call the human condition. It is also a look at how we can live if society puts happiness and contentment first. If we don’t compete but instead cooperate. But its also the kind of novella that […]

Maiden, Friend, Wife, Counselor, and Queen

Esther by Norah Lofts

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CBR 14 Bingo: Snake There are several snakes in the grass who lie in wait for the king, most of all his favorite Haman. Esther is Jewish, but her husband the king of Persia doesn’t know it. Which is rather a problem, as he has allowed his courtier Haman to order the massacre of all the Jews in his empire. Did I really need to give a summary? It’s in the Bible! This was a short, swift read, starting with the casting out of the […]

“What is a game? It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s a possibility of infinite rebirth.”

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a pure delight. The best book I have read all year, and now one of my favorites ever. Zevin is the author of one of my other favorite books of all time, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, I was so excited to hear about this book especially when I discovered it was about video game designers. The story starts when Sam and Sadie meet in a play area in a hospital. Sam is undergoing treatment […]

Naughty Ladies

Lady, Be Wanton by Cerise DeLand

Lady, Behave by Cerise DeLand

Lady, No More by Cerise DeLand

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CBR 14 Bingo: ‘Verse Though this is a series, it definitely has a wide-ranging backstory that tangles together into a realistically messy universe. The first fruits of that anthology I read a few days ago – catching up on the series that one of the authors references. Of course that novella spoiled many elements of these – but I still enjoyed my read! Lady, Be Wanton (3.5 stars) Imogen, the middle sister of the triplets, has a small predilection for thievery, a little scandal in […]



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