Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Sure, But Who’s Really the Animal?

Animal by Lisa Taddeo

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Animal, by Lisa Taddeo, is a story about Joan. Joan will tell you herself that she is depraved. She will also remind you that she is a survivor and that she’s been judged not only by what she’s done to others, but by the things that have happened to her. For years, Joan’s rage was dormant, but now, after yet another violent act by a man in her life, her rage is growing. Joan is “hot” and “sexy” but is most flattered when someone simply […]

Two brothers spiraling, pinwheeling in their grief

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

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The first thing I noticed about Intermezzo is there are no quotation marks. So the reader is just plunged into an almost stream-of-consciousness-like trance that could work as either inner dialogue or actual dialogue. It was so bewildering to me in the beginning that I had to reread the first few pages to understand what was happening. After about 10 pages in, my brain got used to it, accepted it, and embraced that stylistic choice — allowing me to tumble headlong into the minds of […]

“Just because a lady shared a deep, smoldering kiss with a gentleman didn’t mean that gentleman need be privy to all that lady’s business.”

Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews

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Monthly Keyword 26: Ruin Official plot summary (because I read this in February): On the outskirts of London sits a seemingly innocuous institution with a secretive aim—train young women to distract, disrupt, and discredit the patriarchy. Outraged by a powerful politician’s systematic attack on women’s rights, the Academy summons its brightest—and most bitter—pupil to infiltrate the odious man’s inner circle. A deal is bring down the viscount, and Miss Euphemia Flite will finally earn her freedom. But betting shop owner Gabriel Royce has other plans. […]

What do you want to do tonight, Kino? The same thing we do every night, Hermes… try to travel the world

Kino’s Journey: the Beautiful World by Iruka Shiimiya

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The manga Kino’s Journey: the Beautiful World is by Iruka Shiimiya. It’s based on the light novels by Keiichi Sigsawa. There have been two anime adaptations. This review is only for the manga, but if something from another version slips in, sorry. Kino is a professional tourist. Hermes is their motorrad, which means a sentient talking non-flying motorcycle. They visit countries. Kino stays for three days, preferably at a cheap motel with a hot shower, then leaves. The series is like a series of short […]

Life – you gotta do it

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai

Cannon by Lee Lai

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Lee Lai’s graphic novels Stone Fruit and Cannon are both about being queer Chinese women in North America. They’re about people and relationships and living lives that don’t really have beginning-middle-end stories. They just have yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Repeat. Stone Fruit – Why is it called that? I think it’s because stone fruit are soft and sweet. But if you continue eating blindly, they get hard and bitter. It’s such common knowledge that there’s a hard pit in the middle, no one will think […]

This is what happens when we break book club rules

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

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I read West With Giraffes (2021) by Lynda Rutledge because it was chosen by my book club. After reading some pretty bad books, we’ve made up a loose rule that you need to have read the book before nominating it for book club. Well, it didn’t happen this time. The husband of one of our book clubbers said it would be a good book for us. I think the majority of us would agree that it was not. I think I was most frustrated at what it […]



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