Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Nocturnes

Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro

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This is a relatively short, short collection by Kazuo Ishiguro, that was published in 2009. I think this is his only collection, and perhaps he never really wrote short stories otherwise. The stories are linked thematically, but in some cases with overlapping elements. The thematic elements appear in the title and subtitle: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, and a nocturne is a song related to or inspired by night. Oddly though, I would say not all of these stories are about night? Anyway, the […]

I’m starting to believe that I just love Harry Bosch, not necessarily Michael Connelly?

Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly

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This book isn’t my first non-Bosch based Michael Connelly book, but my second.  I think I read the first one last year (Void Moon) when I wasn’t actually participating in CBR.  Unfortunately, I didn’t like that one either!  I think I just love the characters in the Bosch books, including the character of Los Angeles.  Anyone who says that LA isn’t a character hasn’t read a Bosch book. Anyway, this book is about a guy who’s doing some kind of AI / tech / computery […]

“If you want to play life safe, don’t live on the moon.”

Artemis by Andy Weir

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I have gotten woefully behind in posting reviews, so welcome to the lightning round! Let’s see if I can get 10 reviews written and posted in the next 10 days, shall we? Artemis is an interesting departure from The Martian. And while it has a lot of the same elements that made The Martian work for me, ultimately, Artemis was not quite as successful. Jazz Bashara is a petty criminal living on the moon. Artemis is a city, or a space station, depending on how […]

I’m sorry, Cannonballers, but I did not buy a ticket for the hype-train

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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Let’s just jump right in. My biggest issue that I had with Gideon the Ninth is that I frequently did not know entirely what was going on. And not in a “Ohh, there’s a mystery afoot, and people are being secretive” nor in a “The narrator and I are both doubting reality” a la Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. I just kept feeling like I was missing things. Missing lines of dialogue, missing transitions, missing some exposition. Gideon Nav is a member of the Ninth House (as an indentured […]

“He really was an idiot, but he was an idiot for Tommy Cabot, and maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.”

Tommy Cabot Was Here (The Cabots, #1) by Cat Sebastian

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This was a very sweet second chance romance novella set in 1959. I don’t normally like second chance romances all that much, but in this case, Sebastian plays it perfectly. Our two main characters went to an all-boys school for almost their entire childhoods, and Everett was in love Tommy for most of it. But Tommy married a woman, moved away, and the two of them stopped speaking. Now in their thirties, Everett is a teacher at their old school, and Tommy has made the […]

Out in the Wilds

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian

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Katie Barstow is hosting a safari vacation for her closest friends and family on the Serengeti when things go terribly wrong. Kidnapped by violent criminals and broken up into groups, they must struggle to survive the night. The premise of this book is so exciting – old Hollywood glamor meeting the bleakness of Ernest Hemingway. I’ve not read this author before (though I have his Hour of the Witch) on my TBR, but seeing all the great reviews of this one got me pretty excited. […]



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