Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

May I introduce Tini Malina?

Fancy Dogs by Tini Malina and Tammi Reiche

Selma-The Story of a Stellar Spider by Tini Malina and Mariana Llanos

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The soon to be published (October 2026) picture book, Fancy Dogs by Tini Malina and Tammi Reiche is a cute story for the younger listener and a good just starting out solo reader. I am neither of these types of readers, but still felt this was a good book. Maybe not the best I’ve read, but one that I recommend to dog lovers of all ages. This book came to me via an online reader in an email from the publisher. I would email the […]

When am I going to learn just to read?

My Grandma the Chameleon by Maria Lofgren

The Together Treehouse by Michael Engler and Joëlle Tourlonias

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When am I going to learn that I will just need to read a book without second guessing my choice? Two books I did this too are My Grandma the Chameleon and The Together Treehouse. The first, My Grandma the Chameleon by Maria Lofgren had me, “Do I want to read this? Maybe… nah… well, oookay…” Now, granted, I was not OMG the best book ever when I finally did read (via an online reader provided by a publisher email, due in mid-April 2026) but […]

When Lovecraft… Spills the Tea?

The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross

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When writing about The Atrocity Archives, I mentioned that the friend who first recommended The Laundry Files to me  didn’t do me the grace of recommending the first book, but rather a later one. That book was The Fuller Memorandum, and I suspect because it was the first book I read, it’ll always be the quintessential Laundry Files book for me.  After their Caribbean jaunt in The Jennifer Morgue, both Bob and his now wife Mo are back in London working in the Laundry’s offices. […]

Lovely Relationship Between Grandmother and Granddaughter

The Summer Book by Tove Jannson, translated by Thomas Teal

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This was a lovely little book that’s a quick read and also occasionally, and unexpectedly, made me laugh out loud. Translated from Finnish, it’s the story of young Sophia and her grandmother, told in vignette form. They spend their summers on one of the many Finnish islands. Sophia’s father is there in a limited way; the focus is on Sophia and her grandmother as they explore the island and talk to each other. There are also symbolic references to the death of Sophia’s mother, which […]

It’s okay to say No

A Million YES's by DJ Corchin and Dan Dougherty

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A Million YES’s by DJ Corchin and Dan Dougherty is currently available, but I read it via an online reader copy. It is an interesting book on self-care. Not so much the theme, we have read the idea of taking care of yourself and your health (mental and physical before), even in picture books, but this time there is something different and new in the presentation. There are interesting illustrations that are fun and silly, but include a serious attitude as well. Dougherty is not […]

Getting your vroom on

Sarabeth's Garage by Melanie Florence and Nadia Alam

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Once again, I found a book that I almost did not read. I was going through online reader copy links and Sarabeth’s Garage by Melanie Florence popped up. It had a funny looking cover, realistic, but overly cartoon based. It was colorful and okay, but not “grabbing me.” Still I was looking at Sarabeth, on the cover, with a garage behind her. It wasn’t bad-looking, okay it definitely looked like this was going to be a “girl power, girls can do anything story” but was […]



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