Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Everything is Illuminated

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

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I read this book back when it first came out, and I’ve read a few more of Jonathan Safran Foer’s works. I am generally of mixed opinion for his novels. I think they tend to be a bit of a mess as a whole, with some very clever and up to powerful writing at times. This book sets that tone early on with the opening narration. In the 1970s and 80s, Philip Roth wrote a handful of novels that tried to make sense of American […]

I’m Raven and I was cravin’ a good book, but sorry to say my time of day was just took

Game of Scones: From “The Doodle Boy” Joe Whale (Bad Food #1) by Eric Luper

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Game of Scones: From “The Doodle Boy” Joe Whale (Bad Food #1) by  Eric Luper and Joe Whale on illustrations has awkward text, an awkward storyline, and art that is off putting. Yet, due to the offbeat humor that turned me off to this story of puns, allusions to pop culture and school politics, could be right for the right seven up reader. However, due to the amount of text (and even with the mostly short chapters), this might put off a reluctant reader. I […]

All right, I was a witch. Does it matter?

Circe by Madeline Miller

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The witch, Circe, turns up in the Odyssey, famous for turning half of Odysseus’ men into pigs, before changing them back again and giving Odysseus aid in his ever longer journey home from Troy. Circe, her island, and her interactions with Odysseus take up a single chapter of the Odyssey, and from this Miller weaves a much more satisfying tale in this 2018 novel. Circe is the eldest and least-regarded of four children of the Titan Helios and sea nymph Perse. She grows up as […]

“You cannot be betrayed by someone you do not trust.”

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

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This cover is gorgeous!  It may have sucked me into checking this out, but I stayed for the story.  This is one of those books that jumps from present time back to a point in history.  I’ve read several of these; it’s a popular theme that usually involves distant relatives.  However, in this case, it’s a young woman, Caroline Parcewell, in present day who finds out her husband has cheated on her, and she takes off to London on what was supposed to be the […]

Cozy and Enjoyable

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

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The Thursday Murder Club is a murder mystery (sort of a cozy?) that takes place in a retirement community. If you’re looking for a perfectly enjoyable mystery that’s never scary but has more depth than a cozy and will also make you laugh, this might be a good choice. The four main characters, Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim, and Ron enjoy solving old murders in their spare time, but when a developer is murdered in their community, they decide to help the police (whether the police like it […]

Structure over substance

Long Division by Kiese Laymon

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I’m going to be really honest with y’all. I picked this book up for cover and description of hte structure alone. But I mean, come on. That’s an intriguing and beautiful cover. And as for the structure: this novel is told in two books. Book 1 is read like a normal book, from the front to about halfway through. To read Book 2, the reader has to turn the book over to the back and read from the back cover as if it’s the front. […]



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