Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Swedish Forrest Gump

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

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Allan Karlsson is about to turn 100 years old and he is bored. He’s stuck in a nursing home which has a bunch of very annoying rules and not nearly the excitement he has become accustomed to. With very little in the way of plans, but considerable luck- and true to the book’s title- Karlsson climbs out of the window and into an adventure. The events snowball from there to include theft, inadvertent murder, car crashes, an escaped elephant and a love story- and that’s […]

My daughter requests that I sing these books to her now. I can never remember the melody I invented the last time – but they always work in song form.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

The Giant Jumperee by Julia Donaldson

The Smeds and the Smoos by Julia Donaldson

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Like most parents (I hope), my wife and I read to our kids every night before bed. My son (who excels at reading) reads to us every night as well (and is currently making his way through Jeff Smith’s Bone – a personal favorite of mine). Julia Donaldson has long held a special place on their bookshelves. I haven’t reviewed any children’s books before, but I read The Gruffalo to my daughter tonight (for probably the hundredth time) and decided to review some by my […]

More J.D. Robb

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

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These two whodunnits follow the comforting pattern of police procedurals, with the added twist of futuristic elements and the engaging romance of protagonist Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her lover, the wealthy, connected Roarke. It’s easy to see why there are 55 books in the “In Death” series (although I personally am going to take a hiatus after overdosing on this series in the last month). In Glory in Death, Dallas investigates the murder of the prominent Prosecuting Attorney, Cicely Powers, whom she knows personally (and who, […]

Get the scooper, ’cause I got the scoop on a robo-dog and its girl

D-39: A Robodog’s Journey by Irene Latham

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I am not really a dog person, but something about the idea of D-39: A Robodog’s Journey was grabbing. Maybe the androgenous look of the character on the cover or the fact it was a robot dog and as far as I could remember I had never read a book with a robot dog. Maybe because it was free. But what kept me reading this novel by Irene Latham was two main things: first it was done in a poetic prose manner. But it was […]

The depths of human nature

Terrible Faithfulness by Marlen Haushofer

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Marlen Haushofer is one of my absolute favourite authors and you cannot imagine how much it pains me that this never was translated into English. Her most famous novel, The Wall, did get translated, it got a so-so movie adaptation too, but her true strength lies in novellas and short stories. And you’re all missing out on this brilliant collection of short stories! She’s a true master of the field. I’m tagging this “horror” as well, even though they’re technically not horror stories. They’re stories […]

Getting your kitten on

Sue & Tai-chan volume one by Kanata Konami

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Sue & Tai-chan volume one is a cute story. You like it or you don’t. Really there is not an in-between for it. If you want to read about the everyday lives of two cats (Sue, and older cat wanting to just sleep and eat quietly. Tai-chan, a young kitten ready and loading for bear, trouble, mischief, shenanigans, eating, sleeping, chaos, and repeat), then Kanata Konami’s series is the graphic novel/manga series you need. Because if you are looking for action, there is not really […]



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