Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

more historical fiction to round out the day

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

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A recommendation from Vidhya, from her book club! First off, I definitely thought this was a book that was going to hop between 1789 and 1989 or something like that, so kept waiting for the flash forward? It does not, in case you also have this mistaken allusion. This is however a great work of inspired historical fiction based off the life of a truly astounding midwife in the 1700s who delivered over 1,000 babies and never lost a mother. Possibly because she is forever […]

staying positive and on top of “write reviews” resolution

Isola by Allegra Goodman

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Another in the longstanding series I have dubbed “bodily horror, the Bear Grylls edition.” There’s a character–usually a woman–who is super hungry for reasons of famine or winter or New World (and frequently all three) and we’re meant to understand something about the Human Condition through the suffering and depravity to which the body sinks. See also: Vasterwilds, Lapvona, The Vegetarian, Tender is the Flesh, Glorious Exploits, Our Wives Under the Sea (yes, if you go back to my reviews of some of these you […]

Was 2025 the Year Toxic Masculinity Became a Recognised Problem?

The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana

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  For a novel that has the hallmarks of a roadtrip, this story is very claustrophobic, seeing events through the thoughts of the two male leads (and a 3rd character towards the end) and their own self-made prison of emotional immaturity, seething insecurities, and toxic masculinity. The novel feels as though it seizes the zeitgeist discussions around the challenges faced by (young) men in learning to integrate into a world which is feeding their darker sides. To an extent, this book makes an interesting companion […]

Folklore, Magical Realism and a Place I know little about? I’m in

The Fisherman King by Katharina Mohd Daoud

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  This is a fun, fast-paced read. Brunei is a place I’ve always been a little fascinated by. A small absolute monarchy, Islamic in faith, sitting in South-East Asia with a rich history, Two timelines run alongside each other, the introduction of Islam through the monarchy in Brunei and it’s absorption of local folkloric traditions, and the main story of Lisan’s own journey through his ego and pride. Much is made of how others don’t understand the motivations behind his actions, and to a lesser […]

Not Worth the Wait

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

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The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson got a lot of hype when it came out back in 2015. Apparently, I bought into the hype enough to pick up a copy, but not enough to actually read the damned thing until ten years later. Was it worth the wait? Ehh, not really. An expansionist empire greedily conquers its neighbours. Not by the traditional means of armies and swords, but economically and socially, by sending traders and educators. In some ways, they improve the lives of […]

The Return of the King: Falling deeper in love with the Lord of the Rings

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

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I began (re-)reading the Lord of the Rings in January 2025 before bed as a part of an effort to have better “sleep hygiene”, and finally finished the Return of the King on New Years Day 2026. I have watched and marathoned and re-watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies since they came out nearly 25 years ago. They have formed the foundation of my nerdiness for most of my life. I’m sure I insisted on reading the books before the movies came […]



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