Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I got 3 hours and 52 books. Let’s see if I can finally do this.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher

The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

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Whelp, I apologize in advance for what I’m about to do. For 17 years I have been trying to complete a full Cannonball and I have never once succeeded. Sometimes I don’t read enough, but mostly I don’t write enough. I get caught up in knots trying to write a perfect review and then worry I’m spending too much time writing instead of reading and it becomes a whole thing because my brain is a nightmare. So this year I decided I’d just write rough […]

Convenience Store Woman

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

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This is a very Japanese book, and I enjoyed it all the more since I spent a good part of June feeding my children onigiri from Japanese convenience stores. Ever since she was a child, our protagonist Keiko Furakura has had trouble with social cues. Her part-time job at a convenience store gives her days a structure, and has for the past 18 years. She lives and breathes the convenience store, although she recognizes on some level that she is but a cog, she likes […]

Feminism social commentary disguised as murder mystery

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeira

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This is a remarkable book. You should read it. Elena is a 60 something woman who suffers from Parkinson’s. The book, divided into three sections according to the times she must take her pill, tells the story of her and her daughter in flashbacks. At first, we know only that Elena is going on a difficult journey across Buenos Aires to find someone to help solve the must of her daughter’s death. Elena is convinced that she was actually murdered. As the story progresses, we […]

Monk and Robot #1 and #2

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

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After reading several sobering, spooky, or downright heart-wrenching post-apocalypse stories, these two short novellas were a breath of fresh air. Do you want a story about a planet where humans avoided the apocalypse, barely, and have figured out how to give everyone what they need? Do you want a charming robot (who also has everything he needs) and is meeting humans for the first time in over 200 years? Do you want friendship and adventure with no anxiety? I ready these back to back and […]

Two short classics, both about rich jerks

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

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I’m not sure I can say much about these books that hasn’t already been said, but both were worthwhile reads. Both of these short classics are basically: don’t be a rich jerk. Scrooge, of course, learns in the end how not to be a rich jerk; the couple in The Pearl learns, or rather knows already, and uncovers the truth in a more holistic way, that wealth opens opportunities for evil, and it turns out that it’s if people are jerks who want to be […]

Romance Wrap

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

The Wife Situation by Lyra Parish

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Game Changer by Rachel Reid

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Just to be 100% clear, I read MANY MORE than just these three romance novels this year.  And so many of them were great! But I didn’t take detailed notes on any of them, and these stuck out when I flicked through my Kindle history.  Let’s think of these as a representative sample, and all be thankful that I didn’t pick Kitty Thomas and try to explain those plots. I Hope This Finds You Well was recommended by a coworker, who has discovered the joys […]



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