Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Downfall of Anne Boleyn

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

by Leave a Comment

Bring Up the Bodies starts shortly after the end of Wolf Hall. Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII are guests of the Seymours at their estate, Wolf Hall. In the previous book, Thomas had developed feelings for Jane Seymour and had considered asking the king for permission to wed. But now Henry has begun to spend time with Jane, at the not-so-subtle encouragement of her family, and to tire of his marriage to Anne Boleyn, which has not yielded the son he so desperately wants. […]

Food and Sex and Second Chance Romance

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

by 3 Comments

A few years ago, Theo and Kit broke up right before embarking on a three week food and wine tour of southern Europe. Now, after accidentally redeeming their vouchers for the same trip, they find themselves in close quarters as they travel through France, Spain, and Italy on a gourmand’s dream vacation. In an attempt to get over the awkwardness and maybe recapture their former friendship (the two met as children and were thick as thieves until the breakup) they decide to compete to see […]

Another Excellent Retelling of Greek Mythology

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

by Leave a Comment

We’re all familiar with the story of the fall of Troy. The most beautiful woman in the world ran away from her husband and an entire civilization waged a decade long war to get her back. But in between and around the story of Paris, Helen, and Menelaus are the stories of all the other legendary figures who came to the shores of Troy to honor an oath. Odysseus, Ajax, Agamemnon, Achilles… and Patroclus. Achilles’ grief and rage when Patroclus dies is what gets him […]

“Worrying is the correct worldview. Life is worrisome.”

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

by Leave a Comment

Plot: Aza is stuck inside her mind, and it is not friendly territory. Why would it be, if she, like the rest of us, are mere receptacles for billions of bacteria to propagate. She is not a person, she is a country or a planet. A non-sentient thing moving through the world with her movements and thoughts and actions compelled in some way by the bacteria or some other thing, but never her own. That’s hard enough as it is, but is made all the […]

“What is unbearable is already too much. How can there be more?”

It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over by Anne de Marcken

by Leave a Comment

What an unexpected and wonderful read. I think we’ve reached peak post-zombie apocalypse writing. It is no longer in vogue to write about them, but they have become such an integral part of our pop culture that they are now extremely useful vehicles for some intense post-modern existentialism. de Marcken uses the zombie trope fully, and only as it suits her purposes. The book explores themes of love, of loss, and of identity. Who are we? What are we? how do we move past unendurable […]

“Your only chance is to grab hold of happiness when you have it, and enjoy it for as long as it lasts.”

Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson

by Leave a Comment

Plot: An ambitious young journalist with a secret makes her way across the Atlantic to what she hopes is her big break – reporting on the domestic (i.e. women’s) angle of the growing war in Europe in the summer of 1940.  Her journey takes us on an intimate journey of the war, from the basic ways in which meals were affected by rations to the massive toll of civilian losses during the Blitz to the war zones in France and back. Through it all, Ruby […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo