Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Unreadable Things

Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey

by 1 Comment

Well, that’s a bit harsh … but I found Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey difficult to follow and pretty boring. Full disclosure: I love thrillers and horror novels. The more real they are, the more terrifying I find them. So I was anticipating the experience of reading this book because it’s “inspired by a terrifying true story” according to the back of the book. And I am not super discriminating about the thrillers I read, either–I have torn through so many Freida McFadden books in […]

“It was possible she’d been too focused on her need for another cocktail to realize we were witnessing one of the portents of the apocalypse. ”The Luidaeg is singing Disney songs.”

The Brightest Fell (October Daye #11) by Seanan McGuire

by Leave a Comment

Boy, does this book start out on such a high note and then crash shortly thereafter. I absolutely loved Toby’s “Party With Friends to Celebrate Her Engagement to Tybalt” (I hate both the terms “bachelorette party” and “hen party”) at the local bar, especially when it entails the Luidheag singing Disney at the karoake machine. The music started. I felt the blood run out of my face, leaving me cold. “Oh, oak and ash,” I said. “This isn’t happening.” I wasn’t the only to have […]

Wakey wakey!

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

by Leave a Comment

Oh, I love this! Die Zeit recently included this in a “Best of the 21st Century So Far” list. Since I had an unsuccessful odyssey trying to order Lapvona earlier this year and loved Moshfegh’s introduction to this short story collection, I had to buy it. I swear that’s the reason — I’m not creepily copying Zirza’s reading list, this just keeps happening! Anyway, our young, hot, skinny and rich protagonist decides to spend a year sleeping to recalibrate her body and life, as she […]

I exist as either a small canid with thick fur, pointed ears, and neat black feet, or a young woman. Neither are safe forms in a world run by men.

The Fox Wife by Yangtze Choo

by Leave a Comment

CBR 17 BINGO: Review (see ElCicco’s 2024 review) BINGO: Review, Purple, I, Red, Borrow When I started seeing reviews for The Fox Wife last year, I was intrigued. It wasn’t until I finally picked up a copy from my library that I realized the author is the same person who wrote The Ghost Bride, which I read and enjoyed back in 2014. Now I was really excited. The Fox Wife is a lovely and heartbreaking novel that borrows from Chinese mythology around foxes. Taking place […]

“I wish I were a girl again, half-savage and hardy, and free.”

Fifteen Wild Decembers: A Novel by Karen Powell

by Leave a Comment

Fifteen Wild Decembers tells the story of the Brontë family through the eyes of Emily, from 1825 when she first goes away to school, to her death in 1848. From their childhood tales of the fantastical island of Gondal, to the events in their lives that shaped them and their literary outputs, Fifteen Wild December offered a glimpse into their lives. It was an alright book; I’d love to rate it any more warmly than that, but it didn’t really inspire much in me. I […]

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston

by 1 Comment

I’m just getting this in before the soon-to-be-released Darren Arronofsky movie starring Austin Butler and Zoe Kravitz. The story revolves around Henry Thompson, a former baseball star whose life has sort of drifted since a broken leg ended his playing days. He works at a seedy bar and lives in a seedier apartment in New York City. One day, he agrees to cat-sit for a neighbor and that sends his life spinning out of control. He’s attacked by two Russians at his bar, leaving him […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo