Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Taking Time to Stop and Smell The Radioactive Countryside.

The Sending by Isobelle Carmody

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So I’m getting close to the endgame now with my re-read of The Obernewtyn Chronicles. As a reminder, the first book in the series, Obernewtyn , was published in the late eighties, while the book that I initially thought was going to be the final installment, The Stone Key, was published in 2008.  The Stone Key, as it transpires was not the last book at all—in fact, very little page-time had been spent on Elspeth’s final quest to disarm the Sentinel. Instead, it was more […]

What If Nine Lives Took Place Across a Dozen Decades

The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard

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Best for: Those who enjoy a little bit of history with their sentimentality. Those who love cats. In a nutshell: Grimalkin is a cat living in a tenement in Edinburgh in the 1880s. One day he passes away, and a cat god is shocked to learn that little Grimalkin has only gotten to live one of his nine lives. He is granted the other eight with the understanding he has three to stay (of which he has used one), three to stray, and three to […]

Ted Chiang is our best argument for a STEAM education

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

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CBR16 BINGO: Celestial, because the first story is about humans building a tower into the heavens Four years ago I fell in love with Ted Chiang’s short story collection Exhalation, and I’ve finally made good on the promise to myself to read Stories of Your Life and Others. If you’ve read any of his work, you won’t be shocked to hear that this is the most moving, inventive, and thought-provoking collection I’ve read in years. Ted Chiang, a graduate of Brown University with a B.S. […]

A Different Take on Anne Boleyn

Queen B by Juno Dawson

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Best for: Those who are already invested in the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Royal Coven) series. In a nutshell: An alternative telling of exactly how and why Anne Boleyn ascended to the throne and then was summarily removed. Worth quoting: N/A (Audio Book) Why I chose it: Audible recommended this to me as I’d already read The Shadow Cabinet this year. Review: We start with the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, then jump back and forth between the events years prior to her marrying King Henry […]

“Three words, large enough to tip the world. I remember you.”

Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victora Schwab

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In five-ish words: Memory, Magical, Love, Connection, Cursed This is a classic example of if the positive reviews are piling up about a book from many people who you trust their book taste, go ahead and read it already! I don’t know why I was hesitant to read it, I think in my mind I conflated it with the movie “Age of Adeline” which seemed drab to me but this book was much more than I bargained for and not at all what I expected. […]

“A queen offers her hand to be kissed; can form it into a fist while smiling the whole damn time.”

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

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One of the unexpected benefits of parenting my stepson is the introduction to books I wouldn’t know anything about. He’s a reluctant (but consistent) reader and I adore reading along with what he has for school, especially know that he’s at a high school level. Do we talk about the books? Absolutely not. But maybe someday he’ll take me up on the offer. (Fingers crossed). This was the summer reading book for sophomore honor’s English and neither of us started eagerly. I don’t read a […]



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