Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Hell Hath No Fury

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

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A group of five men and five women set off on a corporate-sponsored hike through an Australian forest. The men emerge successfully three days later, happy to be done with it, to return to the hotel and its bar, but the women fail to appear. When they do, they are one person short: Alice Russell is missing. Detective Aaron Falk and his partner Carmen set off to investigate because Alice Russell is the whistleblower in their latest case. They soon discover that the women’s stories […]

Definitely a Whole New World

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

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bcr16bingo rings As a child, and an early reader, I was totally hooked on fairy tales, especially the more obscure ones from Andrew Lang.  I loved his “color” collections – the Red Fairy Tale Book, the Purple Fairy Tale Book, the (I kid you not) Olive Fairy Tale Book.  There were so many of them but never enough.  Then later on, I branched out to fairy tale-adjacent, such as Bullfinch’s Mythology, and the Ricard Burton collection of the Arabian Nights.  So I had some knowledge […]

It’s like I’m in free fall. I’m relieved, I’m happy, I’m distressed, all at once. It averages out to “okay,” though.

Three Reasons to Run by Jackie Lau

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I love a Jackie Lau novel that gets into the conflict between family expectations and living an authentic life. Lau has given Yvonne and Leo rich interior lives that they slowly reveal to one another. Yvonne is finding out who she is when she isn’t being the good girl. Leo doesn’t share much of himself, but he will for Yvonne. At the end of Four Weddings to Fall in Love, Kim sees Max’s mom, Lynne, help Yvonne flee her wedding. Lynne’s kindness and practical support […]

The search for nourishment

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

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When I think of ‘the leftovers’, my mind wanders to Thursday night’s dinner in my house. That’s leftovers night. It’s a bit sad, wilted, disappointing. Though it’s been zapped in the microwave, it’s not piping hot all the way through. There are cold patches within. It feels a little like giving up. Sure, you’re doing the Right Thing by not wasting what is left, but it’s not the same as it was before. It’s less. And that cannot be overcome. That’s what life is like […]

Conversations with Houses

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Rose/House by Arkady Martine

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CBR16 Bingo: Dun Dun – Both books play on your nerves, and just when you think the protagonists may be reaching safe harbor things only get worse for them. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson – 4 stars Four people go to an allegedly haunted house to investigate – a scientist, a cheerful artist, a low down scoundrel, and a fragile, friendless young woman. All of them don’t return. This is a short book and slips by almost without you noticing it. At first […]

Leaping and leaping!

We Leap Together by Christopher Silas Neal

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, picture books are great for that “I need to read but I don’t want something too long or heavy. And I can still say, “I read a book!” feeling. We Leap Together by Christopher Silas Neal (due April 2025; read via an online reader copy) is one of those quickies. It is about how the whales and humans are a lot alike when it comes to many things, but mostly caring for a young one.  I […]



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