Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Who is Bella Baxter?

Poor Things by Alasdair Gray

by Leave a Comment

My father has always insisted that people only say “the book was better than the movie” because they read the book first. In his opinion, if you read the book first, then you spend the movie missing all the characters and scenes they’ve had to cut for time. However, if you’d watched the movie first, then while you reading the book you’d find yourself annoyed by all the superfluous material that’s clearly not needed since it didn’t make the film version. Whether my father’s theory […]

Queer awakenings aren’t just for teens

Cash Delgado is Living the Dream by Tehlor Kay Mejia

by Leave a Comment

I was a little hesitant to pick this book up after I couldn’t get into Sammy Espinoza, but I’m so glad I gave this a shot after all! Even though this takes place in the same town and there’s several Sammy cameos, this absolutely stands on its own with its focus on Cash and wanting to save Joyce’s, a local dive bar. This is also a book where “everything is political” really keeps coming to mind in the way it challenges gentrification and is so […]

Stitches

Stitches by Junji Ito

by Leave a Comment

The more Japanese fiction I read, the less I expect it to explain itself. This is true whether you are reading Junji Ito or Haruki Murakami; there is a tendency to let weirdness just sort of sit out there where everyone can see it, creating a surreal feeling where you can’t really tell if you’re missing something or not. Stitches follows this pattern, with short vignettes (each one referred to as a “stitch”) making up a series of strange tales. This book is not a […]

Satisfying conclusion to the Last Binding Trilogy

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

by Leave a Comment

Freya Marske satisfyingly concludes her Last Binding Trilogy with A Power Unbound.  I loved the first volume, A Marvellous Light.  It has a creative magic system and adorable couple Robin and Edwin.  I found the second one, A Restless Truth, to feel a bit rushed due to the time limit on having to occur on an ocean voyage between the US and England.  Also, Maud as a character tends to make me feel breathless with her energy and constant pushing for action.  Though A Power Unbound […]

The Dunwich Horror

The Dunwich Horror by HP Lovecraft & Francois Baranger

by Leave a Comment

Continuing his excellent adaptations of Lovecraft’s work, Francois Baranger delivers The Dunwich Horror in stunning detail and deep, disturbing horror. The Dunwich Horror tells the story of the isolated, xenophobic and disturbed New England (natch) town of Dunwich. Somehow, in a story with zero immigrants, Lovecraft once again manages to be intensely racist and bigoted. In this case, the majority of his bigotry is targeted at the townsfolk themselves, implying that the plot of the story is more or less par for the course for isolated […]

Clean Sweep

The Maid by Nita Prose

by Leave a Comment

Maid is a delightful little who-dun-it novel by Nita Prose, which was gifted to me by my mom for Christmas this past year. It certainly fit the bill for a novel that I would normally not give a second look at, given there’s not a single apocalypse, zombie, spaceship or alternate dimension in sight. Instead, it’s a week in the life of Molly the Maid, who proudly and happily toils away at the Regency Grand Hotel. She’s a women to loves cleaning and returning her […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo