Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Je me souviens

The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez

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A synopsis of the book on its cover reads: “three strangers are thrown together in one Manhattan apartment: a solitary writer; a Gen Z college drop-out; and a spirited parrot named Eureka.” Yes and no – yes, some may argue that it is the central story but for me that is generalizing just one aspect of the book. The Vulnerables is more about the musings and observations of the central character (the writer) from her point of view all centered around the onset of the […]

I waited too long to read this one :(

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (Pink Carnation, #1) by Lauren Willig

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DNF @ 47% Dang, two DNFs in one day (the other was The Sun and the Void)! I got 200 pages in to this and realized I felt like I was just wasting my own time, so I stopped. This is a book that ten years ago—so a LOT closer to when I actually bought it—I would have probably given it four stars and then read at least the next two books in the series. Instead, I waited a ridiculously long time (this is now […]

Are Hot Dogs Really Just Psychedelic Sandwiches?

Under The Influence by Eliot Rahal, Stefano Simeone

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FBI Agent Cara Cole goes undercover at a university to infiltrate an alleged Internet-based cult called Hot Dog Party, which is led by a teenage influencer who had his fifteen minutes of fame as a meme. I enjoy bizarre horror, I have always liked a good story about cults, and the phenomenon of parasocial relationships is a subject I’ve been hearing more about lately. I also really do not like the taste of hots dogs. As such, this graphic novel sounded right up my alley. […]

Books that come out of nowhere to become favorites

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

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 As a reader, I find few things more satisfying than stumbling upon a novel expecting nothing but a pleasant diversion and instead falling completely in love with it. My husband found A Gentleman in Moscow in a Little Free Library and took it home because the description and the cover appealed to him. (I probably wouldn’t have picked it up, though it does have a nice cover.) He described the story as “charming” and recommended I try it. We were both thrilled that I was […]

Might have found my worst of the year with my first of the year

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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1.5 stars Warning! This review will contain spoilers, because after my book club discussion yesterday, I’m actually quite cranky about this book, and it’s impossible for me to rant properly if I can’t spoil the heck out of these stories. Don’t worry, you don’t really want to read this book anyway. Also, most of the spoilers are only visible if you go to my blog. In a small, dark basement café in Japan, visitors can travel briefly back in time, if they observe a series […]

Open Circuits

Open Circuits by Windell Oskay and Eric Schlaepfer

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Open Circuits is a visual explanation of electronics through careful cross-sections and macro-photography. The purpose is to show you the literal inner workings of circuit-boards, components, and even cables and connectors. If you have ever found yourself curious what’s going on inside a headphone jack, rocker switch, diode, or even the ten-layer PCB of your smartphone, this is the book for you. The photography is all gorgeous, with the author taking extreme care to build stacked focus so that every piece of every component comes […]



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