Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Always be quiet when a heart is breaking.”

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

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CBR Bingo – Relation(ship) I was looking for a book to dive into whole to lift my spirits post-layoff and a friend recommended this, saying she “recommends it for anyone who loves books and needs a warm hug.” In my opinion, she nailed the recommendation for my situation. This book is just sweet enough, but also just dark enough, to appeal to a troubled mind looking for distraction. Any book lover will be delighted to dive into this world. Jack Masterson, Willy Wonka-esque children’s author, […]

Never meet your heroes

My Buddy, Killer Croc by Sara Farizan

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The focus of having the character of Killer Croc (Waylon Jones) as the “hero” in the Sara Farizan and Nicoletta Baldari graphic novel, My Buddy, Killer Croc, is a familiar but good twist. However, the one thing I was wondering is if the reader will understand that Killer Croc, no matter how “good or nice” he seems, is not a “good guy” due to how he is mostly good to the main character (or seems to be on the surface). There is an interesting nod to […]

Making a human

The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu

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The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu is an emotional graphic novel with layers that could be a bit “much” as we deal with a larger “cosmic” connection. The more surface level is the love story we have with ourselves and each other, the ideas of being human and humane, and most importantly, connections on a smaller scale that we find with others and ourselves as we grow. The illustrations are unique, but familiar. They give you what is needed, but sometimes you do need to fill in a […]

…a voice on the radio offering a loom on which to spin his dreams.

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

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CBR15 BINGO (On the Air square: Lots about radios and radio communication) BINGO! Dwelling to On The Air This is going to be a terrible review. I liked this book too much and generally, when that happens I freeze when trying to review it. Doerr’s book won the Pulitzer nearly a decade ago. I’ve had this book recommended to me countless times and, as is often the case with books everyone raves about, I put it on my virtual TBR pile and forget about it. Why do I […]

Hi, Goldbug…wherever you are.

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry

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CBR15 BINGO (Nostalgia square: Read this to my kid a billion times.) Okay. This is going to be more about me than the book, but that’s nostalgia for you. We moved my son to college a few weeks ago. He’s our only kiddo. I’m an official empty nester now so I’m nostalgia-ing all over the place. He loved a lot of the Scarry books but this was his favorite. A superfan of all things vehicle-related, there was never a construction site or road re-surfacing that he […]

A crazy little thing, but I’m not sure it’s love

A Condition Called Love Volume 1 by Megumi Morino

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Manga is a unique format to read. You first have the different style of page set-up and then you have the themes. Though they are familiar (growing up, self-esteem, relationships, school) they can take on a different form then we are used to. There is also a cultural difference with possible different values and behaviors. Yet, I cannot really wrap my head around how the male character in A Condition Called Love Volume 1 by Megumi Morino is okay in any culture. At first, he […]



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