Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

It seems I can love horror

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

by Leave a Comment

CBR15 BINGO: Dwelling. Hill House is not only integral to the story but also a character in itself. Like many American high school students, I read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” in ninth grade and then proceeded to ignore Jackson for the majority of my book-consuming life. First published in The New Yorker in 1948, “The Lottery” was shocking for its twist and has been banned or challenged in school districts for being, among other things, anti-family. Given the influence Jackson had on American literature, I’m […]

I have nothing new to say about an 85 year old book, unsurprisingly.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

by 2 Comments

John Steinbeck grew up in the first decade of the 20th century on some of the most fertile soil in the world, and as a teenager he spent his summers working on nearby ranches. More than 20 years later, he used these experiences to inform the story that would become this novella. Of Mice and Men is about two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, fleeing one farm and looking for work at another. Lennie is large, strong, and mentally disabled and George is […]

I could not be that scarless, fearless boy again. But, for a little while at least, I had been someone I could almost stand. Pieces of a better self, reflected in someone else’s eyes.

Glitterland by Alexis Hall

by Leave a Comment

The truth was, somewhere down the line, between the hospitalisations and the drugs, I’d somehow lost the cornerstone of humanity: the ability to pretend, to counterfeit the basics of social interaction, to smile when you didn’t feel like smiling, to seem like you cared about other people when you lacked the capacity to care about yourself. So that left me, graceless and wearied, pretending to pretend. ― Alexis Hall, Glitterland It’s difficult, sometimes, for me to understand that I have the power to hurt someone. […]

To boldly go where no (wo)man has gone before!

The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush

by Leave a Comment

CBR 15 Bingo – Strange Worlds: The titular six (and I) jet off to the strange worlds of NASA and outer space in this book. It was many years after the inception of NASA and the space flight program that women were allowed to become astronauts. Though not all of these initial six women are household names today, they all worked to advance both space exploration and women’s rights in their own ways. It rather surprises me that I’m not very interested in space exploration – […]

In which we see the other side of the love story

Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey

by 1 Comment

CBR15 Bingo: Relation ‘ship’ – Cassiel’s Servant tells Joscelin’s side of the relationship between him and Phedre as originally depicted in Kushiel’s Dart.  Additionally there are some pivotal moments that happen on a ship. Firstly, I unequivocally love Kushiel’s Dart.  My oldest daughter was named after a character (Ysandre de la Courcel).  I recommend it to people (that I think can handle the bdsm elements) all the time.  There is intrigue, adventure, romance, Gods acting through their mortal chosen, and gorgeous writing.  It’s a book that […]

No one’s watching to see if I stay afloat.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

by Leave a Comment

CBR15 BINGO (Asia and Oceana square: Hawaiian author, takes place in Hawaii, about a Hawaiian family, culture) BINGO! \ South America to Europe I was surprised to find that I was the first to review this book for CBR. Remedy this immediately, everyone! It’s a really, really great book. The story, put simply, is about family. In this case, a family in Hawai’i struggling to make ends meet. In search of more job opportunities, they are about to move to a different island. As a last hurrah, the […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo