Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Jennifer Hale should narrate more audiobooks

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

by 1 Comment

#CBR15 Passport Challenge – Different genres (Sci-fi) 15-word review: Kira touches the wrong alien artifact and things escalate wildly from there. Excellent audio book. The audio book, which even listening at x1.5 speed felt like it lasted approximately forever, is narrated by Jennifer Hale and she does an amazing job. I was surprised to see, that with the exception of this and the upcoming follow-up (the book is set in the same universe, not sure if it’s a sequel, prequel, or companion novel), she has […]

Forty Thousand Winks

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King, Owen King

by Leave a Comment

A strange but beautiful woman calling herself Evie shows up in a small town in Appalachia, murders the local meth dealer in a shocking display of violence, and starts making cryptic statements from the local women’s prison. Meanwhile, a mysterious illness has broken out all over the world, wherein woman develop fibrous cocoons after falling asleep and can’t be woken up without deadly consequences. Figuring out the connection between these two events is a job that largely falls to a local married couple, Clint and […]

Mothers, sisters, and daughters

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls: A Novel by Anissa Gray

by Leave a Comment

TW: Grief, abusive relationships, eating disorders The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls is an outstanding novel that deals with very difficult, triggering topics: parental loss/grief, abusive relationships and eating disorders. The narration is shared by the three adult Cochran sisters over the period of about a month. During that time, the reader witnesses a family spiraling downward but fighting to stay together in the face of powerfully destructive forces.  The novel opens with Althea, the eldest Cochran sister, in jail for committing fraud. […]

World’s Most Beautiful Gem goes to….

Hidden Gem by Linda Liu

by Leave a Comment

The story of Hidden Gem is one we know. There are a lot of beautiful gems out there, but there is only one you.  And this is told through the eyes of a small people who sees that the Museum of Rocks advertising the most amazing one, he is curious and find outs. And there are a lot of lovely items. Geodes, gemstones, crystals. All of them shining. And then the sign for the World’s Most Beautiful Gem comes up. And our pebble is wondering […]

Messy handwriting doesn’t mean you can’t be an author

Abdul’s Story by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

by Leave a Comment

I have read parts of Abdul’s Story off and on for a year now. Finally, I was able to find the finish copy and sink my teeth in. This story is how a young boy, Abdul, loves telling stories. But writing them is a lot harder. Besides, why write them down? Some stories are meant to be told. Yet, when an author comes to his class, a man who looks like Abul with his straight lines, and unscuffed shoes, he learns that there are many […]

Interactive board books around the world

Bruno Builder Bakes Bread (Mix-And-Match). by Nelleke Verhoeff

Our World: Brazil by Ana Siqueira

Our World: Italy by Francesca Di Marzo

by Leave a Comment

I like the company Barefoot Books. And I have a book dealer there. She sends me some finished copies. I like her. A lot. And this time she sent me three new board books. Two are from the Our Worlds series, and one is a standalone interactive book. Starting with the interactive book, Bruno Builder Bakes Bread (Mix-And-Match). The traditional board book sized book is split in the middle. It has the Builder on top and on the bottom a bakers stand with bread being […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo