Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Just because not everyone gets you doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

by Leave a Comment

I saw Book Lovers (2022) by Emily Henry in a number of places, including NPR’s Best Books List. It looked like a clever and fun romance novel, and all of the good reviews were encouraging. It was also a nice change of pace and the perfect book to read after the disturbing and depressing School for Good Mothers that I’d just finished. Nora Stephens is a literary agent in New York City. She loves her job, she loves the city, and she loves her younger sister, Libby. Libby also lives […]

Faults and Double Faults…

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

by Leave a Comment

What’s the word for anti-drama? Whatever it is, it might be my favorite kind of drama. I loved this book and it follows a similar anti-drama formula author Liane Moriarty used in What Alice Forgot and The Husband’s Secret to great effect. All three books start with a dramatic, Lifetime-movie-esque premise (in this case, middle-aged retiree and mother of four vanishes, possibly connected to a mysterious stranger) and then use this to explore the most fascinating details of… just, normal life… getting married, raising kids, […]

Sometimes things should be left in the past

Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler

Raise the Titanic by Clive Cussler

by Leave a Comment

Why can’t I learn this lesson? Some books shouldn’t be re-read if you want to continue to remember them fondly. But maybe it’s better to have ripped the band-aid off so you don’t recommend them and regret it later? When I was in middle school, I discovered the books of Clive Cussler. They read like a cross between Robert Ludlum and Indiana Jones. A dashing hero, his best friend, obscure bits of history woven into a densely plotted adventure, classic cars, and while they’re all […]

“If the apocolypse comes, beep me.”

Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts by Evan Ross Katz

by 1 Comment

Early in the pandemic, a friend and I were looking for a way to have a social outlet while trapped at home. As we are both extroverts married to introverts, we figured that it would help us, and our partners. In the same convo, I discovered that she had never seen one of my top favorite TV shows of all time…Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And thus, an idea took hold. We would watch Buffy together but apart, she in Louisiana and me in Illinois, with […]

Sometimes fun, sometimes really dark

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

by Leave a Comment

From the first couple of chapters of Sign Here, I thought I was in for a fun romp along the lines of a Christopher Moore-esque adventure. The premise certainly lends itself to such silliness: In Hell, a “deals maker” (not an actual demon, but a human who died and ended up there for reasons we’ll eventually learn) named Peyote Trip (everybody in Hell is given ridiculous names) contends with the day-to-day annoyances of existence in the underworld. The Deals Department is on the fifth floor, […]

Methodical Storytelling

Happiness by Aminatta Forna

by Leave a Comment

Best for: People who enjoy sweet, thoughtful books. In a nutshell: Two lives collide on the streets of South London. Worth quoting: “He wondered if one day every feeling in the world would be identified, cataloged and marked for eradication. Was there no human experience that did not merit treatment now?” Why I chose it: It was recommended to me as part of a book spa. What it left me feeling: Contemplative Review: This is an interesting book that I found more challenging to read […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo