Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

It is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it.

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

by Leave a Comment

I had heard so many good things about this book that I decided to put a hold on it at my library back at the beginning of Bingo 2022. Like the characters in the novel, this book must have been on a journey, because I never heard from my library, and after Bingo, I forgot about it. In February 2023, a voice mail saying my hold book was ready for pick up left me slightly perplexed. Upon retrieving it, I found A Psalm for the […]

Robert james Waller (1)

The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

by Leave a Comment

“On the morning of April 8, 1965, Robert Kincaid locked the door to his small two-room apartment on the third floor of a rambling house in Bellingham, Washington.” My goodness this little novel is almost good. The opening two chapters, which introduce the characters and the basic situation are well-rendered and reasonably narrated. There’s a lot of heart in this book too, and a good plot, and a real yearning and bittersweetness to it that works so well. Until it doesn’t. When I was a […]

Norman Mailer (2-3)

Advertisements for Myself by Norman Mailer

The Deer Park by Norman Mailer

by Leave a Comment

Advertisements for Myself “Like many another vain, empty, and bullying body of our time, I have been running for President these last ten years in the privacy of my mind, and it occurs to me that I am less close now than when I began.” No one loves Norman Mailer’s writing more than Norman Mailer. No one hates Norman Mailer’s writing more than Norman Mailer. This book is a kind of collected work from Norman Mailer, but really only a decade or so into his […]

Murder of the Week

A Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz

by 2 Comments

I was a touch disappointed in Anthony Horowitz’s last Hawthorne mystery, so I started The Twist of a Knife with my expectations tempered. I love Horowitz’s two Atticus Pünd novels (Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders), and I suspect I’ve been judging the Hawthorne series a little too harshly because of that. I still enjoy them, though, for what they are: light-hearted, fun mysteries that read like episodes of your favorite murder-of-the-week television series. The Twist of the Knife is an entertaining installment. When the novel […]

The best arguments in the world won’t change a person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.

The Overstory by Richard Powers

by Leave a Comment

The Overstory is the type of novel I dread reviewing. At nearly 500 pages,  nine protagonists, and scores of literary and cultural references, there’s so much to unpack that a review could easily become a doctoral thesis if one had the time and inclination. To properly review, I would almost have to start over and take extensive notes as I read, planting even more stickies on all the pages that contain something interesting or pivotal. Reading this book was both exhausting and exhilarating. The novel is […]

A Poignant Blend of Myth and Survival

Dear Medusa by Olivia A Cole

by Leave a Comment

This is the kind of story that burrows into your heart and scrapes you raw in the best way. Alicia’s story is relatable in the worst ways, but I love the community and friendships she’s able to develop and the strength she finds over the course of her journey. Last year, the school’s beloved science teacher raped Alicia, but she hasn’t been able to tell anyone, especially because he is so beloved by the entirety of the school. But holding her pain and rage and […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo