Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


In Which Jane Kicks Efficient Ass, Especially the Undead Variety

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

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Yes, we might be living in the darkest timeline—or the dumbest, hard to tell. But be glad that you’re not our girl Jane, who contends with cruel racism and incompetence while also decapitating hungry “shamblers,” the reanimated corpses of the Gettysburg fallen and any poor soul bitten thereafter. Some years ago, the paddy wagon plucked Jane McKeene from her home at Rose Hill plantation so that she might learn the finer points of combat and decorum at Miss Preston’s, Baltimore’s finest school for Negro girls. […]

“When the mist rises, and the smiling man comes walking, you must avoid large places at night.”

Small Spaces by Arden, Katherine

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Ollie hasn’t been much of a people-person, but since her mother died the only solace she can seem to find is in books.  On a bike ride home from school, she comes across a woman sobbing by the lake, trying to talk herself into throwing an old black book into the water.  On a whim, Ollie steals the book and discovers within its pages a strange and spooky old story about the Webster family and their tragedy brought on by a sinister “smiling man.” The […]

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You …

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

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If you haven’t read American Psycho yet, you’re in for a real treat.  Either that or you will hate me for recommending this book and possibly sue me for damages and mental distress. In any case, Patrick Bateman, the titular American Psycho, has become part of pop culture.  Whether you’ve read the book, seen the (excellently adapted) movie, or just know him from this gif: You know that he’s a narcissistic Wall Street trust fund baby with a serious case of bloodlust and unmitigated misogyny. But […]

A short little homage to Richard Matheson

Elevation by Stephen King

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Elevation has been reviewed here at least once already, but I’ll give you a brief summary. Which will be easy, as it’s a rather brief book. “Hands on a clock, numbers on a bathroom scale, weren’t they only ways of trying to measure invisible forces that had visible effects?” Scott Carey lives in King’s well known little town of Castle Rock. He’s recently divorced, living alone with his cat, and has noticed something strange. He’s losing weight. Pretty steadily, in fact, and for no reason […]

Now We’ve Got Vlad Blood

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

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 The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, is a sweeping historical fiction about, well, historians. This epistolary novel takes you on an adventure spanning centuries, hunting for the truth behind the myth of Dracula. If that isn’t enough for you, there’s romance, mystery, and suspense on every page. Click here for the entire review.

Sorely Lacking Keanu Reeves. One Star.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

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The year is 1897 and Bram Stoker is a bored businessmen who boosts his income by writing pulpy novels. The most famous of these, simply titled Dracula, was not an immediate hit, but would turn out to define Stoker’s legacy. This isn’t entirely undeserved, but outside of its snug historical pocket the novel doesn’t come across all that well. The story is well-known to nearly everyone, and I was quite surprised at how closely, at first, it follows the 1993 movie. And yet this film, […]



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