Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search

I wonder if they say, “Break a leg” for good luck in India?

The First Girl on Stage: Tunga Dances the Yakshagana by Shruthi Rao

by Leave a Comment

Are you looking for a good story about breaking the gender barrier with a subject not many might know about. The First Girl on Stage: Tunga Dances the Yakshagana by Shruthi Rao and  illustrator Devika Joglekar might be what you are looking for.  The girl of the story becomes obsessed with the dances she sees on stage. The swirling, the costumes, the colors, the excitement she copies all the time. At first, her family finds it amusing, then not so much, as she continues to […]

It is not a Pain to read about this Great One

Otherwise Known as Judy the Great: A Poetic Ode to Judy Blume by Selina Alko

by Leave a Comment

Perhaps I should have waited to add Otherwise Known as Judy the Great: A Poetic Ode to Judy Blume by Selina Alko to my Best of This Year Reads list, but I did not know I was going to read it when I put my list together. Besides, it is all good as I will let you know here how FREAKING awesome this book is now. Due in February 2026 (perfectly timed as Blume’s birthday is the 12th of February) this book is set up […]

Fascinating Exploration of Language

Wordslut by Amanda Montell

by Leave a Comment

Best for: Those interested in learning more about how our language is shaped by – and shapes – society. Everyone who speaks US English. In a nutshell: Author Montell explores a variety of aspects of language and how it reinforces and can be used to fight the patriarchy. Worth quoting: N/A (but only because it was an audio book and usually I was running while listening so didn’t have a way to note something down) Why I chose it: The topic was intriguing to me. […]

Creating a language is no joke. Or, maybe it is, because I laughed a lot reading this book.

In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent

by 6 Comments

CBR 17 BINGO: Diaspora. The author uses the Jewish diaspora to illustrate the remarkable resurgence of Hebrew as a spoken language. You could also argue that Esperanto speakers form a diaspora. When you think of “invented” languages, you might immediately think of Esperanto, the late-19th century experiment in creating a universal language to bring people closer together. Or you might think about Star Trek geeks going all-in on their hobby by learning Klingon. Or you might ponder J.R.R. Tolkien’s elvish languages, created decades before he […]

A true test of compatibility

A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst

by Leave a Comment

I’ve found a number of interesting books when I need a new audio book by just seeing what is “available now” at my library, sorted by popularity. Is that how I found A Marriage at Sea (2025) by Sophie Elmhirst? Honestly, now I can’t remember. I may have seen it on a list somewhere. Also, now that I’ve read it, I’m seeing this book everywhere, including NPR and NYT’s 2025 lists. Spoilers follow. A Marriage at Sea is the true story of a couple, Maralyn and Maurice, who […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo