Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“Love was seeing the truth of a person. Love was keeping faith that the best version you saw was the truest.”

Better in Black: Ten Stories of Shadowhunter Romance by Cassandra Clare

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Basically what it says on the tin: ten short stories set in the Shadowhunter Universe, each centered on one couple (or throuple, in one case.) They are as follows: The Good Storm (Will Herondale/Tessa Grey, set during their honeymoon.): So trite, so overblown. Cassie, if you can’t write sex scenes that don’t read like they’re from a bodice-ripper, don’t have them at all. Also, maybe keep track of the ages of your characters; why did you write a fifteen year old sounding more like a […]

After Midnight by Daphne Du Maurier

After Midnight by Daphne Du Maurier

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I have to say this collection was fantastic from beginning to end. It has a great introduction by Stephen King and then you just get to Daphne Du Maurier doing what she does best. All of the stories are five stars in my opinion. The Blue Lenses-We follow a married woman whose sight is restored, but what she sees now, shows something ominous could be in her future. I thought the ending was a great gut punch and you can guess at what happens to […]

An account of life

I Won't Pretend These Missiles Are Stars: Life in Iran During the 12-Day War by Tehran's Cartoonist Collective / The Cartoonist Collective

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The short stories inside of I Won’t Pretend These Missiles Are Stars by Tehran’s Cartoonist Collective deal with the weeks of war between Israel and Iran. Set in Iran, each of the people giving their story has a different way of dealing or not dealing with the events around them. Some worry about the big picture (death), others worry that they never got to wear the special outfit to their presentation. Each author has a unique way of showing what was and wasn’t important to […]

I’m a sucker for a Kindle Challenge

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

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I wouldn’t call myself the greatest lover of romance novels. In fact, I generally don’t enjoy a book without murder / suspense / mystery, unless it’s really well written. This book was fine, and it satisfied the “Love Letters” achievement for the New Year Kindle Challenge. Like I said, I love a good Kindle Challenge. This one specifically required reading a kindle version of a romance book. As this one was a short story, and written by Ali Hazelwood, it was right up my alley. […]

Adult Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (probably with the lights on)

Bad Dreams in the Night by Adam Ellis

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With the exception of two stories, overall things are relatively tame for a Horror Book. However, there are places where it can be a little icky or gross. The psychological elements of thriller can be a bit of a trigger (monsters, supernatural) but Bad Dreams in the Night by Adam Ellis is best for mature teens and adults so do not let sensitive readers get their hands on it. Oddly enough, despite (or because and I am getting really odd in my old age) this […]

Please inhale, Ted Chiang

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

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In both Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” and its cinematic adaptation, the 2016 film Arrival, the protagonist’s story appears out of order. You read (or watch) the narrative as though you are seeing someone put together an intricate puzzle, and it’s not until one critical piece of knowledge— the central conceit of the story — slots into place that you can understand the correct order of events, backwards and forwards. Reading “Story of Your Life” on its own, I loved it. So, I sought […]



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