Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Polyandry in a world where Big Brother demands to know all

An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King

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It’s been a while since I’ve read a novel. Though if I’m honest, it’s been a while since I read, period. So I’m glad my jump back into fiction was with “An Excess Male” by Maggie Shen King, because this was an interesting meditation into what-could-be if China were to maintain its one-child policy (also if the world didn’t end in the next 20 years due to climate disasters). “An Excess Male” is set in the not-so distant future – the blurb says 2030 – […]

When the clock doesn’t tick

Hourglass by Barbara Mazzi

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Twenty is just a cog in the wheel of the utopian society in Hourglass by Barbara Mazzi. Or at least for  the privileged.  Twenty is trying for one of the coveted positions on the team of engineers. If you make it to the top the reward is everything. But until then, they help keep the Hour Glass running so the privileged few can reap the reward of immortality. But when a real piece of the machine goes missing, more than the Hour Glass will fall […]

A lovely, much-needed escape

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

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When I began this book, I was not sold on the first few chapters.  The style was a little too – overly smarmy asides, self-satisfied attempts at humor – I was annoyed by the cliched characters and benign but still smug silliness.  And then my hometown, Los Angeles, caught fire, and my family evacuated early one morning, and my entire feeling toward it changed. I read this book over three days while waiting for my phone to tell me which of my friends had lost […]

Two siblings and their adventure

Afar by Leila del Duca, Kit Seaton and Taneka Stotts

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I realized I had read Afar by Leila del Duca, Kit Seaton and Taneka Stotts a few pages in. However, when I went to put the book in my counting site, I lost my notes/rating/etc. From before for it. Therefore, I am not sure what my original thoughts were. I do remember enjoying it, but obviously not enough to remember I had read it before. Then, I only remembered a few parts making it more of a first time read and anything that was familiar […]

The hope of space

Arca by Van Jensen, Jesse Lonergan (Illustrator)

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) by Martha Wells

Ark (Forward) by Veronica Roth

How It Unfolds (The Far Reaches, #1) by James S.A. Corey

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I often don’t have time for full epic novels, so often turn to science fiction short stories and graphic novels. They can blow my mind with intriguing premises and characters. Unintentionally I kept turning to space stories that explored future possibilities for humanity. I like how novellas and short stories allow dipping my toes into the works of some heavy hitters of sci-fi. Arca is a graphic novel written by Van Jensen and illustrated by Jesse Lonergan. In this story, we meet teenage workers who […]

A fantasy zoo that is a love letter to the importance of conservation

The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean

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First and very importantly, Thank You CoffeeShopReader!  I thoroughly enjoyed The Phoenix Keeper.  It was a perfect book to close out a year that required lighter reading due to life challenges.  Also there was an added layer of fun as the zoo and location were clearly inspired by San Diego and our world famous zoo. As phoenix keeper at the magical San Tamculo Zoo, Aila is close to achieving a lifelong dream.  Overseeing a breeding pair of critically endangered Silimalo phoenixes and helping to bring them […]



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