Cannonball Read 18

When am I going to learn just to read?

My Grandma the Chameleon by Maria Lofgren

The Together Treehouse by Michael Engler and Joëlle Tourlonias

April 16, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When am I going to learn that I will just need to read a book without second guessing my choice? Two books I did this too are My Grandma the Chameleon and The Together Treehouse. The first, My Grandma the Chameleon by Maria Lofgren had me, “Do I want to read this? Maybe… nah… well, oookay…” Now, … [Read more]

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:109 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Mystery · Tags: animals, Building & Construction, family, friendship, grandchildren, grandmothers, Imagination & Play, Maria Lofgren, Michael Engler and Joëlle Tourlonias, Michael Englerm Joëlle Tourlonias, Multigenerational, Reptiles & Amphibians, Social Themes ·

When Lovecraft… Spills the Tea?

The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross

April 16, 2026 by LittlePlat Leave a Comment

When writing about The Atrocity Archives, I mentioned that the friend who first recommended The Laundry Files to me didn’t do me the grace of recommending the first book, but rather a later one. That book was The Fuller Memorandum, and I suspect because it was the first book I read, it’ll always be … [Read more]

LittlePlat's CBR18 Review No:8 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: #fantasy, charles stross, crunchy and good with ketchup, Laundry, Laundry Files, Lovecraftian horrors, Satire, SysAdmin, TEAPOT ·

Lovely Relationship Between Grandmother and Granddaughter

The Summer Book by Tove Jannson, translated by Thomas Teal

April 15, 2026 by Tracy 2 Comments

This was a lovely little book that's a quick read and also occasionally, and unexpectedly, made me laugh out loud. Translated from Finnish, it's the story of young Sophia and her grandmother, told in vignette form. They spend their summers on one of the many Finnish islands. Sophia's father is there … [Read more]

Tracy's CBR18 Review No:26 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Thomas Teal, Tove Jannson, translated by Thomas Teal, Tove Jansson, translated fiction ·

It’s okay to say No

A Million YES's by DJ Corchin and Dan Dougherty

April 15, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

A Million YES's by DJ Corchin and Dan Dougherty is currently available, but I read it via an online reader copy. It is an interesting book on self-care. Not so much the theme, we have read the idea of taking care of yourself and your health (mental and physical before), even in picture books, but … [Read more]

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:107 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health · Tags: Concepts, Dan Dougherty, DJ Corchin, DJ Corchin and Dan Dougherty, emotions, Feelings, self-esteem, Self-Reliance, Social Themes ·

Getting your vroom on

Sarabeth's Garage by Melanie Florence and Nadia Alam

April 15, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Once again, I found a book that I almost did not read. I was going through online reader copy links and Sarabeth's Garage by Melanie Florence popped up. It had a funny looking cover, realistic, but overly cartoon based. It was colorful and okay, but not “grabbing me.” Still I was looking at … [Read more]

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:106 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: Business, Careers, cars, family, garages, Girls & Women, grandmothers, mechanics, Melanie Florence, Melanie Florence and Nadia Alam, Nadia Alam, Occupations, Transportation ·

Magical Historical Fiction

The Antidote by Karen Russel

April 15, 2026 by G.D. Giant 2 Comments

From the afterword/Lost Land Acknowledgement by Dr. James Riding In: “The Antidote uses fantastical conceits to illuminate the holes in people’s private and collective memories, the willful omissions passed down generation to generation, and the myths that have been used by the U.S. government and … [Read more]

G.D. Giant's CBR18 Review No:6 · Genres: Fiction, History · Tags: American History, anticolonialism, historical fiction, Karen Russel, magical realism, Native Lands, Nebraska, the great depression, The Great Plains, witches ·

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