Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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History behind “The New Colossus”

What Emma Wrote: The Woman Behind the Words on the Statue of Liberty by Ann D. Koffsky and N. Tarcan

February 9, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

What Emma Wrote: The Woman Behind the Words on the Statue of Liberty by Ann D. Koffsky (Ann Diament Koffsky) and illustrator N. Tarcan   While I was not WOWed by this story, I was warm and cozy with it. It was a nice story, a good introduction to the subject and made me want to learn more about the woman who is the Emma of the title. Both the text and illustrations give off comfortable vibes The publisher’s description says “with its poetic message” […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Fiction, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: 19th century, american, Ann D. Koffsky, Ann D. Koffsky and N. Tarcan, Ann Diament Koffsky, Emma Lazarus, Immigration, N. Tarcan, poets, social reformers, Social Themes, Statue of Liberty, The New Colossus, women

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:46 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Fiction, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry · Tags: 19th century, american, Ann D. Koffsky, Ann D. Koffsky and N. Tarcan, Ann Diament Koffsky, Emma Lazarus, Immigration, N. Tarcan, poets, social reformers, Social Themes, Statue of Liberty, The New Colossus, women ·
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“To call them the weaker sex is to utter a hideous mockery. They are the stronger sex, the nosier, the more persevering, the most self-assertive sex.”

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

January 11, 2026 by Pooja Leave a Comment

The lovely second Lady Audley is most fortunate, having been elevated in the world from governess to peeress by her marriage to the rich and doting Sir Audley. But, as Sir Audley’s nephew Robert will soon learn, she has a dangerous secret which she will go to any lengths to conceal. Lady Audley’s Secret belongs to the genre of  Victorian ‘sensation novels’ be, which ar a precursor to the more openly violent pulp novels which were popular in the 20th century. Previously I’ve read a […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: 19th century, classics, crime, Fiction, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, mystery, Suspense, Victorian

Pooja's CBR18 Review No:3 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction, Mystery · Tags: 19th century, classics, crime, Fiction, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, mystery, Suspense, Victorian ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“We had no shield. I had to become one.”

Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley

December 7, 2025 by Pooja Leave a Comment

After the death of her husband and the coup ousting her family from power in the new nation of Hayti, Queen Marie-Louise Christophe and her daughters flee to Europe, where they must learn how to navigate a racist society as Black royalty. I’ve been excited to read this book, because it follows a woman and an area of history I’m not familiar with, and because as a Black monarch, I knew Louise would provide a radically new perspective on the Regency period, which I’ve read […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History Tagged With: #history, 19th century, ARC, europe, Haiti, historical, NetGalley, royalty, Vanessa Riley

Pooja's CBR17 Review No:77 · Genres: Fiction, History · Tags: #history, 19th century, ARC, europe, Haiti, historical, NetGalley, royalty, Vanessa Riley ·
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· 0 Comments

“She writes that she will walk across the ocean to be with her lover. He sees this, not as a declaration of love, but as a statement of a single-mindedness so total that a kind of grandeur creeps into it.”

In Pursuit of Love: A Journey in the Footsteps of Obsession by Mark Bostridge

August 31, 2025 by Pooja Leave a Comment

CBR17 Bingo: I – Re: the title. Victor Hugo was the most famous writer in the world when his daughter, Adèle, left their home in Guernsey on a years-long mad pursuit of a former lover. Centuries later, author Mark Bostridge retraces her steps and tries to understand her obsession in the prism of his own life. I have not seen acclaimed 1975 film The Story of Adele H., so this was my first real acquaintance with the strange life of Adèle Hugo, whose story was […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Non-Fiction Tagged With: #biography, #history, #memoir, 19th century, ARC, cbr17bingo, Mark Bostridge, mental illness, NetGalley

Pooja's CBR17 Review No:50 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Non-Fiction · Tags: #biography, #history, #memoir, 19th century, ARC, cbr17bingo, Mark Bostridge, mental illness, NetGalley ·
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La Parisienne

The Ladies' Paradise by Émile Zola

Nana by Émile Zola

June 28, 2025 by Pooja Leave a Comment

The Ladies’ Paradise – 4 stars Denise Baudu comes dirt-poor to Paris with her younger brothers to work at her uncle’s shop, but instead goes to work at its greatest competitor – the ever-growing department store the Ladies’ Paradise, presided over by the Great Seducer Octave Mouret, who falls in love with Denise only to find out she may be one of the only things in the world he cannot buy. I was in the mood for a Victorian novel, but none of the usual […]

Filed Under: Featured, Fiction Tagged With: 19th century, classics, Émile Zola, France, french literature

Pooja's CBR17 Review No:34 · Genres: Featured, Fiction · Tags: 19th century, classics, Émile Zola, France, french literature ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

1880s romance and human rights

Renegade Girls by Nora Neus and Julie Robine

June 6, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When I started the Nora Neus and Julie Robine graphic novel, Renegade Girls, I was not enjoying it. Things felt too simple, romanticized, not original and terribly slow paced. I already knew the ending. Or so I thought. Granted, there was the obvious ending (if you are paying attention) but things did not take the obvious path to get there. We have a realistic look at the troubles of the factor workers and we see the ugly but it is not gratuitous. In fact, if […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: 19th century, Alice Austen, Children, civil rights, employee rights, factory workers, female photography, female reporters, human rights, Julie Robine, LGBTQ, Nell Nelson, Nora Neus, Nora Neus and Julie Robine, photography, reporters, social classes, Social Themes, stunt girl journalists, stunt girls

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:292 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: 19th century, Alice Austen, Children, civil rights, employee rights, factory workers, female photography, female reporters, human rights, Julie Robine, LGBTQ, Nell Nelson, Nora Neus, Nora Neus and Julie Robine, photography, reporters, social classes, Social Themes, stunt girl journalists, stunt girls ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • BlackRaven
    on So close
    It makes me wonder about The Silence of the Wilting Skin. What seems to be the first book.
  • Kyra
    on I think I’m finally ready to quit you
    I've read every other book in the series and I couldn't get through this one at all, it reads like...
  • narfna
    on I think I’m finally ready to quit you
    Interesting. I could not fathom writing about the same characters in the same way for that long.
  • vega-table
    on So close
    Yeah. Hopefully the next book is all polished.
  • Readsalot obooks
    on The Maid: this book was not good
    Agree. The mistreatment is more a reflection of her social station and compliant behavior at her job and not because...
See More Recent Comments »

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