Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search

California fairy tale dreamin’

The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block

by 1 Comment

The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block is an early 2000s reimagining of classic fairy tales set in “modern” Los Angeles. Block adapts nine of our most famous European fairy tales, each from the perspective of the young woman at its center. Some are narrated first-person and immediate, some are told in a more fable-esque tone. Each title is just a single word, and while some titles clearly indicate the tale they’re retelling, a couple are vague, which was fun to figure out […]

“I know you’re out of practice, Shiloh, but the point of bringing men home isn’t to argue with them.”

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

by Leave a Comment

4.5 stars Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Plants or flowers on the cover Cary and Shiloh were best friends in high school. They saw each other every day, told each other everything, and were utterly inseparable. Everyone thought they were in love and would end up together, but by graduation, they’re still just friends. Both come from unstable family environments and dream of getting out of Omaha. Shiloh is going to college to become an actress and Cary has joined the Navy. Once Cary finishes boot […]

CBR15 Bingo: North America

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

by Leave a Comment

CBR15 Bingo: North America I’ve been hearing about this book since it came out. So many people I know on the internet and whose opinions I trust have read, reviewed and absolutely loved it. So I feel bad only rating it four stars, but for all that that the story and the characters appealed to me, there was something that kept making me prioritise other things over listening more to the audio book, and I never really fully emotionally connected with this one. There are […]

If the improv form Harold were depressing and tragic

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

by 3 Comments

BINGO – SHELFIE There is a long form improv format called the Harold. Boiled down, improvisors create three distinct story lines that, throughout the run time of the show, weave together into a single story. All of the seemingly disparate characters and story lines are actually all connected in hilarious and often ludicrous ways, and everyone has a great time. (If you feel comfortable doing so, I encourage you to find a local improv troupe that performs the Harold because it’s a hoot; definitely my […]

The very human connection between a young woman and an alien

Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

by Leave a Comment

The year is 2007. Fergie’s latest single is playing on the radio and Bush is president. I wasn’t expecting so many cultural references in Axiom’s End, but the first chapter along sent me spiraling back to my 17 self in junior year of high school. Thankfully, the cultural references stop there, lest this book turn into a derivative of Ready Player One. Cora is just trying to make it in LA. She helps raise her two younger siblings with her mom. Their dad, Nils, complicates […]

cbr12bingo – Yellow (and the close of a ten-part series)

Stop in the Name of Pants! by Louise Rennison

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison

by Leave a Comment

Well friends, we have come to the end of my re-adventures with the misadventures of Miss Georgia Nicolson! I thought, incorrectly of course, that it would be a fight to finish this series. I bought it during an “online shopping under the influence” session, and I thought that it would be a bit of a laugh down memory lane- but one that ended far short of the destination. When the ten-book set bounced onto my porch one morning, my first thought was “what have I […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo