Cannonball Read 10

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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“But rules were never the point. It was finding out who you were.”

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

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“Rules of Magic: Do as you will, but harm no one. What you give will be returned to you threefold. Fall in love whenever you can. I read Practical Magic earlier this year and was enamored by how much I liked the book despite its vast differences with the movie adaptation I’d grown up with. Hoffman published this prequel last year and it is a great stand alone novel and an adequate companion piece. My biggest complaint about prequels is authors trying to shoehorn the story they want to tell into a timeline they’ve already established. I have some small quibbles but […]

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7/17/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:79 |

“There’s a little witch in all of us.”

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

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I loved Practical Magic as a kid and it was routinely watched in our household. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman! Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing! Magic! Romance! Dancing to “you put the lime in the coconut!” What is there not to like?! The novel the movie is based on, also called Practical Magic, is completely different than the movie. I think if I had read the novel first I would have been really upset about the movie adaptation but reading it after seeing the movie so many times I come to find myself liking the film and the book as two separate entities. “Always throw spilled […]

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5/24/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:62 |

Alice is the same…maybe I’ve changed?

Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman

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I used to say that Alice Hoffman was one of my favorite authors. “Used to” as in have always, ever since I first fell in love with the book “Practical Magic,” which is SO much better than the movie, which is really damn good it its own right, but for the record, only covers about 1/3 of the content of the book. Initially in my late teens I read her books with a voracious appetite, and regularly recommend her to others.  There are elements of magical realism present, be it ghosts, or people with powers, or just mysterious elements that […]

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5/2/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:18 |

Coney Island Love Story

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

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There are certain settings I think automatically lead to interesting stories worth exploring. Two of them are early 20th century New York and ‘freak shows.’ Alice Hoffman’s The Museum of Extraordinary Things takes both of these on. Museum is the story of Coralie, a talented swimmer playing mermaid in her father’s museum of unusual people, animals and artifacts, and Eddie, a Russian Jewish immigrant with a serious chip on his shoulder and a talent for photography. There are many things I disliked about this novel, so let’s start with what I do think worked. The overall story is compelling, or […]

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10/12/2017 's CBR9 Review No:24 |

A Worthy Tribute

Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury by Sam Weller (Editor), Mort Castle (Editor), Margaret Atwood , Dave Eggers, Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman , Joe Hill, Alice Hoffman , Kelly Link, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Audrey Niffenegger , Ray Bradbury, Jay Bonansinga , David Morrell ,Thomas F. Monteleone , Lee Martin, Dan Chaon, John McNally , Joe Meno , Robert McCammon, Ramsey Campbell, John Maclay, Gary A. Braunbeck, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Charles Yu, Julia Keller, Bayo Ojikutu

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I’m a huge fan of Ray Bradbury, but I actually found this in the process of hunting down a copy of Joe Hill’s By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain, which is included in this collection. Pretty much every story here is a winner, though, and definitely worth reading for Bradbury fans. Here’s a full list of everything included. I particularly enjoyed Lee Martin’s Cat on a Bad Couch, Jacqueline Mitchard’s Two Of A Kind, Charles Yu’s Earth: (A Gift Shop) and Julia Keller’s Hayleigh’s Dad. Overall, though, there aren’t any duds. And I really liked how each author followed up his or her story with a little afterword explaining the […]

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Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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10/24/2016 's CBR8 Review No:213 |

Mothers and Daughters and Meh

Fortune's Daughter by Alice Hoffman

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Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors, so I was eager to tackle this one, and yet, meh. Two mothers, one who put her daughter up for adoption and has carried the secret with her (Lila), and one who is facing an unplanned pregnancy (Rae) have their lives interwoven through serendipitous means. This is a tale of tragedy, hope, and forgiveness, and how small missteps can irrevocably change the lives of our protagonists, and those around them. Magical realism is usually my jam, but I found these elements this time around to be forced and, well, kind of annoying. […]

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Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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3/24/2016 's CBR8 Review No:6 |

Magical realism that falls flat

Illumination Night by Alice Hoffman

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I do not have an issue with magical realism in books; in fact, I enjoy it. Isabel Allende and Sarah Addison Allen both use it — in very different ways — to add spark and dimension to their novels. Alice Hoffman’s Illumination Night, by contrast, seems weighed down by it — or maybe that was just the utterly depressing story. “He fell in love with the way she closed her eyes, long before he fell in love with her.” In Martha’s Vineyard, we’re introduced to a collection of either dull or pitiful characters, all of whom constantly make bad decisions. For instance, […]

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2/2/2016 's CBR8 Review No:18 |

A Strange Romance in Early 20th Century New York

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

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Alice Hoffman’s The Museum of Extraordinary Things tells the story of Coralie, a “mermaid” girl forced to perform in her father’s freak show on Coney Island, and Eddie, who made his living for years by finding people, and has been tasked to find another young girl after a horrible disaster. Coralie and Eddie meet, and things change forever. “You are the one who taught me that love was never what we expected it to be and that it was all we needed. For that, and for a thousand other things, I send my gratitude.” Coralie’s father runs The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a […]

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Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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7/31/2015 's CBR7 Review No:141 |


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