Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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If you ever wanted to hear LeVar Burton say the phrase “sweet and salty love”, then this is the collection for YOU!

The Visit by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor

2043...A Merman I Should Turn to Be by Nisi Shawl

These Alien Skies by C.T. Rwizi

Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson

We Travel the Spaceways by Victor LaValle

March 2, 2022 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

You can hear LeVar say lots of other things, if you like! You can also hear Nyambi Nyambi, Naomi Ackie, Indya Moore, Adenrele Ojo, and Brian Tyree Henry! The six-entry Black Stars collection is another new(ish) group of short stories available from Amazon Originals. They are available on both kindle and through audible, and if you are interested in diving into this collection then I highly recommend taking the audio route! Every story is enhanced by the audio performances, and I am sure that I rated […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: Adenrele Ojo, african diaspora, amazon original stories, Amazon Originals, andtheIToldYouSos, Black Stars, Black Stars collection, black voices, Brian Tyree Henry, C.T. Rwizi, canadian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, djinn, feminism, Indya Moore, Islam, LeVar Burton, lgtbqia, Nalo Hopkinson, Naomi Ackie, nisi shawl, Nnedi Okorafor, Nyambi Nyambi, religious extremism, technology, timbuktu, tradition, Victor LaValle

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR14 Review No:13 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction · Tags: Adenrele Ojo, african diaspora, amazon original stories, Amazon Originals, andtheIToldYouSos, Black Stars, Black Stars collection, black voices, Brian Tyree Henry, C.T. Rwizi, canadian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, djinn, feminism, Indya Moore, Islam, LeVar Burton, lgtbqia, Nalo Hopkinson, Naomi Ackie, nisi shawl, Nnedi Okorafor, Nyambi Nyambi, religious extremism, technology, timbuktu, tradition, Victor LaValle ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

cbr12bingo – Repeat (and TWO Bingos!)

Luster by Raven Leilani

September 13, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Raven Leilani has exploded into the scene like the chestburster in Alien. Fully-formed, unapologetic, covered in blood, and completely in control while annihilating the guts of a mediocre man. Luster has been racking up well-deserved accolades, and I truly cannot wait to see what she does next- although I am relieved that this is her debut, and there isn’t a back catalog waiting to destroy me hiding just out of view. Not only is her work fantastic, but it also allows me to knock two “bingos” (Money, […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction Tagged With: adulthood, Ariel Blake, art, bingo, black voices, cbr12bingo, debut novel, failure, family, generational trauma, New York City, open marriage, Racism, Raven Leilani, repeat square, sex, UnCannon

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR12 Review No:100 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction · Tags: adulthood, Ariel Blake, art, bingo, black voices, cbr12bingo, debut novel, failure, family, generational trauma, New York City, open marriage, Racism, Raven Leilani, repeat square, sex, UnCannon ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

‘Geoffrey’s mum told us “If you take a hen’s egg from under her and she just looks at you and doesn’t do anything, put that egg back.” Peace and quiet is a sign that something’s wrong. Peace and quiet is like a broken response, a sign of people in pieces.’

The Opposite House by Helen Oyeyemi

July 28, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Helen Oyeyemi is a story teller. Her work is steeped in religion, folklore, and mythology. Her characters breathe prayer and power. She will grab your attention quick, and send your spiraling through your own identity. Her stories whip in and out of the fantastic; one moment a character is studying for an exam, and the next they are overcome by the power of an ancient healer. She is one of my favorite authors. She’s absolute magic. I picked up What is Not Yours is Not Yours when […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Religion Tagged With: african diaspora, black voices, catholocism, cuban revolution, family, folklore, Helen Oyeyemi, identity, immigrant experience, magical realism, Motherhood, santeria, yoruba

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR12 Review No:81 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Religion · Tags: african diaspora, black voices, catholocism, cuban revolution, family, folklore, Helen Oyeyemi, identity, immigrant experience, magical realism, Motherhood, santeria, yoruba ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Too Much and Too Little

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

June 18, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Rivers Solomon tells an unflinching tale of slavery and survival, set in a future that is horrifically similar to both America’s dreadful past and terrible present. They sugarcoat nothing; what else would you expect from a story that starts with a gruesome amputation? I have to applaud Solomon for writing a brutal and gut wrenching story. They shout out the horrors of racism, giving graphic depictions of brutality. Black women are tortured, raped, and publicly executed, and Solomon makes you stare at these scenes of […]

Filed Under: Book Club, Fiction, Science Fiction Tagged With: black voices, CannonBookClub, dystopian future, LGTBQI, nonbinary voices, Racism, religious extremism, Rivers Solomon, Slavery, The Future is Queer, violence

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR12 Review No:60 · Genres: Book Club, Fiction, Science Fiction · Tags: black voices, CannonBookClub, dystopian future, LGTBQI, nonbinary voices, Racism, religious extremism, Rivers Solomon, Slavery, The Future is Queer, violence ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“A civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless.”

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

June 14, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos 1 Comment

If we- and now I mean the relatively conscious whites and the relatively conscious blacks, who must, like lovers, insist on, or create, the consciousness of the others- do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world It is time to listen. James Baldwin had a voice unlike any other. He transcends country, creed, and time. His work is astonishing and terribly important. The […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Biography/Memoir, History, Non-Fiction, Religion Tagged With: American History, Anti-Racism, Black History, black voices, Civil Rights Movement, essays, James Baldwin, Jesse L Martin, poc, post WWII America, Race, race in america, Racism, Religion, Social Justice

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR12 Review No:58 · Genres: Audiobooks, Biography/Memoir, History, Non-Fiction, Religion · Tags: American History, Anti-Racism, Black History, black voices, Civil Rights Movement, essays, James Baldwin, Jesse L Martin, poc, post WWII America, Race, race in america, Racism, Religion, Social Justice ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment


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