Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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“And even sadness was also something for rich people, for people who could afford it, for people who didn’t have anything better to do. Sadness was a luxury.”

The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

February 13, 2026 by Pooja Leave a Comment

An author tries to tell the story of a poor young woman called Macabeá, who despite her wretched circumstances does not seem to understand how unhappy she should be. I picked this book because I read a review by someone else on Goodreads that said this is a bit like if Sybil Trelawney from Harry Potter wrote a book, though I will argue after reading that Lispector, unlike Trelawney, knows exactly what she’s about. (The other thing I know about Lispector is that she wrote […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Brazil, Clarice Lispector, classics, Fiction, literary, novella

Pooja's CBR18 Review No:12 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Brazil, Clarice Lispector, classics, Fiction, literary, novella ·
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That feeling

Saudade: Our Longing for Brazil, by Ana Crespo and André Ceolin

January 8, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Older books are just as good as a current book or a future publication book. Because, Hello … BOOK! Books are things we long for! Hope for! Need! Now, I am not sure if it fits the definition of saudade (a word that has no real direct to English translation, but basically means “an intense longing for something or someone.”) What is saudade, is the mothers feeling in the story Saudade: Our Longing for Brazil, for the things she left behind in Brazil. Ana Crespo, […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health Tagged With: Ana Crespo, Ana Crespo and André Ceolin, André Ceolin, Brazil, Caribbean & Latin America, Concepts, emotions, family, Feelings, Mothers and daughters, Places, Portuguese Americans, Social Themes, Vocabulary

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:21 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health · Tags: Ana Crespo, Ana Crespo and André Ceolin, André Ceolin, Brazil, Caribbean & Latin America, Concepts, emotions, family, Feelings, Mothers and daughters, Places, Portuguese Americans, Social Themes, Vocabulary ·
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Stop being so…. gay

Blessed Cure by Mário Oliveira

October 11, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Triggers in Blessed Cure by Mário Oliveira include, but are not limited to: homophobia, homophobic language, homophobic actions, beatings, sexual images of genitalia and acts, prostitution, transphobia.  One man’s life from the 1960s to the 1990s (with the potential for a “now” setting) unfolds as he does everything in his power to not be “so gay.” (Which is  the nicest thing he is called in the book.) From parents blaming each other, doctors blaming parents, the church blaming everyone (especially the mother) to the man […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Non-Fiction, Religion, Romance Tagged With: Brazil, gender, Homophobia, identity, LGBTQ, Mário Oliveira, Social Themes, webcomics

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:482 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Non-Fiction, Religion, Romance · Tags: Brazil, gender, Homophobia, identity, LGBTQ, Mário Oliveira, Social Themes, webcomics ·
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Interactive board books around the world

Bruno Builder Bakes Bread (Mix-And-Match). by Nelleke Verhoeff

Our World: Brazil by Ana Siqueira

Our World: Italy by Francesca Di Marzo

May 12, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I like the company Barefoot Books. And I have a book dealer there. She sends me some finished copies. I like her. A lot. And this time she sent me three new board books. Two are from the Our Worlds series, and one is a standalone interactive book. Starting with the interactive book, Bruno Builder Bakes Bread (Mix-And-Match). The traditional board book sized book is split in the middle. It has the Builder on top and on the bottom a bakers stand with bread being […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Ana Siqueira, board book, Brazil, Francesca Di Marzo, interactive, Italy, Nadia Mazzenga, Naida Mazzenga, Nelleke Verhoeff, world

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:337 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Non-Fiction · Tags: Ana Siqueira, board book, Brazil, Francesca Di Marzo, interactive, Italy, Nadia Mazzenga, Naida Mazzenga, Nelleke Verhoeff, world ·
Rating:
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We are the World

Our World: Italy by Francesca Di Marzo

Our World: Mexico by Cynthia Harmony

Our World: Brazil by Ana Siqueira

Our World: India by Meera Sriram

November 7, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Our World: Italy by Francesca Di Marzo, Our World: Mexico by Cynthia Harmony, Our World: Brazil by Ana Siqueira and Our World: India by Meera Sriram have two things in common. The first, they are awesome books and second, they are about the world aimed at the young reader/listener.  Some are already published, while others are coming within the next few months. The stories follow the culture, language and more in a small format. The authors and illustrators (while the illustrations are similar to each […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Ana Matsusaki, Ana Siqueira, Brazil, Children, Claudia Navarro, Cynthia Harmony, Francesca Di Marzo, India, Italy, Meera Sriram, mexico, Naida Mazzenga, Neethi, travel, world

BlackRaven's CBR14 Review No:548 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Non-Fiction · Tags: Ana Matsusaki, Ana Siqueira, Brazil, Children, Claudia Navarro, Cynthia Harmony, Francesca Di Marzo, India, Italy, Meera Sriram, mexico, Naida Mazzenga, Neethi, travel, world ·
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Sinister tidings and true love

Crema by Johnnie Christmas

August 3, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Crema is the kind of graphic novel that I should like, but something was falling flat for me. Maybe it was the fact I have read a lot of graphic novels recently and it is time for a break. Or maybe I have read a lot of GLBTQ+ books (which are great, but sometimes I need to cleanse the palette). Maybe it is actually a bad book and/or story. Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind while reading. Maybe I was in the […]

Filed Under: Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: Baristas, Brazil, Dante Luiz, ghosts, glbtq, Johnnie Christmas, Paranormal comics, Ryan Ferrier

BlackRaven's CBR14 Review No:431 · Genres: Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: Baristas, Brazil, Dante Luiz, ghosts, glbtq, Johnnie Christmas, Paranormal comics, Ryan Ferrier ·
Rating:
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