Cannonball Read 15

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Ladies loving ladies and sucking blood in 1872.

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

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30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 2 Book 11/30 This sure was something, I tell you what. Before I get to the actual review, I do want to say that I am specifically referring to the version edited by Carmen Maria Machado, with an introduction and footnotes by her. Both things fundamentally changed the experience of reading this. I am still boggled in the mind that this is a book about lesbian vampires and their young female victims being seduced, and it was written in […]

These were 100% cover reads, but they (mostly) ended up being great!

The Tiger Came to the Mountains (The Trespass Collection, #1) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Wildlife (The Trespass Collection, #2) by Jeff VanderMeer

The Backbone of the World (The Trespass Collection, #3) by Stephen Graham Jones

Stag (The Trespass Collection, #4) by Karen Russell

A Righteous Man (The Trespass Collection, #5) by Tochi Onyebuchi

Bloody Summer (The Trespass Collection, #6) by Carmen Maria Machado

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As mentioned in this post’s title, I saw these covers and immediately went OOOOH. Click click click. Free? Okay! Also, the idea of various genres of story that deal with nature and wildlife clashing with humans appeals to me. I did four of them by audio, and all four narrators were excellent (even for the one I two-starred), and two by Kindle. If you have Prime, they are free for you. Some of them really surprised me! “Wildlife,” by Jeff VanderMeer — 2 STARS This […]

This metaphor is a metaphor for my metaphor.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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This is a really tough one for me to review, and not because of the subject matter. I wasn’t drawn to this one on my own, but picked it up because one of my real life book clubs chose it for January. I did the audio because it was available on SCRIBD, a service I already pay for, and I didn’t have time to do the hard copy with my already packed January TBR. This turned out to be a mistake, I think, though not […]

Sex, death, and queerness: a delightfully horrifying collection

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

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BINGO – Reader’s Choice in place of Home In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado has compiled eight short stories that are all unabashedly queer and horrifying. Much like Mariana Enriquez, another Latina short story horror writer I’ve read this year, Machado erases the line between the natural and supernatural. Magical realism floods every sentence. Whereas Enriquez’s stories tend to focus on social structures and politics, Machado focuses on sex and gender identity. In these short stories, Machado manages to illicit dread and […]

Not My Favorite

Her Body & Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

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BINGO: Myths: The first short story is a clever retelling of urban legends. Best for: People who like a bit of sex with their short stories. In a nutshell: A collection of essays exploring womanhood. Worth quoting: ‘ “Do you hate my body, Mom?” she says. Her voice splinters in pain, as if she were about to cry. “You hated yours, clearly, but mine looks just like yours used to, so—“ ‘ Why I chose it: Recommended at my Book Spa appointment. Review: Some of […]

A raging fire that begins to surface

The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado

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Bingo: Gateway TW for the book: rape, sexual assault, stereotypical red-headed pimpled misogynistic teenage boys. If creepy settings, queer POC characters, and reckoning with sexual assault are your thing, this is your book. I went into this comic TP completely blind, having picked it up only because I knew Carmen Maria Machado was the writer behind it. Machado can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned, she’s a stunning writer. El and Vee are best friends living in the town of Shudder-To-Think, Pennsylvania, where […]



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