Cannonball Read 11

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Good mothers are a gift…

The Changeling by Victor Lavalle

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In my long standing tradition of judging a book by the cover, I grabbed this book based on both title AND cover. The premise sounded interesting: a dark fairy tale take on postpartum depression. In the end, I found a trippy book full of all kinds of weirdness that was more than the sum of its parts. The protagonist, Apollo, is the child of a Ugandan refugee and a New York parole officer. Raised by a single mother after his father disappears, Apollo becomes interested in books when he begins selling used magazines to his neighbors for pocket money. Eventually, […]

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3/19/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 4 |

London is drowning and I live by the river

Lies Sleeping (Rivers of London #7) by Peter Aaronovitch

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When pressed, I’ll tell people I don’t like fantasy. This claim is usually followed by a list of exceptions. I like Neil Gaiman. I like Harry Potter. I also like the Rivers of London-series by Ben Aaronovitch. The rest of the genre is, as they say, not my cup of tea. No offense to you fantasy lovers, but it just doesn’t do much for me. The suspension of disbelief required is, apparently, too big a leap. One of the reasons I do like these books, though, is that Aaronovitch is very good at making the incredible, credible. Lies Sleeping is […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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1/24/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 6 |

And so I have now given Brandon Sanderson three stars.

Lies of the Beholder (Legion, #3) by Brandon Sanderson

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Well, I suppose it had to happen sometime. I’m rating a Brandon Sanderson book less than four stars. He’s written about five million of them, so statistically this was a very likely outcome, eventually. And now it has, and we can all move on with our lives. I really enjoyed the first two novellas in this series. The premise is great (a genius who has schizophrenia channels his illness into the creation of imaginary people who he calls aspects, all of whom are experts in one field or another). And it was so fun seeing it in action in the […]

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11/29/2018 | Post by

A story about a flea, and also about how magic and fantasy are taken away from us

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane is two things: it’s a fantasy story about a seven year old boy who encounters some terrible, unbelievable things, as well as some wonderful, unbelievable things. It’s also a neat little ode to childhood and commentary on growing up. The unnamed narrator returns to his childhood home, which isn’t even there any longer, to attend a funeral, and finds himself taking a diversionary trip to the farm at the end of the lane. He vaguely remembers there being a pond that the girl who once lived there called an ocean, and as […]

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9/26/2016 | Post by

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Language of Spells by Sarah Painter

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The Language of Spells is a serviceable lite-fantasy story that I breezed through very quickly, but lacks staying power. The main character, Gwen Harper, is from a family that demonstrates magical abilities — hexes, spells, card reading, and certain individual talents manifest themselves in Gwen, her mother, and her great aunt Iris (notably not her sister, Ruby.) When Gwen learns that recently deceased Iris has left her a house in her name, in a small town that her family had lived in but left when she was in her late teens, she’s wary of returning, but does so initially just […]

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4/6/2016 | Post by

I know the birds were supposed to be important because the title said so

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

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All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders is a perfectly cromulent novel. But there’s nothing about it that set my soul on fire. To be perfectly honest, I’m not really sure why it won the Emperor Norton award. It’s a fine novel, but I didn’t see anything that would be “extraordinary invention and creativity unhindered by the constraints of paltry reason.” in the novel. The plot follows Patricia and Lawrence from childhood through adulthood. Lawrence is a science geek and an inventor. Patricia is a witch. It’s set a couple of years in the future (actually, I […]

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3/6/2016 | Post by

Holden Caulfield Goes to Hogwarts

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

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Did you ever wonder about those white-haired, cynical wizards in fantasy stories? The ones that show up at strange times and disappear right when their magic would be most beneficial? Did you ever wonder what their backstory was? Me neither, but apparently Lev Grossman did. I wish I could take credit for the “Holden Caulfield goes to Hogwarts” thing, but I stole that from a friend of a friend. It’s fitting.  The main character, Quentin Coldwater, is about seventeen at the start of the book.  He’s in love with his best female friend who is – of course – dating […]

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1/12/2016 | Post by

Teenagers work through their grief

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

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I can’t remember how this book got on my wish list. I haven’t read anything else by Meg Wolitzer. I generally stay with young adult books and she is more known for her adult books than this YA one. In any case, I put Belzhar on my list at some point and it became available recently. I had no idea what to expect, but was quickly drawn into a world of troubled teens. The story is told from perspective of a high school student named Jam. After the loss of her boyfriend, she has trouble coping and is sent to […]

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12/30/2015 | Post by


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