Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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This in’t about adoption

Mother Nature by Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Goldman and Karl Stevens

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SOME SPOILERS and possible triggers (but not as many as are in the book). Sometimes I wonder if people like something because they are “supposed to.” We are “supposed to” like a story about environmentalism. We are “supposed to” like something because the character(s) are of a minority (in Mother Nature by Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Goldman, and illustrator Karl Stevens they are Native, two characters are queer, and at least two other people are of color). But that does not mean the book will […]

“Nightmares do come true, but never in the shape you expect.”

Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams

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Shoutout to BookPage, the free monthly magazine found at all my local libraries, for recommending Taylor Adams’ Hairpin Bridge. This isn’t a book I would have picked up on my own, so it was exciting to expand my horizons with new-to-me author and a darker read than I’m used to. Overall this was a well-written, taut thriller with something meaningful to say about grief. The story begins like all good stories – in a diner. Lena Nguyen, a loner in her twenties, is seeking closure […]

Old Oak falls and the next chapter

Thank You, Old Oak by Britt Crow-Miller and Amy Schimler-Safford

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What makes you pick up a book to read? I have many reasons, but with Thank You, Old Oak by Britt Crow-Miller and Amy Schimler-Safford (illustrator) there were three main reasons. First, I had a copy in front of me. This picture book was available and it had/has a nice cover so I was drawn to it. Two, I enjoy Barefoot Press books. I do not always love them, but I do appreciate them. And finally there was a piece of the title or the […]

“HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.”

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

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The philosopher Didactylos has summed up an alternative hypothesis as “Things just happen. What the hell”. There are some things that are Holiday traditions in my house; watching more versions of A Christmas Carol than is probably healthy, as well as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and The Hogfather (seriously, the show is as good as the book). Baking copious amounts of cookies (and Guinness gingerbread loaves, blasting an over 1,000 song-long playlist, driving around seeing the lights, more hot chocolate […]

Losing Tom Hart’s heart

Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir by Tom Hart

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Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir by Tom Hart is an interesting look at grief. The author’s self-centered approach (meaning he is the center of the grief, how things around him come into his circle of emotions and trying to live) is both relatable and unique to his own experiences. Anyone who has lost a child (regardless of the age) can find parts of themselves. Seeing how weeks to a few months after the death of his almost two-year-old daughter came to shape him is touching […]

I found a new place to dwell

Heartbreak Hotel by Micol Arianna Beltramini

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Several books on my recent HBR (Have Been Read) list have had similar feelings and/or themes. And yet, each one is its own unique read. Heartbreak Hotel by Micol Arianna Beltramini and illustrator Agnese Innocente falls into this “alike but not alike” category. This coming of age story is similar to the stories The History of Everything: A Graphic Novel by Victoria Evans, Raging Clouds by Yudori, and The Flip Side by Jason Walz. Yet, it is also its own work and has its own […]



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