Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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“Death is the engine that keeps us running, giving us the motivation to achieve, learn, love, and create.”

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

October 13, 2025 by Pooja 2 Comments

CBR17 Bingo: Review – I first came across Caitlin Doughty and her books through numerous reviewers on Goodreads. Caitlin Doughty had been long fascinated with death, but when she started working at a crematory, she soon found herself more interested in the question of why death in America has become so distant from the general public. I am maybe not the right audience for Doughty’s message about the loss of intimacy and ritual in the American way of death. I am a Hindu, and we […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Biography/Memoir, Non-Fiction Tagged With: #memoir, audiobook, Caitlin Doughty, cbr17bingo, culture, Death, non fiction, science, United States

Pooja's CBR17 Review No:63 · Genres: Audiobooks, Biography/Memoir, Non-Fiction · Tags: #memoir, audiobook, Caitlin Doughty, cbr17bingo, culture, Death, non fiction, science, United States ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Sad books that help make it better

The Fabric of Us by Aditi Anand

Where Are You, Eddie? A Companion to Michael Rosen's Sad Book by Michael Rosen and Gill Smith

September 9, 2025 by BlackRaven 1 Comment

This is a review that seems like another review about a book I almost didn’t write up, but it is not really. Oh, yes, I almost did not write up The Fabric of Us by Aditi Anand (due later May 2026; read via an online reader copy) because I could not think of enough words for a full review. At least not by itself. It was only when I read  Where Are You, Eddie? A Companion to Michael Rosen’s Sad Book by Michael Rosen and […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Non-Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: & Sons, Aditi Anand, Death, family, fathers, Gill Smith, grief, loss, Michael Rosen, Michael Rosen and Gill Smith, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:401 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Non-Fiction, Poetry · Tags: & Sons, Aditi Anand, Death, family, fathers, Gill Smith, grief, loss, Michael Rosen, Michael Rosen and Gill Smith, Social Themes ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

Book two times three

Rema Chronicles V02 Kingdom of Water: A Graphic Novel by Amy Kim

Grand Slam Romance V02: Major League Hotties by Ollie Hicks and Emma Oosterhous

Double Booking V02 When and Where Wolf by Pangburn,, Kim Shearer and Nic Touris

July 30, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Sequels are always an interesting read. They can  be the best book in the group or the worst. They can also be so much later than book one that you forget everything about what happened before.  And that last one is what happened to Kingdom of Water: A Graphic Novel (the Rema Chronicles #2) by Amy Kim. I started reading (via an online reader, due August 2025) and said, “Who are these people again?” Therefore, read volumes one and two close together. Spoiler: There will […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Religion, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Sports, Suspense, Young Adult Tagged With: adventure, Amy Kim, Death, Emma Oosterhous, family, fathers, Kim Shearer, LGBTQ, magic, Nic Touris, Ollie Hicks, Ollie Hicks and Emma Oosterhous, Pangburn, Pangburn, Kim Shearer and Nic Touris, paranormal, parents, siblings, softball, women

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:347 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Religion, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Sports, Suspense, Young Adult · Tags: adventure, Amy Kim, Death, Emma Oosterhous, family, fathers, Kim Shearer, LGBTQ, magic, Nic Touris, Ollie Hicks, Ollie Hicks and Emma Oosterhous, Pangburn, Pangburn, Kim Shearer and Nic Touris, paranormal, parents, siblings, softball, women ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

I recommend BINGO and this book

The Last Time We Spoke: A Story of Loss by Jesse Mechanic

July 11, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

cbr17bingo Rec’d: Grief stories are not new, but each is unique to that person. The main thing I came away with from reading The Last Time We Spoke: A Story of Loss, is that the author (Jesse Mechanic) is human: selfish, loving, scared, fearless, angry and hopeful. They are both a reliable and unreliable narrator as they are telling the story from their eyes and over a 20 year period. The art is tone setting and allows us a peek into the mind of someone […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Non-Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: cancer, cbr17bingo, coming-of-age, Death, family, grief, Illness, Jesse Mechanic, Mental Health, mothers, mothers & sons, parents, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:322 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Non-Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: cancer, cbr17bingo, coming-of-age, Death, family, grief, Illness, Jesse Mechanic, Mental Health, mothers, mothers & sons, parents, Social Themes ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

And you thought your Nanny was a strict monster!

The Sleepover: A Graphic Novel by Michael Regina

July 10, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

cbr17bingo Black (the cover is mostly black and dark colors) The graphic novel, The Sleepover: A Graphic Novel by Michael Regina, reminds me of the RL Stine Goosebumps series or the Are You Afraid of the Dark? Series (or something similar as I know there are several thriller/horror reads out there).  Things are spooky, but not necessarily over the top, but also things are not for the sensitive reader. It deals with grief (death of a caregiver who was like a grandmother to the family), […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: adopted family, cbr17bingo, Death, family, found family, friendship, grief, Michael Regina, monsters, Nannies, paranormal, siblings, sleepovers, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:320 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: adopted family, cbr17bingo, Death, family, found family, friendship, grief, Michael Regina, monsters, Nannies, paranormal, siblings, sleepovers, Social Themes ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Dead Giveaway

The Dead Romantics by Ashely Poston

June 21, 2025 by Zirza 1 Comment

Florence ‘Flo’ Day is a novelist with one not very successful novel to her name. She has been working as a ghost writer for a famous novelist, but since her grade a dickback boyfriend quite literally dumped her she can’t find her groove. Her super sexy new editor tells her to get her ass in gear, but she can’t – and then her beloved father dies, her world shatters, and she returns home to the town she fled when she was eighteen.  You see, Flo […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Romance Tagged With: Ashely Poston, Ashley Poston, Death, death of a parent, Romance, The Dead Romantics

Zirza's CBR17 Review No:32 · Genres: Fiction, Romance · Tags: Ashely Poston, Ashley Poston, Death, death of a parent, Romance, The Dead Romantics ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment
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