Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I turned in sleep, shouldering into the dark, glossy water.

I Do Know Some Things by Richard Siken

March 20, 2026 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

I started new dreams without finishing the last, sifting in sleep what I couldn’t sift in daylight. ― Richard Siken, I Do Know Some Things Music was too much to handle. It was overwhelming, but I was afraid of the silence. In the silence, I could hear my thinking: the constant narration of how damaged I was. ― Richard Siken, I Do Know Some Things After meds, I realized I was just another empath in a Denny’s, sinking onion rings in ranch dressing in the […]

Filed Under: Poetry Tagged With: child neglect, drug use, identity crisis, inter generational trauma, rehabilitation, Richard Siken, siblings, stroke, stroke victim

carmelpie's CBR18 Review No:15 · Genres: Poetry · Tags: child neglect, drug use, identity crisis, inter generational trauma, rehabilitation, Richard Siken, siblings, stroke, stroke victim ·
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Elastic tension lashed their cars together across space, alone on the road, nothing in his head but grief and freedom.

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

February 26, 2026 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

Andrew held the clutch and eased onto the gas, pushing revs while the digital readout reminded him to hold it, wait for the right moment to explode. Sam’s fingers touched the rim of the moon hanging in the sky. A shudder ripped across the bones of Andrew’s forearms, terror and delight and the promise of risk bringing him to life. ― Lee Mandelo, Summer Sons For fuck’s sake Andrew. Is there anything in this scenario that feels heterosexual or well-adjusted to you? ― Lee Mandelo, […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: American History, angst, Classism, curse, dark academia, drug use, Fighting, gay awakening, gay romance, Ghost Stories, homoerotic behaviour, Lee Mandelo, LGBTQ author, LGBTQ romance, murder mystery, Nashville, psychic abilities, queer romance, self-destruction, sexual tension up the wazoo, street racing, Tennessee, toxic friendships, toxic relationships, Toxic Romance, transgender characters, transgender main character, trauma bonding

carmelpie's CBR18 Review No:9 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery · Tags: American History, angst, Classism, curse, dark academia, drug use, Fighting, gay awakening, gay romance, Ghost Stories, homoerotic behaviour, Lee Mandelo, LGBTQ author, LGBTQ romance, murder mystery, Nashville, psychic abilities, queer romance, self-destruction, sexual tension up the wazoo, street racing, Tennessee, toxic friendships, toxic relationships, Toxic Romance, transgender characters, transgender main character, trauma bonding ·
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A little faerie magic and a lot about real world sustainable gardening practices

Shroom for Improvement (Mythical Mishaps #1) by Jemma Croft

November 9, 2025 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

“So, you’ve seen me naked before?” I said. “Oh, yes, many times. You have a beautiful body, by the way.” My cheeks heated. Damn. It had been so long since anybody had complimented me, I was blushing at the disembodied words of a magical house. ​​ ― Jemma Croft, Shroom for Improvement CBR17 Bingo: School Sonny is a professor and his knowledge of mycology is a key part of the story. Sonny Daye has a problem. To complete his research on mushroom glamours, he must […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance Tagged With: cbr17bingo, drug use, enemies to lovers, fae, Gardening, gay romance, grumpy sunshine, idiots to lovers, Jemma Croft, magical mushrooms, queer romance, Sustainability

carmelpie's CBR17 Review No:36 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance · Tags: cbr17bingo, drug use, enemies to lovers, fae, Gardening, gay romance, grumpy sunshine, idiots to lovers, Jemma Croft, magical mushrooms, queer romance, Sustainability ·
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The Swining Sixties

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

March 13, 2024 by Zirza Leave a Comment

Yeah, I made a typo, but it’s staying. London, 1967. Bass player Dean Moss is flat-out broke, homeless, and ready to give up on his dreams and head back home to find some dreary menial job for the rest of his life, when he meets a music producer named Levon. Levon hasn’t had much luck so far and this is his last stab at success, so he sets Dean up with folk singer and pianist Elf (short for Elizabeth Frances), drummer Griff and guitarist Jasper. […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: David Mitchell, drug use, London, music, psychedelia, Swinging Sixties, utopia avenue

Zirza's CBR16 Review No:14 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: David Mitchell, drug use, London, music, psychedelia, Swinging Sixties, utopia avenue ·
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If the “them apples” guy wrote a book, this would be it.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey

January 11, 2023 by Halbs 3 Comments

What do Usher and St. Augustine have in common? I enjoyed their Confessions more than Thomas De Quincey’s. (Also, both Usher and Augustine were both great dancers in their prime.) There have probably been books that were more disappointing to me that Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, but I can’t think of any right now. Mr. De Quincey’s Confessions first made itself known to me through Nick Tosches’ The Last Opium Den. That book was less about opium and more about the search for something […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Addiction, Drug Abuse, drug addiction, drug use, drugs, opium, Thomas De Quincey

Halbs's CBR15 Review No:3 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Non-Fiction · Tags: Addiction, Drug Abuse, drug addiction, drug use, drugs, opium, Thomas De Quincey ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

Do not give the sirens call a listen

December 14, 2018 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I am not sure when everyone slept in We Slept Here, unless it was a drug induced state, but Sierra DeMulder does a lot of other things, too. She does not hold back. She gives you the picture of a girl growing up in a family that allowed abuse. Oh, dad did not hit mom, so that is how they justified it, but it is forever burned into her brain her father yelling and her mother taking it. She does not hold back. She gives […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: abuse, Domestic Partner Abuse, drug use, family relationships, Sierra DeMulder, Women Authors

BlackRaven's CBR10 Review No:459 · Genres: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry · Tags: abuse, Domestic Partner Abuse, drug use, family relationships, Sierra DeMulder, Women Authors ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments


Recent Comments

  • BlackRaven
    on No longer under his grandmother’s table
    My only real complaint this time is that this has a lot of fiction talks about getting married, but it's not...
  • ElCicco
    on No longer under his grandmother’s table
    Well this has me interested! I loved Genius Under the Table and Breaking Stalin’s Nose as well as The Assassination...
  • Mrs. Julien
    on Could Not Stop Reading It
    UPDATE: I have purchased this book and I'm reading it; HOWEVER since I normally read almost exclusively kissing books, I...
  • Anthony
    on I’d like to be/under the sea
    you gon eat that cornbread
  • Anthony
    on I’d like to be/under the sea
    fyp this week
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