Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

An auspicious start to CBR17

Tea With Mr. Rochester by Frances Towers

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This is a collection of short stories that I picked up last month from a great little bookstore in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Book Bus Depot is the only bookstore in the US to sell Persephone Books, which, as per their website, “reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women writers and mostly dating from the mid-twentieth century.” The title of this one, Tea With Mr Rochester, is what caught my attention, and it was a surprising and delightful find. Frances Towers did not live to […]

A Curious Story Indeed

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

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“I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk.” I’m not sure what I expected from this book, but to say I was pleasantly surprised is putting it mildly.  This book languished on my TBR for over a decade.  I don’t know why I avoided it, but I just never got around to picking it up.  I ended up listening […]

Silly gags abound but questions are building faster than goblins on meth

Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

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You know how sometimes the next book in the series isn’t as good as the one before it? Carl’s Doomsday Device does not fit in that category.  It continues to be uproariously fun ala Carl having to remove all magic items and running around naked because even his boxers are magic.  However, the questions continue to build.  Why are some NPCs aware and others not?  How mentally stable are the previous crawlers that become NPCs? What is going on in the broader universe that is impacting […]

It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn

The Legacy of Arniston House by T.L. Huchu

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After defecting to English magic (and higher pay), ghost-talker Ropa is ready to pack up her grandmother and leave Edinburgh behind entirely. But as tensions mount in the city and a mysterious enemy becomes more visible, Ropa’s grandmother is murdered – and Ropa is considered the primary suspect. In the fourth book of the Edinburgh Nights series, author Huchu really begins to weave together the broader conflict brewing in the world of Scottish magic and Ropa’s personal journey, bringing to fruition many of the things […]

Do you need an adventure filled with laughter and some pathos? Do I have the book for you!

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

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My husband received  Dungeon Crawler Carl in our family Winter Solstice book exchange.  From the moment he started the book, he was chuckling, and sometimes outright cackling, every several pages.  Before finishing he insisted it be my next read.  Folks, this book is laugh out loud  funny.  Do you like fantasy, adventure, video games, Dungeons and Dragons, The Hunger Games, Running Man or cats?  Does a reference to the anime/manga/movie Battle Royale peak your interest? Are you intrigued by the idea of an AI with a foot […]

Damnit, Janet

Now or Never: 31 on the Run by Janet Evanovich

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Every year I start out strong and think, maybe this will be my year. I also am that girl who buys a new calendar every January, uses it until the 11th, and then gives up cause Google calendar is easier. But this year I’m NOT buying a calendar, so…. maybe that’s a good sign? (I mean, it’s only January 1st. I haven’t been to Target yet.) Anyway. Spoilers ahead. Lots. This is the 31st installment of these books, and yes, I have read every single one […]



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