Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

If you are needing some unsettling horror-type reading, here you go

The Night Guest: A Novel by Hildur Knutsdottir

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If you’re looking for a book to set you on edge for spooky season, this is it. This short novel from Icelandic author Hildur Knutsdottir is a very quick read full of foreboding and tension. It’s also a commentary on women’s health and mental health and the stigma/lack of attention attached to both.  The novel is narrated by the main character, a woman who I imagine to be in her 30s or so. Odunn (not sure if this is a correct spelling, since it seems […]

Don’t fear the reaper

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer: A SCYTHE Mystery Book 1 by Maxie Dara

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This is a decent murder mystery featuring “grim reapers” and dead souls. It’s funny at times and includes some colorful support characters who clearly will play a big role in future novels in the series. I found it through a “Book Riot” recommendation. Book Riot is one of those book accounts on FB that pops up in my feed regularly and sometimes makes pretty good recommendations. A Grim Reaper’s Guide was good; not “wow, I can’t wait to read the rest of this series” good, […]

I need more stars

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

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Trigger Warning for abuse, violence, depression, suicidal thoughts, drug abuse, addiction I’ve had a copy of this book for years, knowing from its blurb and from what I’ve read about it that I would probably love it, but at 960 pages, it’s a brick and a bit intimidating to start. I finally decided to tackle it, and I finished it in less than a week. I would have finished within days if not for the pesky need for sleep and doing laundry and the like. […]

When Fiction Gets A Little Too Real

Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry

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Good Girls Don’t Die follows three characters—Celia, Allie, and Maggie—who find themselves in strange situations that seem to be the sort of scenarios you would find in novels that the characters happen to be fans of.  Some background around what the characters read is provided at the start of each chapter, via message board-looking posts where book genres are discussed.  The book is split into four parts, with the first three sections following one of the women as she tries to figure out what is […]

Don’t Mean to Spy

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

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I’ve tried Rachel Kushner’s books before but they’re a little over my head. However, I’m on a spy kick and it just so happens that her new one is a critically acclaimed spy novel and, while knowing it would still be different from the usual pulpy thrill of typical espionage fare, I decided to try it. The cool thing about writing espionage is that we all desire to lead secret lives and espionage fiction allows us to explore that. The sad necessity of hiding human […]

“ He left you the fortune, Avery, and all he left us is you.”

The Inheritance Games: A Novel by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Cbr16bingo Games, Bingo Blackout This book is the start of a YA series that promises to be fun to follow. The main characters are mostly teens, mostly very wealthy, and all involved in a strange and dangerous game that seems to have been contrived by Tobias Hawthorne. Hawthorne was a billionaire who was fond of games and inventions. He loved puzzles and riddles, and constantly challenged his grandsons to match wits with him. Tobias has died, and his two daughters and four grandsons expect to […]



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