Cannonball Read 14

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Night of the Living Hello Kitty Princess Demon-Deity

Escape From Yokai Land by Charles Stross

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I’ve had Charles Stross’ Laundry Files series in my TBR for a while; got the first one on Kindle sale a while back; it was pretty good. Grabbed 3 more from the library, although not quite in sequence. It turns out that you can read this series out of order and it will still mostly make sense. There may be references to someone dies or got married or is in another job or a certain probably evil who knows what is back, but how that […]

When defeating monsters and saving princesses is not enough

The Flower of the Witch by Enrico Orlandi

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Do you want a good story about “becoming a man” but one that might be bit more modern than you are used to? In which “becoming a man” might not mean what we think at first? Then you should try The Flower of the Witch by Enrico Orlandi (and translated by Jamie Richards). And while I try not to start on a less-than-positive note, I will say the language was a little stiff at first. But soon your reading ear should fall into the pattern […]

the many forms of love that shape life and fate

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

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Alright, so Iron Widow was not my jam (to my disappointment). I was really hoping that the next of my library audiobook holds would turn things around, and Axie Oh’s The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea came to me next. And oh, this one is my jam. Or at any rate, it hits a lot of sweet spots for me and I enjoyed it tremendously. (Not burying the lede this time, either, obviously.) The novel is not exactly a retelling of the Korean folktale “Shim Cheong” (apparently […]

I’m not proud, I’ll say it: Who ya gunna call?

Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter by Atelier Sento

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Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter is odd. I did not know what to expect, but I think it was more along the lines of something funny and cute. Even thought it is about ghosts. And oh, yes. I would have liked to have seen some actual ghosts. The two main characters of the story are in France when they receive an email from a friend in Japan. Due to a (possible) mix up (or the friend is just bossy, which he and his […]

There is beauty to be found in the melting snow and McDonalds wrappers

Little Foxes Took Up Matches by Katya Kazbek

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Mitya is not good at math, as you can see. But he’s good at imagination. Mitya is utterly convinced that no one has ever looked at two halves long enough, or attentively enough. Mitya has some stories for you. Much like Mitya himself, this novel contains multitudes. Katya Kazbek, who often works as a translator, holds the door open for the curious reader with snippets of fairy tales. Sometimes these tales are her takes on mythology, and sometimes they are the mythology of being a […]

And what little girls are made of

Blancaflor, the Hero with Secret Powers: A Folktale from Latin America: A Toon Graphic by Nadja Spiegelman

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While focusing on one story in Blancaflor, the Hero with Secret Powers: A Folktale from Latin America: A Toon Graphic you will see multiple stories come together due to the collective ideals of storytelling around the world. This version of Blancaflor by Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio Garcia Sanchez highlights the Latin influences of this wonderfully illustrated story of women’s strengths and hidden talents which we see unfolding to save the prince/her love. The story is simple, Blancaflor is the daughter of ogres. Her father gave […]



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