Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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He’s Grumpy. He’s a Ghost.

The Grumpy Ghost Upstairs by Mamiko Shiotani

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Online reader copies are all the rage right now, it is environmental and quick and easy to receive. Of course, I sometimes have a hard time reading books from them, but The Grumpy Ghost Upstairs by Mamiko Shiotani and translated by Polly Lawson was an exception. I tend to be able to read picture books online as there is less text and more space to enjoy the overall work. This was especially true with Shiotani’s book. The illustrations and text was Goldilocks/Baby Bear just right. […]

Two and a half cigarette men!

The Sundown Motel by Simone St. James

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I saw this recommended on reddit, bought it on audible and literally the next day zirza panned it on here. Sadly, zirza was right, it’s not great. A cross between a mystery and a ghost story, The Sundown Motel tells the story of nefarious things happening in the small town of Fell, NY, where Viv Delaney disappears after her night shift at the titular motel in the 80s, while her niece Carly investigates the case in 2017. The POV switches between these two women and […]

Ghosts and Halloween are nothing to fear, but what about another holiday cheer?

The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason and Byron Eggenschwiler

The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise by Riel Nason and Byron Eggenschwiler

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In 2020 The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt was published. And according to its publisher description, it became an instant Halloween classic. In July 2025 a new gift edition will be published. I am not sure how this differs from the original as I read this as an online reader copy. But regardless of the extras it might have, it will still be the same sweet book about being yourself and the adventures you will have because of it.  The story is sweet and […]

Choose Your Own Adventure for the younger crowd

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Ghost on the Mountain (Dragonlarks) by Kyandreia Jones

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I don’t know about you, but I used to enjoy the Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid/pre-teen. They were easy and even back then I liked that quick read. That mystery of where your choice would take you. Now they were not my main genre for reading and I moved onto other books, but I always held a small space in my heart for them. And as a bookseller I found them again, but again, I don’t need to read. But I found […]

Fresh scares from a needed perspective

Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories by Dan SaSuWeh Jones

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Readers who have been craving a selection of tales reminiscent of Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark should look no further than Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories, compiled by Ponca storyteller Dan SaSuWeh Jones.  Jones is a busy guy: he is a writer, producer, and artist; he’s worked as an Imagineer for Disney and produced for Sesame Street; he is a sculptor, a former Chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, and he assembled this creepy collection of […]

The Ghost of Memories

There's a Ghost in the Garden by Kyo Maclear

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There is a message inside of There’s a Ghost in the Garden by Kyo Maclear, but it is one that will be different for each reader. Also, it is okay if you just enjoy the words of Maclear, the flow of text and the illustrations (by Katty Maurey) without taking any meaning from them. It works on both levels allowing the reader to take what is needed at each listen and/or reading.  This can work for many ages, though it is for slightly older listeners/readers. […]



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