Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


“Happy wedding”, Evemer said. “I got you this door.” (Bingo)

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

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CBR16 Bingo: Golden Gold in the title and gold as a pivotal part of the plot. Also pretty much all of the central characters are solid gold. Kadou is the younger brother of the sultan of Arasht, and is delighted that she’s just given birth to a healthy baby, putting him further down the line of succession. Unfortunately, the baby’s father, a powerful ambassador at court, believes Kadou to be jealous and a threat to both his baby niece and his sister. Nothing could be […]

Adventures, Both Realistic and Fantastical

The Book of Road and Kingdoms by Richard Fidler

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Richard Fidler’s Conversations on ABC Radio has been a reliable source of book recommendations in the past. His own writing makes for a some excellent reads as well. His main area of interest is the rise and fall of long ago civilizations –  I have previously reviewed Ghost Empire, whose focus was Constantinople and the Byzantium. This time his focus is Central Asia, and the travelers that crossed the region during Islam’s Golden Age. The Book of Road and Kingdoms is also the name of […]

“What would happen if we spoke the truth?”

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic had been on my to read for a bit as one of the more visible challenged and banned books since its publication in 2006  (31st most challenged  in the decade 2010-2019 according to the ALA) that I hadn’t gotten to yet, but moved higher up as it was challenged locally to me twice since 2020 (it’s been retained both times). So, it found its way to my September reading as my personal choice for Banned Books Week 2024.   As […]

The Bad Knights

The Lost Order by Steve Berry

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Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: golden. The book centers around a fictionalized version of the Knights of the Golden Circle and the book has a quest for gold.  First of all, I had no idea that a secret society called the Knights of the Golden Circle actually existed. Formed in 1852, they had a goal of expanding a slavery empire through the southwest United States, into Mexico and central America, and including the Caribbean. All of this happened before the Civil War and they […]

Short but sweet take on Rapunzel.

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Rapunzel is my favorite fairy-tale, so you can imagine my skepticism learning the Rapunzel in this version has no hair. Absolutely none at all. But I was charmed by the author’s way with words, and by the end, she had me with her version of this story (even if I loved it for very different reasons than I love the original tale). I read the whole thing in about an hour and a half. It’s not very long, but it packs a nice little punch. […]



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