Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Well that was a thing

Clear: a novel by Carys Davies

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I have to love when a book goes exactly where you thought it was going from the synopsis, and then goes somewhere you never even considered. Clear is very much that book. It’s set during the Scottish Clearances of the 19th century, when farmers were shuffled off the land they rented so that the landowners could make more money out of crops or livestock. John, a minister who has quit his church to help find a new one and thus has monetary issues, has been […]

“Black History is Black Horror”

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

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Tananarive Due is one of the preeminent voices in Black Horror. The above quote is from her. She authored my favorite haunted house book, The Good House, so she is definitely on my auto read list when she puts out a new book. This latest offering did not disappoint. This book is part horror and part historical fiction which takes place in the Jim Crow South. As you might imagine it’s not an easy read, but it’s extremely worth your time and attention. Robbie Stevens […]

Historical Fiction Doesn’t Always Work

Lilliam Boxfish Takes A Walk by Kathleen Rooney

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According to the author this story was inspired by the life of Margaret Fishback. She was the  highest paid female copywriter in the world during the 1930s while working for R.H. Macy’s. She was also a published poet. The poetry included in the book was written by Fishback. All of this seemed like a great set up for a novel, and yet, for me it didn’t quite work. The structure of the novel centers around New Years Eve 1984, when Lillian Boxfish is 85 years […]

You are not the arbiter of knowledge, sir. You are its librarian.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

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CBR14 BINGO: Question square (I was going to give this the Gaslight square until I read the author’s note: “This book began as two simple questions: Do words mean different things to men and women? And if they do, is it possible that we have lost something in the process of defining them.” Question square it is.) This one will definitely be on my favorite books of the year list. Hearbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure. Esme’s father is an Oxford lexicographer working on creating the […]

It’s a literal railroad

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

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“Look outside as you speed through, and you’ll find the true face of America.” I was hesitant to start this book since I had so much trouble with finishing (really, starting) Zone One (from the same author) but I was pleasantly surprised that this immediately got my attention and I found myself compulsively reading it.  The story us about Cora, a slave in a plantation in Georgia.  Her mother had escaped when she was young and she is an outcast even from her fellow slaves.  […]

A Little Birdie For The Soul

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

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And here I continue with the children’s books. This one isn’t from my childhood bedroom though, I bought this a week ago, because it was announced that Andrew Scott would be in the movie adaptation and yeah, quite a lot of my book acquisitions follow that pattern… *chrm* In this case I’m very glad I bought it. It’s a wonderful book and I KNOW I would have adored it as a tween. It’s the fictional diary of Catherine, called Birdy, the youngest child and only […]



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