Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“Lying is like farming, or draining marshland, or terracing a hillside or planting a grove of peach trees. It’s an attempt to control your environment and make it better.”

Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K.J. Parker

Saevus Corax Captures the Castle by K.J. Parker

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Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead – 3.25 stars Saevus Corax just wants to be left in peace to operate his battlefield salvage company, but when his past comes calling, he must admit to possession of his former name, and deal with all the troubles that are still brewing in that prior life. Saevus Corax is an interesting character, a fast-talking rogue with a talent for survival and a desire to keep eking his living without getting embroiled in major geopolitical issues which is, unfortunately, […]

A Jété into Love

Second Night Stand by Karelia Stetz-Waters, Fay Stetz-Waters

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When professional ballerina Lillian has a one night stand with a beautiful stranger in Portland, she does so only because she’s certain she’ll never see her again. But when it turns out that Izzy will be competing in the same dance competition show, their growing connection may get in the way of the win they both desperately need. I really loved Karelia Stetz-Waters’ previous book Behind the Scenes, so even though I haven’t been interested in reality show romances in the past I was excited […]

Lost in the Brain Fog

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann

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When their neighbor turns up shot and killed, Agnes and her housemates are excited to be able to pin the death of their friend Lilith on the same murderer – if only they can solve the crime themselves before the police do. I picked up this book because the premise cracked me up. The image of these pensioners all creeping around trying to cover up one murder and solve another is just so dark and amusing. Of course, as I started reading I quickly found […]

“No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride…and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well…maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten.”

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson

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Raoul Duke and his attorney go on a mad, drug-fueled tear through late 1960s Las Vegas, where they haphazardly cover a desert motorcycle race and attend a police convention. The whole time I was reading this book I could not help but keep thinking about how very annoyed I would be if I were on this trip with Duke & the Doc. Not that anyone I know’s ever gone on so wild a tear, but I could certainly see the echoes of herding around friends […]

One of My Quickest and One of My Longest Reads This Year

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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Several People Are Typing I had such a good time with this one! It’s told exclusively through Slack chat messages, which makes it a really fast read, and it is so funny. There is an ensemble cast, but Gerald is more or less the main character. He inexplicably finds his consciousness uploaded into Slack, and none of his co-workers at a PR firm believe him (understandably!) and assume he is just working from home and doing a comic bit. The main plot of the novel […]

Losers, Misfits, and Boozers

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

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Since I’m being cruelly tortured by being forced to wait a whole long week between episodes for the new season I’ve decided to go back and read the first book in the Slough House series. I’m sure waiting patiently is part of MI5 spy training, probably real advanced stuff. It is here we first meet Jackson Lamb and his motley collection of ‘slow horses’. Each one has disgraced themselves in some spectacular way and needs to be relegated somewhere they can’t do any more damage […]



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