Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

How far would you go to change history?

11/22/63 by Stephen King

by 3 Comments

CBR18 BINGO: Repair, because the main character goes back in time to try to repair the damage caused by JFK’s assassination I had a high-school English teacher who mused that she didn’t think Stephen King would ever be counted among the “classics” because the sheer volume of his output inevitably led to some substandard attempts. Plus, there was the whole tie in with movie deals that undermined his legitimacy (this was back in the ’80s, when it wasn’t necessarily a given that a popular book […]

A story of growing up with oppression that’s equal parts hilarious and heartwarming

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

by Leave a Comment

CBR18 BINGO: Or, because it gave me a much clearer perspective on South African during the apartheid “Run for cover. Run and hide. I knew that as a five-year-old. Had I lived a different life, getting thrown out of a speeding minibus might have fazed me. I’d have stood there like an idiot, going, ‘What’s happening Mom? Why are my legs so sore?’ But there was none of that. Mom said ‘run,’ and I ran. Like the gazelle runs from the lion, I ran.” This […]

How to lose my interest in this series

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

by Leave a Comment

CBR18 BINGO: One, because it’s first in a series. Also, it’s the only one of the series I plan to read. In 1965, teenager Frances Adams visits a fortune teller who makes an ominous prediction about Frances being murdered. The prediction includes the typical 1-800-PSYCHIC ambiguity that can easily be self-fulfilling, like the dangers of “holding a queen in the palm of one hand,” or the suggestion that a “bird” will betray her. Frances spends the next 60 years in an extreme state of paranoia, […]

A minority opinion: This book is fine

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

by 1 Comment

Last month I went away for a long weekend and stopped in a lovely little independent book store with a great backstory. Predictably, being away on holiday coupled with an adorable shop put me in book-buying mode, so when I spotted The Correspondent, its enticing cover and knowing it received so many excellent reviews compelled me to buy it. I love independently owned book shops, so I feel good about this purchase. The book itself turned out to be in the “could have been a […]

The best surprise I’ve had so far this year

Fastest Things on Wings by Terry Masear

by 2 Comments

In spite of being a fervent animal lover, I rarely read animal-centric memoirs, and I’m especially avoidant of ones with “rescue” on the front cover. I find these books are generally either too depressing, too saccharine, or they are written by dedicated, well-meaning individuals with questionable writing talent. So when my husband brought Fastest Things on Wings home from one of his Little Free Library jaunts, I eyed it with suspicion. He read it first and assured me there were just a couple of heartbreaking […]

For the discerning reader who prefers books that are neither too literary nor too commercial

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

by Leave a Comment

Recounting one very full and unusual day in the life of a 40-year old governess, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a charming tale that drops the reader straight into the 1930s, where martinis are flowing and beautiful young ladies have scads of evening gowns and even more beaus. When a mix-up at the employment agency sends Guinevere Pettigrew to the home of the enchanting Delysia LaFosse, the puritanically-raised Miss Pettigrew gets a glimpse into a way of life that she thought only existed […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo