Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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A retelling of a classic, but are these the right secondary characters to focus on?

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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This is the story of Achilles and his companion Patroclus. Companion here should absolutely be read in the way that we all had that one uncle in his 80s and 90s who lived with a roommate. If you remember any part of your high school English classes, you probably know the over all plot. Trojan War, fated warrior, death, destruction, etc. What Madeline Miller has done in this book is really taken a deeper dive into the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. Which, by the way, […]

Holy Moly

Circe by Madeline Miller

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When (I read it): Late night treat-time only, when the pull of the book matched the pull of (spoiler warning) my bed. Where (I read it): In bed, where my cocoon allowed me to sink in without expectation or judgment. Why (I read it): A long-ignored predilection for mythology combined with a general crowd gaga-factor. How (I read it): With great anticipation, bought many months ago to read when I could appreciate it. Finally got there. In preface, I’m three books read by the first […]

Take a trip to the other side of the world and find yourself

Ichiro by Ryan Inzana

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What is this book? Well, I can tell you what it is not. It is not easy. It is not straightforward. And it is not something to rush through. Our hero Ichiro must deal with life, death, family, moving across the ocean from New York to Japan and will begin learning what is right and wrong. We see history (American, Japanese, even a bit of Chinese), mythology (I am assuming Japanese as while I know some, I am very lacking in my Asian cultures) and […]

Troy Story

Troy: The Siege of Troy Retold by Stephen Fry

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We’re just one week in to 2021 and I’m already failing at my resolution to write reviews as soon as I finish a book. I blame Antifa. Anyhoo, tearing myself away from The Stupidest Coup, Troy was the perfect book to start my year with and Stephen Fry the perfect host. I’d already devoured Mythos which dealt with the birth of the gods, and Heroes which dealt with the age of Heracles, Theseus and co, so it was a safe bet that I’d love this […]

What if Cinderella met a god of death instead of a fairy godmother?

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I was on hold for this book for months at my local library, and after having read it, I get it. I had a co-worker who said there was a difference between books and literature. At the time, I thought she was being snooty, but every now and then I read a book that makes me go, “Oh, so that’s what she meant.” Gods of Jade and Shadow is literature.  Casiopea Tun lives with her family in a small village in the Yucatán peninsula. Casiopea […]

snapshot of a sculpture

Galatea by Madeline Miller

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We’ve heard his story countless times; it’s been a well-trod myth since Ancient Greece. We read Metamorphoses, we studied Pygmalion, we sung along to My Fair Lady, and we mourned the short life of (the terribly named but very good) Selfie. With Madeline Miller, Pygmalion strikes again. He strikes the marble into a statue, the statue becomes a woman, Galatea strikes out on her own, and Pygmalion strikes her down. Galatea is convalescing (read: held captive) in a hospital by the sea. She is cut off from her daughter, […]



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