Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Just a piece of the puzzle

Issunboshi: A Graphic Novel by Ryan Long

by Leave a Comment

Picture it: Feudal Japan where creatures of myth and folklore are real. You can liken it to some Western stories (which came first? I do not know, but I assume the Asian ones) and the adventures our tiny hero has will meet the pages with clever text and images. This graphic novel, Issunboshi: A Graphic Novel by Ryan Long, unfolds in quick layers. There are a few surprises, but for the most part, you know where things are going. The idea of “you do not […]

We come from the land of the ice and the snow

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

by Leave a Comment

I don’t track my reading by diversity the way some do, though I am curious what the stats would be. I definitely have a few auto buy authors that are also men, like John Scalzi, but my reading heavily skews towards women … YA fantasy and romance will do that. Still I ended up picking up some fantasy novels by men last year, and figured it was time to finally read a few of them, starting with this first book in a now completed series. […]

Mythology in a Modern World

The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie

by Leave a Comment

I first tried to read The Wicked + The Divine in September 2017, and got through the first five volumes, but felt the series was weird and confusing. Earlier this month, I scrolled through my library’s entire adult graphic novel collection, and saw that the series was now completed, so figured this was as good a time as any to give the series another chance. And I’m so glad I did! The core premise of WicDiv and the phrase that gets repeated as a central […]

I like uni uni unicorns! And cats! This book! And Venus (okay not her)

Unico V01: Awakening by Samuel Sattin

by Leave a Comment

The updated version of Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) beloved tale Unico V01: Awakening has been created by Samuel Sattin and Gurihiru.  It is a sweet, but has a little edge, tale about a unicorn who has angered the goddess Venus, for no other reason than her jealousy of his beauty and how he is worshiped by her earthly followers. However, in a rare act of defiance, one of her servants defies Venus by hiding Unico from her. Living through time and space, Unico will have many […]

Second Verse, Same as the First! But a little bit louder and darker

Haru Book 2: Summer by Joe Latham

by Leave a Comment

In February 2024 I read book one of Haru by Joe Latham (or Haru 1: Spring). In August of 2024 I read Haru Book 2: Summer still by Joe Latham. Both were read via an online reader copy but I was thinking I would purchase copies of both when book two came out. However, it is not due until October 2024 and I am glad I did not wait. This is because Book Two is much darker than Book One was. Things are more layered […]

The Fox Warrior in us all

The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha

by Leave a Comment

I started The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha as an online reader. However, it was only a sample of about half of the graphic novel. I was both “OH! Now what????” and  “Eh…I get the idea…do I go on?” I decided to go on and asked at my local library for a copy. It took a bit, but it was mostly worth the wait. Ha is the delightful author of Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir. And though The Fox Maidens is fiction, I expected […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo