Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Between the Accident and the Incident

Curse of the Blumenthals by Phyllis Karas

April 6, 2026 by Pooja Leave a Comment

Three generations of journalist Phyllis Karas’s family are marked by two great tragedies – the car crash which killed six members of the family, and the murder committed by the first grandchild born after that accident hardly twenty years later. This is an interesting mash-up of a book – part family history, part true crime, and sometimes even a scrapbook. Karas dives into the crimes which impacted her family, whether they were those who committed them or the victims, studying how their effects rippled through […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, History Tagged With: #history, #memoir, 20th Century, ARC, Judaism, NetGalley, New England, Non-Fiction, Phyllis Karas, true crime, United States

Pooja's CBR18 Review No:25 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, History · Tags: #history, #memoir, 20th Century, ARC, Judaism, NetGalley, New England, Non-Fiction, Phyllis Karas, true crime, United States ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

What can I say that hasn’t already been said?

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

September 27, 2024 by Ellesfena Leave a Comment

The Story: the narrator (Richard, although his name is used so rarely that I kept forgetting what it was) leaves an unhappy existence in California to attend the small, private Hampden College in Vermont. There, he decides to study Greek under an enigmatic professor, Julian, alongside a small, elitist group of other Classics students: cold and intellectual Henry, anxious hypochondriac Francis, twins Charles and Camilla (I wish I could find descriptors for these other than “twin,” but unfortunately they’re both very thinly drawn), and Bunny, […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: Ancient Greece, college life, Donna Tartt, murder, New England, secret history

Ellesfena's CBR16 Review No:2 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery · Tags: Ancient Greece, college life, Donna Tartt, murder, New England, secret history ·
Rating:
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The Beachiest of Reads

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

August 13, 2024 by finnyfinfinn Leave a Comment

Very soon to be a series on Netflix starring Nicole Kidman. Suddenly I have the urge to recite the AMC commercial monologue- We come to this place for magic… somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this… They could be talking about the lovely island of Nantucket, where Celeste Otis and Benji Winbury are set to be married this weekend. The groom’s mother has arranged a lavish ceremony on the family’s estate. Its full steam ahead on the wedding of the summer until the […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: beach read, Elin Hilderbrand, mystery, Nantucket, New England, Rich People Nonsense

finnyfinfinn's CBR16 Review No:15 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: beach read, Elin Hilderbrand, mystery, Nantucket, New England, Rich People Nonsense ·
· 0 Comments

Between the Freeze and the Thaw

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

February 11, 2024 by Pooja Leave a Comment

When midwife Martha Ballard is called to inspect the body of a man found frozen in the Kennebec River, the last person she expects it to be is the accused rapist of one of her patients – and when she determines that he has been murdered, the situation only becomes more complex. I first heard about Martha Ballard a few months ago, when I picked up the Pulitzer Prize-winning book based on her life (A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History, Mystery Tagged With: 1700s, Ariel Lawhon, feminism, historical fiction, late 18th century America, medicine, murder, mystery, New England, sexual violence

Pooja's CBR16 Review No:23 · Genres: Fiction, History, Mystery · Tags: 1700s, Ariel Lawhon, feminism, historical fiction, late 18th century America, medicine, murder, mystery, New England, sexual violence ·
Rating:
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Horror Month 2023: #10

Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon

October 30, 2023 by Jake Leave a Comment

This was the kind of book I was hoping to discover when giving Horror Month a shot. It’s not the best book I’ve read this year, nor even this month. But it’s the kind of thing I was hoping to read: quality psychological horror that is beyond the mainstream. Getting this rec from Max Read’s substack was a gift. It was a delight to pour through Tryon’s rich language as he slowly but surely developed the characters, parceling out horror bit-by-bit until the big reveals, […]

Filed Under: Horror Tagged With: farming, Harvest Home, horror, New England, thomas tryon

Jake's CBR15 Review No:152 · Genres: Horror · Tags: farming, Harvest Home, horror, New England, thomas tryon ·
Rating:
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“So,” she heard his voice begin. He had a quiet voice, deep. “How does it feel to be an ex-token black?”

Come a Stranger (Tillerman Cycle #5) by Cynthia Voigt

December 30, 2022 by cheerbrarian Leave a Comment

I’m enjoying my revisit to The Tillerman Cycle books, which were a favorite when I was a youth/teen. Though categorized as children’s books, they tackle adult themes with care and nuance that gives them a timeless quality. This book is the 5th in the 7 book series. Though the series is centered on the Tillerman family with teenaged Dicey as our protagonist, in this installment we get a deep dive into the life of Dicey’s best friend, Nina. We first met Mina in “Dicey’s Song,” […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: 1980's, come a stranger, Cynthia Voigt, New England, Race, Tillerman Cycle

cheerbrarian's CBR14 Review No:51 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: 1980's, come a stranger, Cynthia Voigt, New England, Race, Tillerman Cycle ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Jaye Davidson
    on Failure to Launch
    I loved the book
  • vega-table
    on Let me tell you about your case, little girl
    Appreciating the author's perspectives is a good way to think about this book. (And there really isn't anything to complain...
  • LittlePlat
    on Let me tell you about your case, little girl
    By the sounds of it, if this book ended up on my holds list, I wouldn't complain; sounds like the...
  • person
    on This book, like a toot, if forced is probably s**t
    its a very interesting book, and also helps you imagine what school is like being the new kid, having bullies,...
  • Jen K
    on Lectures, Research Papers and Romance
    As Jonah would put it, “Relatable Content.”
See More Recent Comments »

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