Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Prolonging my time in the Cold Magic world with short stories and essays

The World Begins in Ice by Kate Elliott

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I first learned about Kate Elliott’s Cold Magic series while reading John Scalzi’s website.  In the Big Idea section Elliott described what The History of the World Begins in Ice is all about.  It is a collection of short stories written in the “Spiritwalker Trilogy” as well as essays about the characters and aspects of the world.  The trilogy sounded fascinating, to quote Kate: When I began writing Cold Magic, my primary goal (besides making it shorter than Traitors’ Gate) was to tell a story that would […]

“Love grows over time” — A Sweet End to a Sweet Series

You Can't Live All on Your Own! (Vol. 3) by Mizoko Tsuno

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First completed book of 2026! I am working my way through a 900+ page volume of Chips Channon’s diaries, which I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about, but I’m not done reading that yet. In the meantime, I continue my exploration of the current manga scene as per usual. You Can’t Live All on Your Own is a josei manga series, so it is aimed at women in their 20s. The series follows four women who live together and their disparate romantic and […]

“Now all I can see is the longing. Not only for companionship, but for community. He’s looking for people like him. It’s very touching, and very familiar, isn’t it?”

After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian

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Nothing like starting off the new year with a five star read. I will admit I was hoping for this outcome when I picked it for my first book of the year. Cat Sebastian is increasingly becoming known for atmospheric, historically rich, community-focused, and quietly revolutionary little books. I wanted a lovely time full of lovely people that would take me away to a time in history that reflects pieces of our own Current Times while still being an escape hatch from reality. You don’t […]

“Isn’t it better to have your heart broken than to have it wither up? Before it could be broken it must have felt something splendid. That would be worth the pain.”

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

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Valency has always lived a dull and restrained life under the thumb of her family, but decides to start living how she likes when she learns she has only a year to live. I knew the plot twist of this book before I got into it, though I’m not sure how – maybe the plagiarism controversy of Colleen McCullough‘s The Ladies of Missalonghi? Anyway, luckily it didn’t really affect my enjoyment. This book has all the hallmarks of an LM Montgomery book – the rich […]

Thank you to Rachel Reid/Jacob Tierney for helping me hit my Cannonball Read goal

Tough Guy by Rachel Reid

Common Goal by Rachel Reid

Role Model by Rachel Reid

The Long Game by Rachel Reid

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Heated Rivalry (the TV show) has become an absolute obsession for me. Between the fourth and fifth episode, I finished Game Changer and Heated Rivalry because I wanted to know what’s up. And then I realized The Long Game was book six in the series… and because I’m a completionist, I couldn’t just jump to that. I had to — had to! — read the entire series in order. If only I was that dedicated to other aspects of my life, perhaps I’d be able […]

Goth love

Fangs by Sarah Andersen

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Fangs by Sarah Andersen chronicles a supernatural love story between Elsie the vampire and Jimmy the werewolf. The graphic novel is a series of comic vignettes with a loose linear progression of their relationship. They awkwardly meet and discover they both have “fangs” in common. This was both funny and sweet. They may be monsters, but they’re super relatable. Eventually, they move in together and learn each other’s unique quirks. She can’t be in direct sunlight, a natural goth. He turns into a wolf when […]



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