Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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A kid asked me to do define communism. Um…

Red Scare by Liam Francis Walsh

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Fear of communism is rampant in America, but at the moment, Peggy is more concerned with her ongoing complications from polio, her parent’s struggling marriage, and oh yeah: witnessing the murder of a mysterious man the feds are calling a Russian spy. The spy was carrying a glowing red rod, and before he died, he hid the item in one of Peggy’s crutches. Not only does Peggy find herself hiding a mysterious Russian artifact, but that artifact enables her to fly! Suddenly, her health woes […]

The Expanse just keeps getting bigger

Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey

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I had friends recommend The Expanse tv series to me over the years, and I had trouble getting into it based of the first few episodes. I finally tried again last year, used my patience, and was HOOKED. I also read online that the book series was also great; I am generally able to separate and enjoy books from series/movies as two separate things (*cough* Wheel of Time fans *cough*), so decided to give the books a go as well. Abaddon’s Gate is book 4 […]

A sublime take on Groundhog Day

On the Calculation of Volume, Book I by Solvej Balle

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On November 18, Tara Selter wakes up in Paris and goes about her day of meeting with book sellers to view and purchase rare editions for the business she runs with her husband, Thomas. She goes to sleep that night with a plan for November 19, more appointments to keep, more books to consider. When she wakes up, she slowly comes to understand that she is reliving November 18 again. Anyone who has seen the Bill Murray classic (one of my favorite comedies, I’m not […]

“What good is passion without trust?”

Murder By Memory (Dorothy Gentleman, #1) by Olivia Waite

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Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. Another cozy mystery series I actually like! I love that they are going more mainstream, and becoming less formulaic and more creative as the genre expands. This one is set in space! Our main character is Dorothy Gentleman, ship’s detective. She is awoken from a two year “sleep” (characters on this ship have their memories stored in books so when they die they can be reawakened in […]

From a Hawk Tuah Boy Again

The Change by K. A. Applegate

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How many Hawk Tuah jokes do I get to make for this reading challenge? Anyway, Book 13 of the Animorphs is narrated by Tobias, our boy who accidentally stayed in his hawk morph too long, and is now permanently stuck in a hawk’s body. It has its ups and downs, and lately he’s really been missing his human form, and feeling like he is a useless member of the Animorphs because he can’t morph. He meets a pair of Hork-Bajir, dinosaur-like aliens who make up […]

Nightmares of the Fourth Reich

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

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Without a doubt, the best thing I’ve read so far this year. Quarter of the way through and not much comes close. As I’ve said many times, I don’t like dystopias that lean too hard into the dystopic-aspect. I like them with the axis of earth just tilted slightly; looking at reality through a cracked mirror. In other words, take scary parts of society and bend them a little to suit your story. Laila Lalami more than delivers that here. What’s frightening about The Dream Hotel is […]



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