Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Fish are friends, even if they can’t travel with you

Goodbye, Koi by Jack Wong

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Inspired by actual events of when they were a young child, Jack Wong’s Goodbye, Koi is a lovely toned story and amazingly illustrated book. Due mid September 2026 (read via an online reader copy) this story is adaptable to most ages. While the picture book format might turn off a few older readers, you could read it up to about second or third grade. The premise is that a child must say goodbye to their beloved koi fish pets, as something is happening so they […]

Home Family

A Forest, A Family, A Harbor, A Home by Nikki McClure

The Things We Hold by Vanessa Lewis-Porter and Cornelius Van Wright 

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I honestly debated putting these two books together in one review. They are both about homes, but each with a radically different direction. One is about the closeness of home and family, while the other deals with homelessness and family.  The only similarty is that both are future publications and read via an online reader.  Yet, please find two books about home and what that means to the characters in these picture books. A Forest, A Family, A Harbor, A Home by Nikki McClure (due […]

“Luck is an undependable commodity.”

Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon by Michael P. Ghiglieri, Thomas Myers

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Two veteran adventurers and employees who worked in the Grand Canyon compile the stories of all the many people who have died in the canyon and the diverse fates which have befallen them. I visited the Grand Canyon about a decade ago, and I remember being struck by the sheer immensity of the landscape, as well as how colorful it was. My family and I just biked along the rim for a few hours, but always took plenty of care to keep away from the […]

“That on the other side of the winter that took my children…My god, there has to be a spring.”

Idolfire by Grace Curtis

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In Ash, on one side of the world, Aleya Ana-Ulai, City Guard and bastard of the royal family, is desperate for a chance to prove herself. Her family may have written her off as a mistake, but she’ll prove all of them wrong. Or die trying. On the other, Kirby of Wall’s End is searching for redemption and her village’s lost idol. An ancient curse may have killed her brother (though that may have been faulty architecture), be leading to the death of her village, […]

“No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride…and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well…maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten.”

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson

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Raoul Duke and his attorney go on a mad, drug-fueled tear through late 1960s Las Vegas, where they haphazardly cover a desert motorcycle race and attend a police convention. The whole time I was reading this book I could not help but keep thinking about how very annoyed I would be if I were on this trip with Duke & the Doc. Not that anyone I know’s ever gone on so wild a tear, but I could certainly see the echoes of herding around friends […]

Not The Guidebook I Needed

Amorgos by Tassos Anastassiou

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Best for: Probably those who speak Greek, as the translation was challenging to read. In a nutshell: A history of the island of Amorgos in the Cyclades. Worth quoting: N/A Why I chose it: I just spent four days there and wanted to know more. Review: Amorgos is a small island in the Cyclades area of Greece – other islands that are more well known are Santorini and Mykonos. In the guide books there isn’t much information or history about it. I saw this book […]



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