Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


A Tale of Two Realms

A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry

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I have never actually read A Tale of Two Cities beyond the famous opening paragraph and yet I was very much interested in a retelling with Fae. I’ve read a few novels this year that were either retellings or inspired by other classic texts but they were looser, taking those bones and putting them in a modern setting or otherwise being more homage than retelling. From what I can tell, this one takes the approach of following one of the supporting characters of the original […]

Who knew a book with “bleak” in the title could be so much fun? (with helpful charts!)

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

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Bleak House has been brooding on my TBR list for years because, even though I’m a long-time Dickens fan, I was intimidated by the length and by what I perceived would be a weighty novel. I’m ecstatic that I overcame my hesitance, because this novel was more fun than a mariachi band on a roller coaster. Sure, about 9 people die, but you can’t make gruel without smashing a few oats, right? There are so many characters that the death toll amounts to maybe 12%, and […]

Shocking News, Classic Author Wilkie Collins Wrote Another Good Book

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins

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CBR15Bingo: Dwelling (the secret in the house is a major part of this book, and the house itself is a sort of character) I continue my tradition of one Wilkie Collins book a year with The Dead Secret, a fun and fast-paced read that cements Collins as probably my favorite Victorian writer (besides George Eliot for Middlemarch, but I’ve struggled to read Daniel Deronda about four times, whereas I’ve enjoyed every Collins I’ve read). I was especially impressed to note on the back cover that […]

What a colossal disappointment.

Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today by Rachel Vorona Cote

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I heard about this book a few months ago and I was immediately intrigued. I wanted a thoughtful, interesting, and possibly irreverent commentary on how the rules and regulations of Victorian society (you know- something like the title of the book) still keep us in check today, but what I got instead was a self-indulgent combination of temper tantrum and pity party. The concept is fascinating: using examples from Victorian literature, frame how modern women are still locked into the same constraints. Sounds interesting! Sounds […]



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