Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Concluding the series by marrying off the last sister

Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas

by 2 Comments

3.5 stars Official book description: Railway magnate Tom Severin is wealthy and powerful enough to satisfy any desire as soon as it arises. Anything—or anyone—is his for the asking. It should be simple to find the perfect wife—and from his first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel, he’s determined to have her. But the beautiful and quick-witted Cassandra is equally determined to marry for love—the one thing he can’t give. Severin is the most compelling and attractive man Cassandra has ever met, even if his heart […]

Well, that’s just your opinion, man.

The Seven Lamps of Architecture by John Ruskin

by 2 Comments

There is no doubt at all that John Ruskin was an odd bird indeed.  But good Lord, the man had Opinions.   In 1848, Ruskin toured northern France with his bride (poor girl), and I assume, earlier Italy.  It was here that he fell in love with (certain examples) of Gothic architecture.  For Ruskin, architecture was the first of the arts, because it was not created by a person, but rather by a culture (his primary examples being cathedrals that took, in some cases, hundreds […]

Somehow this all seems familiar

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H.G. Parry

by Leave a Comment

I don’t remember how I heard about The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, but I saw it on a library shelf not long after I heard about it, so of course I had to check it out (pun intended). The story concentrates on two brothers, Rob the older from whose perspective the story comes, and Charley the younger, genius of the sort who finished a PhD and publishes an academic book on Dickens at the age of nineteen. There is the usual kind of brotherly […]

“How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.”

Dracula by Bram Stoker

by 2 Comments

I don’t have the time or energy to write as much or as deeply as I would like to about this strange, 100+ year old book, so I’m just going to settle with posting some brief thoughts below. Somehow I managed to make it out of years and years of schooling, with two English degrees, without reading this book. Which is right up my alley! All that discussion of monsters and things that are taboo swathed in metaphor. I love that shit. When I first […]

Discussing a beloved favourite in book club can be disheartening

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

by Leave a Comment

4.5 stars Official book description: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway – a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. […]

Charlotte plans an art heist

The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas

by Leave a Comment

This is the fourth book in a five book series. It’s not really the best place to begin. This review will also possibly contain spoilers for earlier books in the series. A Study of Scarlet Women is where you want to start. Official book description: As “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective,” Charlotte Holmes has solved murders and found missing individuals. But she has never stolen a priceless artwork—or rather, made away with the secrets hidden behind a much-coveted canvas. But Mrs. Watson is desperate to help her old […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo