April 2021
MsWas's Message Corner
To those of you participating in CBR13:
Many of you have heard from me already this year as we select the weekly reviews to promote on our homepage, in the daily Pajiba Love, and on our various social media platforms. I’m most often looking for a photo to use on our Instagram account, so thanks to everyone for sending those in to help our Instagram grow.
We’re always on the lookout to feature your wonderful writing and the books you love, but occasionally something fantastic slips by our notice. So today we are debuting the Suggest a Review form, where you can send in a review to potentially be featured. This can be a review that you wrote, or it can be a review you really love from another Cannonballer. Although we usually focus on reviews from the current year’s participants, you can also submit reviews from prior years.
While we can’t guarantee that every submission will get mentions in all of the areas above, we want to know what books and authors you’re psyched about. If you love it, we do too!
There’s no way I could possibly handle the social media myself, so I must thank our social media volunteers for this year. Without their dedication and creativity, we would have a much smaller reach in the world. Please give a big hand to to the volunteers on the following channels:
Take Care and Happy Reading,
Bonnie (aka "MsWas")
"Wear the old coat and buy the new book." - Austin Phelps
Q&A with a Cannonballer: wicherwill
 You're a first-time Cannonballer, right? How's it going so far?
Mostly kicking myself that I didn't participate before! If there were a lurker trophy for Cannonball I'd have one for pretty much every single year. I love how I learn new perspectives on books that I've liked and disliked--keeps me honest and on the path to becoming a better human.
Quick Questions Flashback: Remember when we tried Tumblr for a while? Yesknopemaybe reminds us in the Q&A from April 2017.
#CannonBookClub: Young at Heart
We're coming up on our Young at Heart book club discussion! Have you decided which book you're reading/re-reading?
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
- Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
We're trying something new this time, and doing breakout rooms for each of the three options. And we're trying to be mindful of the number of time zones we have represented (have you checked out our map yet?), so please fill out this brief survey about what time of day would be best for you for the book club Zoom chat on Saturday, May 22.
There will be discussion questions posted before the book club, and then you can join the chat either on the blog, on the Facebook Cannonball Read Book Chat, or on the Zoom call.
Have you read/written a review you think should be featured? Let us know!
Are you really proud of a recent review you wrote, or loved the book so much you want to shout it from the rooftops? Did you read someone else's review and it made you think, or ROFL? There is a new Suggested Review form where you can submit a review to (potentially) be featured on our homepage, social media, and the Pajiba Love daily column. We can't guarantee that every suggested review will be featured, but we always want to know what you are excited about!
Nonprofit news
CBR is growing up! What started as a way to raise money for OG Cannonballer AlabamaPink's son's college fund grew into a fundraising supporter of the American Cancer Society, and now, we're taking the next step to become an official nonprofit organization.
That will give us more fundraising opportunities and we can get a sales tax exemption for any supplies we purchase. Plus, you can deduct CBR donations from your taxes! And for some employers, you can list CBR as a participant in their matching gifts program.
This is an exciting next step that ensures our longevity and sets up a structure for the future of Cannonball Read. Watch this space for more details!
Check your badges
Are your badges correct so far this year? Double check your numbers (shown at the bottom of your reviews by your bio) and make sure your comments, reviews, and participation levels are correct. If not, let MsWas know!
Style Tip: images and thumbnails
Obviously, we're all here to read. But adding some visual interest to your posts is also highly recommended! When you add images to your review (click here for a tutorial), it should auto-generate a thumbnail preview of the featured image. If you only post one image, you don't have to pick a featured image. If you post several (book covers, reaction gifs, casting ideas, etc.), you can select which image is featured, meaning which thumbnail will show on the main blog page.
CBR Event Calendar
You can also check the calendar page on the blog for an overview of upcoming events.
- Zoom Chat: The May Zoom chat will be the book club on May 22
- #CannonBookClub:
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Apr 29, 2021 11:05 am
[Read as an audiobook from the public library] This is a little frustrating, because I really wanted all this to end on a high note. I wanted to like Network Effect at least as much as Artificial Condition, since ART was back. But that just didn’t happen and it kind of bummed me out. That’s certainly not to say I didn’t have a good time or I didn’t enjoy this book, because I absolutely did. So in this feature-length installment, Murderbot finds itself kidnapped by the transport […]
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Apr 29, 2021 10:28 am
Having read this and listened to a podcast, I’m convinced the Bernie Madoff thing was far more complicated than even he realized. Madoff, who died last week, has been an intriguing character in American history, though a mysterious one. He tried to fall on his sword regarding his Ponzi Scheme, and when that failed, he haphazardly and, it seems, untruthfully, explained how it worked and when it started. Diana B. Henriques does as good of a job as one can recently expect with untangling the […]
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Apr 29, 2021 09:27 am
I was on the salesfloor this morning, doing a task that I occasionally do, surrounded by the books of the counter. You know those fun little distractions at the checkout. The ones that you pick up for hostess gifts, for that one person you never can buy for, and that “I need a treat and it might be Champlain Chocolate [so yummy], but my waist will thank me for a book instead” books. After finishing my task, instead of taking my normal route back to […]
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Apr 29, 2021 08:08 am
You’re a first-time Cannonballer, right? How’s it going so far? Mostly kicking myself that I didn’t participate before! If there were a lurker trophy for Cannonball I’d have one for pretty much every single year. I love how I learn new perspectives on books that I’ve liked and disliked–keeps me honest and on the path to becoming a better human. What’s a wicherwill? This is a decades old nickname. In middle school, a friend and I would race to the elementary school during lunch and […]
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Apr 29, 2021 12:20 am
I’ve enjoyed following Natalie and Brandon through their travels and trials, but all good things must come to an end. This is the third book in the series, and the final book for Natalie and Brandon, so I wouldn’t recommend starting with this book. “But I was forced to choose between that life and Lady Natalie. I chose the woman I love, and I’ll never regret that decision. It feels like I gave up my arms to make way for wings.” Natalie and Brandon are […]
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Amanda Howard (aka "Bothari43")
The Cannonball Read Newsletter Editor
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