July 2022
MsWas's Message Corner
Hello everyone,
Hope you are all having a great summer and enjoying Bingo. I have a lot to be thankful for this summer besides thoroughly enjoying these great Bingo reviews, but I do want to take a moment to thank our recent donors: Sidney B. (who donated in honor of Bibliophile's bat mitzvah), Katie L., (who donated in honor of baxlala), and esmemoria, (who has pledged a recurring monthly donation). Donations from these folks and people like you help keep Cannonball Read running.
Donating to Cannonball Read this summer will not only increase our donations to the American Cancer Society, but help support the day-to-day running of the website, server hosting fees, functionality improvements, Book Bingo and other reading challenges. We have the option to set up a monthly, recurring donation, or honor or memorialize someone via our Paypal form.
Cannonball Read is a kind, inclusive, and supportive community. Cannonballers are eager to recommend books and encourage writers who try something new stylistically or share something personal on a daily basis. The site is also a great place to finally “de-lurk” and get your writing out there. This community would not exist without the financial support from people like you. Even the smallest recurring payment will grow and allow us to raise funds to support the American Cancer Society. Please consider making a donation - they add up and help us maintain your experience here.
Have a great summer, filled with beaches and books,
Bonnie (MsWas)
“The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.” – Kurt Vonnegut
Quick Questions with a Cannonballer: GentleRain
You read a wide variety of stuff (manga, history, middle grade mysteries, Wilkie Collins!). How do you decide what to read next from your TBR pile?
I tend to flip back and forth between fiction and non-fiction, while continuously reading comics, so I tend to decide by staring at the books on my bookcases until something strikes me. I feel like it's often less of a rational decision than an internal urge for a certain genre or author, but I'm often circling my bookcases for a while before I commit. I also have to carry the books everywhere (I have a long commute and no car) so weight often factors in as well.
See what else GentleRain has to say »
Quick Questions Flashback: In July 2020, Aquillia talked about the Wheel of Time series making her emotional. So Aquillia, did the Amazon show live up to your expectations? Inquiring Twitter minds want to know!
Bingo Check-in! How's it going?
Photo courtesy of Dome'Loki
We already have our first completed card: congratulations, BlackRaven! See a list of participants so far and chime in on some Q&A on this week's check-in post. It's always interesting to see how people strategize their bingo cards. Feel free to share yours on any of our social media channels!
Continuing With Checking In: Fill Out Our Quick Survey

We're halfway through CBR14 already. How's it going so far? Please take a minute to fill out this brief Mid-year Survey and let us know what you think about book clubs, bingo, commenting, and other Cannonball goodness. We appreciate your feedback! The new ability to add gifs to comments (and other comment improvements) came from a previous survey response, so keep those good ideas coming! The survey will close Saturday, August 6.
#CannonBookClub: Banned Books in September
Do any of the #CannonBookClub choices fit in to your bingo strategy? If so, bonus! If not, they're still great options to put in your TBR pile. Book club discussion will be September 16-17, covering the following banned books:
- The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
- All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
We've got more info and a synopsis of each book for you, and feel free to start reading one or all of the choices and tagging your reviews with CannonBookClub.
CBR Diversion
We have a fun summertime CBR Diversion, celebrating beach reads and fun gifs (this was a favorite). Have you read any fun beach reads this summer? (That doesn't necessarily mean a book you read on a beach - it's more of a vibe thing.) Stay tuned for future Diversions, and let us know if there's anything in particular you'd like to be diverting about.
New Badges for Bingo
Under your bio, you have adorable little badges to let you know where you are with yearly participation, level of achievement, and comments. Plus, we have added new Bingo Badges for participants! To find out more about what all the little icons mean, check out the Badges page.
If you think your badges aren't reflecting your achievements properly, give us a shout.
Style Tip: Text Wrapping and Photos
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Please make sure to select an alignment for every photo, either left, right, or center. This will help the text flow properly on mobile and desktop. To do so, all you have to do is tweak the alignment to wrap the text around your photo.
This Month's Fan Mail

Classic’s review of the short story collection Other Terrors got comments from the editor, Vince A. Liaguno, and one of the authors: a Fan Mail double whammy!
Let us know if you have anything to submit to our Fan Mail page. Don't forget to tag @cannonballread when you post on social media - it helps others find us, and helps us find you to include you on the page!
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