March 2019
MsWas's Message Corner
Greetings Cannonballers,
I hope you’ve seen all of the great Good Omens promo material out there, like the official trailer, Tori Preston’s article on Pajiba about the revelations from the SXSW panel, not to mention the other promos at SXSW like the choir of nuns, adorable hellhounds, and the riders of the apocalypse. And if you haven’t already, you can follow Neil Gaiman on Twitter and Instagram for more Good Omens goodies. I'm so psyched for our first #CannonBookClub of the year! And faintingviolet has great things planned for our clubs later this year. Find out more and cast your vote!
I got a great question recently asking whether it’s ok to review a book you did not finish, and I’ll tell you the answer: yes! Yes, you can review something you didn’t finish. Be up front in the review that you haven’t finished it, and tell us why (make sure it’s 250+ words). For CBR we trust that you’re going to write a good faith review. And honestly, telling people why you ditched it, and warning them away, can sometimes make the best reviews.
Keep those questions coming, so I can keep adding to the FAQ. I love to hear from you; and if there are any problems with the site or otherwise, I want to know.
Take care and Happy Reading!
MsWas
Q&A with a Cannonballer: xoxoxo e
Has CBR changed the way you read?
It's made me feel part of a community - and I love the idea of so many of us reading, reading, reading for such a great cause - and sharing opinions. I'm all about opinions. I also like reading other Cannonballer reviews - of books or genres I might not have considered reading before.
Upcoming first quarter donation
Talking about quarterly donations sounds so corporate, doesn't it? Due to the fiduciary stability of the aforementioned nonprofit organization and the enthusiastic participation and support of its content creators and users, we are on track to make a $150 donation to the American Cancer Society for the first quarter of 2019.
There's still time to increase that number, if you donate before Sunday, March 31!
Good Omens
The first #CannonBookClub of the year will be May 17-18, and we are reading Good Omens, the masterpiece by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. And bonus! We're going to follow that up with a Facebook Live event in the group chat June 14-15, discussing the hotly anticipated TV adaptation, which premieres on Amazon on May 31. If you're not already part of the Facebook group, join us!
Coming soon for #CannonBookClub
Good Omens has inspired us, with its beloved book and soon-to-be-beloved show. For the fall book club, we'll read a classic WITH its adaptation/retelling. So this one will have two books and two discussions, the first (classic) on August 16-17 and the second (retelling) on September 20-21. Find out more and cast your vote! The survey closes Monday, April 1, so be sure to share your thoughts this week.
Survey results
Thank you to everyone who completed our recent newsletter survey! You don't have to wait for a survey to let us know what you think; contact us any time if you have questions or suggestions. It sounds like some people are still having occasional trouble with newsletters going to spam folders, so make sure mswas@cannonballread.com and newsletter@cannonballread.com are in your address book, so you never miss any of the excitement!
Style Tip: uncategorized
If you're one of those who saves a review as a draft and then has to wait and publish until your brat cat mascot is feeling photogenic (hypothetically), and you forget to select a category when you go in and publish, Wordpress automatically checks "uncategorized" as the category. Or if you've got all your ducks in a row and publish immediately, but still forget to check a category, you get uncategorized.
Even if you go back in and correct it later with the appropriate category, you still have to deselect "uncategorized." Remember your categories and tags! That helps people find your reviews, and helps with interesting analytics and stats later on.
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Feb 24, 2020 04:57 pm
Do not judge a book by the cover is probably the first thing I learned about books. However, sometimes you can, sometimes not and sometimes there are books that you do both. The Nixie of the Mill-Pond and Other European Stories is one of those books that you think you know what is going on (there will be a Nixie, which looks like a mermaid/banshee/fairy, that will do something in a mill-pond) but open it up and there is something completely different. On page one we […]
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Feb 24, 2020 04:55 pm
The story and characters contained in Song of Achilles will be familiar to anyone who knows their Greek history. It is the story of Iliad. It’s conceit is that it is told from the perspective of Patroclus, the companion of Achilles. Different treatments of the legend vary on what type of “companion” he was but in Madeline Miller’s, Patroclus and Achilles are unambiguously lovers. Exiled from his own land as a boy, Patroclus is sent to live in the house of Achilles’ father. Over […]
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Feb 24, 2020 04:50 pm
I have tried to find a many First Second Graphic novels. While looking for the Science Comics for Dogs, I found Science Comics: Cats: Nature and Nurture. As far as I was concerned cooler than dogs, but a friend had recommended it. What was I to do? Get the Cat book until the dog book was available! (Really, did you have to wonder?) And Andy Hirsch started off this fun and factual graphic novel on the slow side. I was afraid that I was going […]
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Feb 24, 2020 03:59 pm
The Nameless City is a trilogy that (if you are like me) should probably be read back-to-back. I was lucky and able to read all three with little break between one and two (and two and three the same day). Yet, a few things I had to backtrack and try to remember, “Okay who are you again?” or “What did you do?” However, the reader aged 10 to 14 should have no difficultly remembering everything. And thankfully, all three are out so regardless they can […]
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Feb 24, 2020 02:09 pm
Trigger warnings: addiction, adult child loss, grief This was such a hard book to read, even if it was amazing. I lost a cousin to suicide, among a few other episodes of grief, and so much of it hit home. Stephanie Wittels Wachs may not be as well known as her brother Harris, the Parks and Recreation writer / comedian who died of an overdose in 2015, but she’s a hell of a writer. To wit: “Dad’s notes to you feel especially poignant in hindsight. […]
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Amanda Howard (aka "Bothari43")
The Cannonball Read Newsletter Editor
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