March 2020
MsWas's Message Corner
Hello CBR12 participants and friends of Cannonball Read,
Hope everyone is reading or re-reading Station Eleven for #CannonBookClub next week! It has been a far different experience reading it this time around, hasn’t it? Can't wait to hear what you all have to say about this lovely book. Remember you don’t have to be signed up for CBR12 to participate, everyone is welcome!
The other day, I chanced upon the latest in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, To the Land of Long Lost Friends, on the new book shelf at my library - what a treat! Some books’ publicaton dates are on my radar, like Deanna Raybourn’s A Murderous Relation (Veronica Speedwell #5) which just came out a couple of days ago, but some are a delightful surprise to find they’re available. I remember when Order of the Phoenix came out, our library’s computer system was down, so the hold list was out of commission. Finding that book just sitting there on the new book shelf was like finding hidden treasure.
As far as other series, fingers crossed that Diana Gabaldon’s next book comes out this year, but we’ve all pretty much given up hope on George R. R. Martin, haven’t we?
Take care and Happy Reading!
Bonnie (aka "MsWas")
Q&A with a Cannonballer: andtheIToldYouSos
 How long have you been volunteering with CBR, and what is your area of expertise?
I just volunteered at the beginning of this year. My areas of expertise are mostly physical, if I am going to say that I'm an expert at all at anything, haha. I worked in theater for a long time - doing both props and set design- but it was a terribly stressful environment. For the last few years I have been teaching other adults behavioral and trauma informed interventions to help kids with neurological and emotional disabilities. Neither of those worlds really translate directly to CBR, so I kind of just waved my hand at MsWas with a "ooh ooh, pick me!" and now I'm wading my way through our Pinterest waters.
#CannonBookClub
On March 20-21 (that's only 8 days away!), we’ll celebrate five years of #CannonBookClub and revisit our first book – Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. (We had no idea we’d be in the middle of a pandemic when we picked this reread as the choice for March!) Plus, this one led to a really interesting discussion back in the day.
#CannonBookClub will take place over two days on the group blog so folks from all time zones can jump in. If you're thirsty for even more discussion, you can also speak up in in the Cannonball Read Book Chat Facebook group. or our other social media. Whether you’ve read, reread, or even DNF, check out faintingviolet's suggested discussion topics, and plan to join us. All are welcome!
Where in the world are Cannonballers?
It's always fun to see where all our readers are and learn a little about them. Yesknopemaybe has once again provided us with a map of this year's Cannonballers on our CBR12 Participants page. All of this year's Cannonballers are listed there with a little bio - there's some sweet and funny stuff in there, just like in all of your reviews.
Helpful tips and tricks: Instagram
Have you been tapped for a featured review yet? When you are, MsWas will contact you for a CBR Instagram photo. A suggestion: submit a square photo. People tend to take vertical photos of books since that's pretty much the way books are shaped, but Instagram often cuts off the top and bottom of a photo if it's too vertical.
Scroll back on our Instagram page and see pictures that worked and didn't work. As always, let us know if you have other questions.
Badges
Have you noticed all those little things at the bottom of your reviews, under your bio? Have you deciphered them all? If you need a hint, check out all the cool CBR badges you're racking up: yearly participation, level of achievement, and comments. To use narfna as an example, she joined Cannonball during CBR4 and hasn't missed a year since (rock star!), she's made more than 50 comments this year, and that adorable little cannonball shows that she's halfway to a full Cannonball. If you think your badges aren't reflecting your achievements properly, give us a shout.
Fan mail
One of the most fun parts of Cannonball Read is when the authors notice a review. Usually they're happy about it and we hear about it on social media. This year, we've even been mentioned on an author podcast! You can keep track of who's mentioned us (it's not bragging, we just want to make sure everybody sees it - honest!) on our Fan Mail page. And don't forget to tag @cannonballread when you post so we can keep getting the word out!
Goodreads
Did you know that we have a Goodreads group with over 170 members? And this year, we'd like to make it into a space for more people to have broader discussions with a wider audience.
But don't let us tell you what this page should be. You tell us! What do you feel is missing from the conversation? How can we make our Goodreads page a better community space for you? Join Cannonball Readers and get in on the discussion about the future of the group.
Tell us what our Goodreads page should have. We'll do it. Pinky swear.
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Mar 01, 2021 11:29 pm
A Dead Djinn in Cairo is like a bonbon. It’s perfect exactly as it is, but it leaves you wanting more, more, more. Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the interesting woman in the sharp suit, and we are dropped into her world with little fanfare. In Clark’s Cairo of 1912, the British and the French tried to colonize Egypt, but the sudden arrival of magical creatures drove them out. Some 40 years earlier, man named Al-Jahiz opened a portal allowing all kinds of djinn, magic […]
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Mar 01, 2021 10:44 pm
The Midnight Library follows a woman name Nora Seed who has a pretty sad life: dead end job, bad apartment, dead cat, no friends, dead mom. So she decides to take her own life by overdosing. After laying down to die, she finds herself in this kind of interstitial space of a weirdly magical library with infinite books of all the infinite lives she could have lived. The librarian is a woman from her past, Mrs. Elm, who helped her through her father’s death. Mrs. […]
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Mar 01, 2021 07:28 pm
I got this book as a holiday gift from a friend whose book taste I trust implicitly. She told me she hadn’t been able to put it down when she read it. I was skeptical — I’m just not really a non-fiction person. In fact, I’m pretty sure this was my first-ever memoir written by a non-celebrity. I usually just want to sit with a story and not think about real life. Why would I want to spend my precious book time reading about someone […]
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Mar 01, 2021 05:44 pm
As somone who grew up reading Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie, I love a good mystery. If I had it to do again, I would definitely have chosen the audiobook for this since it has such strong Serial podcast vibes. In Fairview a beautiful and popular senior, Andie Bell, was murdered five years ago by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. The tragedy has haunted this small town and the people who knew the families involved. Now five years later, 17 year old Pip […]
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Mar 01, 2021 04:38 pm
I decided to read The Bellweather Rhapsody based on jomidi’s Cannonball Read review. I’m a sucker for a locked door mystery, especially when it involves a group of strangers trapped in a remote location with a murderer. Content warning: Suicide, both completed and attempted. The completed suicide is described in a fair amount of detail. Domestic abuse is mentioned. In 1982, twelve year-old Minnie Graves decides to explore the Bellweather Hotel after her older sister’s wedding. She stumbles upon another new bride moments after she […]
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Amanda Howard (aka "Bothari43")
The Cannonball Read Newsletter Editor
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