June 2019
MsWas's Message Corner
Greetings Cannonballers,
We had such a great time doing the Facebook Live event for Good Omens, faintingviolet and I! We just couldn’t stop talking, both before our scheduled start time, and during the video. I think we’ll be planning another one in the future. And just as I was considering trying to make the next one a Google Hangout, I found out that Google will be discontinuing that service this fall! So if you have a suggestion of another video service where we could potentially record from a couple of remote locations, AND host the video right on cannonballread.com, please drop me a line. If you didn’t get a chance to participate, you can still watch our video in the Facebook group, and comment away!
Pajiba just celebrated its 15th anniversary this week. It’s amazing to think that a pop culture website has stuck around for so long on the internet and made an impact on so many. If you didn’t find your way to us through this site, you should go take a look at some of its great columns. Remember that there’s a CBR featured review in the daily Pajiba Love link roundup, and watch for upcoming reviews of Spiderman: Far from Home, Midsommar, and Yesterday.
We are also just getting ready to kick of CBR11 Bingo, and emmalita and I are really psyched for this round. We hope that we addressed some of the sticking points from last year, so many more of you will be able to shout B-I-N-G-O! Tune in to the website on July 1 to get your card and rules, and start checking off your squares.
Take care and Happy Reading!
MsWas
Q&A with a Cannonballer: crystalclear
How many times have you participated in CBR? Has it changed the way you read?
This is my 5th CBR, and it definitely has changed the way I read. I read more carefully and think of things I want to put in my reviews. On the other hand, reading a book I know I'm not going to review is a bit more relaxing!
You work in the Youth Services department at a library and host toddler storytime? This sounds divine and adorable. What’s your favorite thing about working with these future readers?
Seeing the children get excited about a book, even if they're just picking one off the table to read later. Making the stories interactive and having them find something on the page or guess what is going to happen next, and seeing them make connections makes it all worth while!
#WhyICannonball
Get some tissues ready and see what MsWas has to say about why she decided not only to participate in Cannonball Read, but to capably steer this ever-growing ship for lo these many years. What made you sign up for this wild and wonderful ride? Love of books, hatred of cancer, an excuse to tell the internet all your feelings about Rainbow Rowell? All of the above? Let us know #WhyICannonball on social media, and help us fight the good fight by donating.
#CannonBookClub: Good Omens Part 2
The Facebook Live discussion was great! Thanks to all who participated in the Facebook group and the blog post discussions. We covered pros and cons of changes the Good Omens TV show made from the book, casting decisions, style, narration, and more.
Bingo is back!
Last year's inaugural CBR Bingo was a smash hit, and we're delighted to bring it back this year. This reading challenge assigns categories as bingo squares, including stuff like Not My Wheelhouse (expand your horizons!), The Book was Better, and Cannonballer Says (a CBR recommendation, naturally). Get a bingo (or a blackout!), and you'll be entered into the prize drawing. Bingo will run from July 1 to October 31. Keep tabs here for more details.
Beach totes to fill with summer books
In case you haven't yet had a chance to peruse our super-cute merch, we have Cannonball Read totes (and other goodies) with last year's 10th anniversary logo and the evergreen CBR look. Whether your summer vacation plans include hauling books to the beach, hauling books on a hike, packing books along on a picnic, or even taking NON-book things places, we've got you covered!
Photo foibles
Occasionally, Google and Wordpress will disagree on photo sizes and not let you upload something. The recommended size for photos is 3,000 pixels wide (or less, of course - it doesn't have to be enormous) with 1 - 1.5MB for the file size.
If you're having trouble resizing your photos, there are many apps that can resize for you, or email it to yourself (if you're using an iPad or iPhone) and choose the "Large" option when it asks what size to send.
So if you're ready to post your review and Wordpress is giving you that maddening little X, try resizing your photo and re-uploading. Let us know if you have any questions!
Count check
If you're one of the unlucky ones who's had trouble with the automatic updating of your review numbers, then it's your lucky day and that should now be resolved. Please check the footer of a recent review you published, and make sure it matches what it says on the Leaderboard. The footer should show your name and the review number (as pictured). If it doesn't, let MsWas know.
P.S. I'm comin' for you, Leedock!
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Jun 25, 2019 11:48 am
I’ve developed a recent habit of revisiting old books; some favorites, others not. I wanted to see how they held up after all this time and if my notions of them were still true. Many list The Drowning Pool as one of Ross Macdonald (Kenneth Millar)’s greatest works. I am a Lew Archer diehard. I’ve said many times in this space that it’s my favorite detective mystery series of all-time. But I’m also lucky that I unintentionally began it later in the series, when Macdonald had already sharpened his craft, as opposed to the beginning when he was just trying to imitate […]
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Jun 25, 2019 09:16 am
What Riley Wore is another book about being a gender-fluid/non-gender conforming child. With the neutral name of Riley and with neutral images (you see Riley’s bottom, but nothing that shows gender) we see Riley in their daily routine. And we see them as they have a busy week with their family, friends and even during their alone time. Elana K. Arnold’s text and Linda Davick’s illustrations create a modern story about being yourself, doing what fits the occasion and not worrying about expectations of others. And for me, perhaps a little too modern. Riley is shy on Monday, so they […]
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Jun 24, 2019 10:59 pm
Words in Deep Blue Before badkittyuno disappeared off Cannonball again (I can say that because I’ve come back) she read and reviewed Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley. It sounded right up my alley so I downloaded the narrated-by-Australians (this may have added a star) audiobook from Overdrive and promptly fell in love. The night before Rachel Sweetie moved away from her hometown she left a note for her best friend, Henry, confessing her years long crush on him. Unfortunately Henry’s not-quite girlfriend, Amy, saw the note and made sure he never got it. Rachel thought his lack of reaction meant he […]
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Jun 24, 2019 10:35 pm
My review of Five Feet Apart: Oh you want more? Sorry, I am a bit rusty on my review writing. Five Feet Apart is written by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis which means it took three people to write this The Fault in our Stars rip-off. Stella has cystic fibrosis; she has a popular vlog, is developing an app for monitoring her drug regime and is well-liked at the hospital she has been treated at her entire life. Her healthy older sister died in a freak accident and now Stella is perpetually afraid about what will happen to her parents when she dies. Will also has […]
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Jun 24, 2019 10:17 pm
Emoni has always had a passion for cooking. Ever since she was young, she had an instinct for adding extra flair to her recipes, almost never making the same dish the same way twice. Some even claimed that her cooking is magic, even brings back forgotten memories. Emoni isn’t sure about that, she just likes to cook. During Emoni’s senior year, her school finally introduces the perfect elective: culinary arts. This class will focus on Spanish cuisine, and there will be a special trip to Spain. It’s an exciting opportunity, but also challenging for Emoni, who will have to work […]
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Jun 24, 2019 10:14 pm
I’ve become quite a fan of Stephen King in recent years, but a frequent complaint from the less enamored rings true about Rose Madder: the man could stand an editor. I have no doubt that had anyone not named Stephen King submitted this book as a manuscript, any editor worth his or her salt would have cut about 100 pages (they all would choose the same 100 pages to cut, I bet) and made this a much better book. As it is, Rose Madder is 550 pages of greatness stuck in a 650-page book. Content Warning: To discuss the plot […]
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Jun 24, 2019 09:56 pm
I very much enjoyed Poston’s Geekerella, so I was excited to get back into that world with The Princess and the Fangirl. It’s set in the same universe, but focuses on different characters at the same convention in a time far, far away…or maybe like a year or so. At the latest ExcelsiCon, the new Starfield movie was a smashing success. Now, they are gearing up for a sequel. The only person not excited is leading lady Jessica Stone. Her Amara was killed off in the first film, and Jessica hopes she stays that way. Jessica had been a “serious” […]
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Jun 24, 2019 09:42 pm
I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game. It had that sexy back and forth, love-hate thing going. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a lot of fun, plus nicely steamy and romantic. So it comes as little surprise that I would be excited for Thorne’s newest book, 99 Percent Mine. The sad reality is that I’m not that into this book. Our heroine is Darcy Bennett, bartender and former award-winning photographer. Darcy is one of those rebellious young ladies who acts first and thinks second, someone who tends to leave the country when things […]
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Jun 24, 2019 07:35 pm
Guys. The last (not even) 30 days of my life have been bonkers- like I would not be upset if you did not believe me when I say all of the following things have occurred since May 29th: I got in a horrific car accident. I walked away unharmed despite the airbags in my totaled car failing to deploy. My husband and I are in the process of buying and selling houses which is wonderful. We just found a (dream) house faster than planned which meant we had to scramble to get our house ready but we are currently undergoing the inspection/ […]
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Jun 24, 2019 06:00 pm
I’m not sure when I turned a corner, but in previous non-fiction reviews I would always say, “I don’t read a lot of non-fiction buuuut…” somehow, as I’m look at maybe my 10th non-fiction review in the past two years, I think I’ve turned into a non-fiction reader. It’s still a bit of a struggle at times, I get bogged down when there are a multitude of characters, but I have really grown to enjoy learning about real life accounts, particularly memoirs and historical accounts of minorities and the marginalized. I share this anecdote in case, like me, you always […]
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Jun 24, 2019 05:22 pm
On a whim, I requested The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities: A Yearbook of Forgotten Words from NetGalley. I received it in exchange for an honest review. Unlike most NetGalley books, this one was released in 2017 and is available now. I’ve enjoyed it and would recommend it as a gift for language lovers. It is what it says it is, a year’s worth of forgotten words arranged by date, often the word is related to an incident that happened on that date in history. It’s fun, occasional reading. The author, Paul Anthony Jones, is clearly a lover of words. He […]
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Jun 24, 2019 03:04 pm
I am not sure how Unicorn Is Maybe Not So Great After All by Bob Shea compares to the first book (Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great) as I have not read it (or if I have, it made no impression whatsoever). This time Unicorn is jealous of the new “hot thing” (rubber bands looking like other things: a soccer ball, wagon wheel, port holes…) and tries to make a new and improved Unicorn. Of course, the plan backfires with a face full of glitter. A lot of glitter. But Unicorn’s friends show Unicorn what is really important. And it is […]
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Jun 24, 2019 02:02 pm
Not what I was expecting! Actually, I’m not sure I was expecting anything? This little novella is Chabon’s homage to Sherlock Holmes, though his “old man” is never actually named in the story. It’s 1944, and our old man who may or may not definitely be a retired Sherlock Holmes, is living in Sussex, keeping his bees, and coming to terms with old age and a world that has moved on. This part of the story worked extremely well for me. It was so poignant to read about an aged Holmes, though the detective work isn’t anywhere near as clever […]
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Jun 24, 2019 01:59 pm
I happened to see someone I don’t even follow review the webcomic version of this lovely little story one Saturday. Someone in my feed had liked their review; they had included a link. I clicked it. I then spent the next couple of hours feverishly reading through it, until I finally had caught up with the latest post. I think that was about a year ago, and it’s still going. You wouldn’t do wrong by yourself to buy this hard copy, or the second volume coming out in July, but there is so much waiting involved with that, and you […]
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Jun 24, 2019 01:51 pm
I’m having trouble with this one! On the one hand, I liked it. On the other, I thought it needed just a little something else. I never really cared the way I should have, the way I’ve cared about her other characters in past books. Verity Plum is a publisher and bookseller; John Ashby is an engraver. They have known one another for ages, and always a low-simmering attraction they’ve both ignored has been present. Both for different reasons have been scared to change their dynamic. But then a series of events occur that convince both of them to give […]
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Jun 24, 2019 01:48 pm
This book damn near killed me. And I’m still not quite sure what to say about it. On the surface the plot is simple; two people from different walks of life come together, don’t always communicate great and life ensues. The book is told in alternating chapters from Connell and Marianne’s perspective, jumping in time with each chapter. They meet as teenagers and start having sex and (maybe) falling in love. Connell feels like he is truly himself when Marianne is around. Marianne falls under his spell and will do anything he asks…until she doesn’t. “Marianne had the sense that […]
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Jun 24, 2019 01:47 pm
This actually reminded me a lot of the ending to Throne of Glass; I had similar issues with it. But ultimately, this was a pretty good finish to the series. I definitely didn’t like it as much as I liked the second book. It was much messier, structurally. She just really isn’t great in my opinion at writing that end of series final battle book. She relies pretty heavily on deus ex machinas, and a lot of the intimate character growth we got last book was put on the backburner in favor of battles and dramatic meet-ups and reunions (and […]
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Jun 24, 2019 01:43 pm
This wasn’t my first manga, but it was the first I enjoyed. I tried Sailor Moon years ago, and was super not into it. In hindsight, I may have been unfair to it, and being unfamiliar with the conventions of manga and anime probably contributed, but still. Not a fan. But I was into this right away! I probably wouldn’t have ever picked it up, despite several friends having read and enjoyed it, except for the Read Harder Challenge this year (thanks Read Harder, doing your job!) requiring a book of manga. It was between this one and Fruits Basket, […]
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Jun 24, 2019 01:39 pm
There wasn’t enough Death in this, but then again, he’s done all his growing already in other books, so that was probably the smart choice. I still really enjoyed it. The actual main characters of this book are Death’s granddaughter, Susan, who has reached the ultimate peak of her badassdom; a history monk named Lu-Tze; and his apprentice, Lobsang. The history monks are cool. They live in this place where Time doesn’t really exist, and their job is to basically monitor history, and in a sense Time, and protect both when and where they can. When Death learns that once […]
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Amanda Howard (aka "Bothari43")
The Cannonball Read Newsletter Editor
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