Quick Questions with a Cannonballer: yesknopemaybe

Cannonballer yesknopemaybe took some time out of running the Cannonball Read Tumblr page to answer a few questions for us.

How many times have you participated in CBR?

I did one review for CBR5 and then stopped because I was paralyzed by writing anxiety. Finally for CBR7, I said fuck it and signed up again, willing myself to not care so much and just write.

Has being a participant changed the way you read? If so, how?

It’s definitely influenced my reading list. I finally have all the bookish friends I could ask for with THE best taste in books. Some of my favorite reads of the last few years were only on my radar because Cannonballers recommended them.

What’s the first book you recommend to new friends?

Book recommending is serious business so I tend to tailor my recs based on the person and their interests. If I’m forced to recommend blindly, I do have a few swiss army recommendations up my sleeve: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and Kindred by Octavia Butler. They’re all extremely well written, have great characters, and propelling plots that are easy to get lost in.

Library, Kindle, Amazon, or bookstore?

Mostly library because I don’t like spending money on books I haven’t read yet. Plus, the more libraries are used, the more they get funded which makes me feel like I’ve performed a civic duty without trying very hard. If I really like a book or want to foist it upon friends and family, I’ll buy a book, usually from Amazon because I’m cheap and it also kicks some back to CBR. Shoutout to Book Depository for when you want to ship internationally for free!

How many chances do you give an author? (He/she comes highly recommended, but you gave a few books a try and they’re maaaaybe not your style?)

I’m not very loyal to authors at all I’m afraid. I’ll try anything once… if it sounds like a book I’ll like or comes highly recommended. However, if I’m not enjoying it or curious about what happens next, I’ll DNF it without remorse.

‘Tis (nearly) the season: what’s your favorite kind of fair/festival food?

I live in Minnesota which has a great state fair so there’s a lot of great fair food to choose from. My absolute favorite is the sunflower seed honey ice cream. I’ve tried to recreate it at home, but it just isn’t the same :(.