After my reread, I tried to remember during which Cannonball Read I had originally discovered this novel, only to realize that I had done most of my Butler reading before I participated in CBR. I had a short post on my now defunct blog where I mentioned it, but it’s been over ten years (!) since I read this so I had forgotten a lot of the details. Basic plot details: Dana, an African American woman living in California in 1976, starts getting called back […]
I can’t wait to #CannonBookClub this one
I’ve read two previous Octavia Butler books, and I didn’t like either of them, so I wasn’t too excited about starting the next #CannonBookClub book. But oh, happy day! Now I get it. I thought Kindred was gripping and intense and thoughtful and layered and wicked good. For the first layer, it’s a time travel story. Dana is randomly pulled back in time to save a young boy who turns out to be her ancestor. She never knows when she’ll be called, or how she’ll get home. […]
Discussion Topics: Kindred
Book Club Discussion is Today, June 8-9! Visit our Discussion Post and speak your mind! Our second #CannonBookClub of 2018 on June 8 and 9 is Kindred by Octavia Butler as our first of two Anniversary Reads. Kindred is an historically highly rated and reviewed book for Cannonballers: in the ten years of Cannonball Read we’ve had eleven reviews of Kindred with a Cannonballer average rating of 4.64, which is only 0.16 away from our highest rated book of all-time. It’s time to get thinking about […]
The things we take for granted
I first learned about Octavia Butler a few years ago when searching online for innovative novels and Kindred showed up on just about every list I came across. When I went to the bookstore, I had become so enthusiastic about her that I decided to buy not only this book but also Fledgling, and then I read the latter first after a coin toss. That was probably a mistake, because I disliked it so much that I put off reading Kindred indefinitely. I’d finally put […]