In a fantasy trilogy, the middle book is usually regarded as a link or transition between the first and third books. It is also often gets labelled with the dreaded “middle-book syndrome” by numerous readers and reviewers. I would have liked to express that Son of...
Marion’s Indie Book Spotlight Review #3: Daughter of Light by Morgan Busse
by MHill | Oct 12, 2026 | Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Indie Book Spotlight, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
While writing book reviews on my blog for the last fifteen years, I realized that I have read several first books in series (such as duologies like Gene Wolfe’s Wizard Knight or trilogies like N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth) but, for some reason, never continued with the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 205: The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
by MHill | Sep 27, 2026 | Book Reviews, Hispanic Heritage Month, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I wrote in my previous review that a television series made me want to read One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Well, it happened again with The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. I watched the Amazon Prime series recently and the visual...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 203: Beloved by Toni Morrison
by MHill | Aug 21, 2026 | Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Toni Morrison, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
How far you go as a parent to protect your child? Would you go as far as taking their life in order to protect that child from slavery? Morrison forces the reader to examine that choice in her magnum opus, Beloved. The novel, Morrison’s most acclaimed, was adapted...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 201: A Table in the Mist by Jeffrey Meyers
by MHill | Aug 1, 2026 | Book Reviews, Books of the Bible, Christianity, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Rereading Series, Study of Ecclesiastes, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Fifteen years ago, I posted a study of my favorite book in the Bible, Ecclesiastes. Jeffrey Meyers’ work, “A Table in the Mist,” served as my guide for the study. I found myself drawn to Ecclesiastes, a book that is remarkably unique and frequently misunderstood...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 200: Toni at Random by Dana A. Williams
by MHill | Jul 11, 2026 | Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Toni Morrison, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
"Has there been a well-regarded or lauded author you keep trying out as a reader but have never connected with their books? Toni Morrison is my answer to that question. I have attempted several of her books (Jazz, Paradise, and Love) over the years but have never...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 199: Rediscovering Jonah by Tim Keller
by MHill | Jul 4, 2026 | Book Reviews, Books of the Bible, Christianity, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
The Book of Jonah has been on my mind for the past several weeks. I don’t know why one of the most popular Old Testament stories has been in my thoughts lately. I decided to embrace those thoughts rather than push them away; my plan was to first revisit the Book of...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 197: To Leave A Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie
by MHill | Jun 10, 2026 | Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
"Writing isn't about doing what everyone else tells you to do. Writing is about doing what your creative voice wants you to do." I begin this review with those two sentences from Kristine Kathryn Rusch's The Write Attitude. Rusch writes about what a writer's mindset...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 196: The Horse by Willy Vlautin
by MHill | May 27, 2026 | Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
He explained to her how he was tired of the uncertainty of a musician's life, tired of being gone nearly every night of the week while she sat at home alone. And he was tired of playing other people's songs in casinos. "I mean I play five nights a week with Ronnie...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 195: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
by MHill | May 26, 2026 | Book Reviews, Haruki Murakami, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
Have you ever picked a book from your library and started reading it? I did that a few days ago with Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami. Murakami is one of my favorite authors, and this is my eighth book of his I’ve read and reviewed on this blog. I was...