Does being an artist make you inherently selfish? That question was the first thought I had after reading Colm Tóibín’s first novel, The South. I was interested in this novel because most of it took place in Barcelona, Spain. I spent a week in Barcelona for my...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 178: Baumgartner by Paul Auster
by MHill | Nov 24, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Paul Auster, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
Paul Auster is one of the few authors who have over 5 books of their work on my main library shelf at home. The others are Charles de Lint with 14 books and Jonathan Carroll with 8 books. These three authors have shaped me as a reader and writer more than I could have...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 177: The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
by MHill | Nov 15, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
It does not happen to me often when I read a work of fiction. With The City in Glass by Nghi Vo, I’m left uncertain about what I read or the novella’s true theme. Nghi Vo tells the story of Vitrine, a demon that loves the city of Azril. In some respects, she is the...
Rereading Erasure by Percival Everett
by MHill | Nov 1, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"A trout is very much like truth; it does what it wants, what it has to." The above quote came near the end of the novel, Erasure, by Percival Everett. I'm rereading this wonderful and thought-provoking novel again to see if it will make my all-time favorite novels...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 176: Four Souls by Louise Erdrich
by MHill | Oct 23, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Louise Erdrich, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
Romans 12, Verses 19-21 reads as such, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 175: Afterlife by Julia Alvarez
by MHill | Oct 12, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
The PBS “American Masters” program I watched last week featured author Julia Alvarez and detailed how her important work in fiction helped make American Latina literature a major part of publishing in the 1990s. I have always known about her fiction since my days as a...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 174: The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson
by MHill | Oct 5, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
I have never read H.P. Lovecraft before, and it seems his stories reinterpreted by modern authors has come onto my reading radar. I read The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle earlier this year and that novella was a reinterpretation of Lovecraft's story, The...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 173: Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma
by MHill | Oct 1, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
Having had this blog and reviewed almost 500 books for close to fifteen years, I’ve realized my favorite stories are coming-of-age stories. I cannot pinpoint exactly why coming of age stories pique my interest the most as a reader. But they do. Ormeshadow by Priya...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 172: Aleph by Paulo Coelho
by MHill | Sep 26, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
A few years I finally read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Coelho’s most well-known inspirational novel has captivated and enchanted readers around the world. I will admit that I did not get the same feeling as many readers have from it. However, it intrigued me, and I...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 171: Seven Frequencies of Communication by Erwin Raphael Mcmanus
by MHill | Sep 13, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I have written before in previous reviews that a book will come to you in unexpected ways and demand to be read on the spot. It has not happened often in my reading life, but it is always memorable when it does. This is the case for Seven Frequencies of Communication...