I want to update a review from 2012 for one of my all-time favorite novels, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Parable of the Sower is the story of Lauren Olamina, a teenager growing up in a grim LA suburb where their gated community provided a semblance of a...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 49: Woven In Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez
by MHill | Jul 16, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
There are books that make you want to turn the page to find out what happens next. However, there are a few books that turn the page for you and invite the reader into the story. Very few novels make you feel the latter. Little Country by Charles de Lint is one of...
Marion’s Favorites: Taste The Nation with Padma Lakshmi
by MHill | Jul 15, 2020 | Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
One of the things I enjoyed in being a foodie is getting to eat different cuisines from around the world. (Also, as a wine lover too!) Food TV Shows are very popular on television these days. I have watched a lot of them. Some have been great like the Anthony...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 48: Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard
by MHill | Jul 6, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Sometimes there is a book on your shelf that is waiting to be read. The book waits patiently until you have gotten other books out of the way before you are ready to read it. Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard is one of those books. I bought this book shortly after it...
Marion’s Favorites: Red Snapper
by MHill | Jun 30, 2020 | Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
As a fish lover, I have eaten a wonderful share of fish over the years. Grouper, Trout, Mullet, Catfish, Bass (Saltwater and Freshwater), Swai, Mahi Mahi, Tilapia, Cod, and Whiting. I like some of them (Grouper, Trout, and Swai) more than others. However, none of...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 47: Devil In A Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
by MHill | Jun 21, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I will admit that I came late to the party on the work of Walter Mosley. I read White Butterfly back in 2012 and liked it. However, I had not read other Walter Mosley novels until now. As a reader and reviewer, you get sidetracked or distracted by other books you...
Marion’s Black Author Reading List
by MHill | Jun 8, 2020 | Black History Month, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I have been deeply affected (and many Americans) by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th. Seeing a human being die like that should never happen in a civilized society. As a black man, I saw my worst fears come to light once again. Also, I’m a book...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 46: Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup
by MHill | Jun 2, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
One of the joys of being a book review blogger is I get to read books I would have never come across in my normal book reading encounters. Latitudes of Longing by Mumbai-based writer Shubhangi Swarup is the latest book encounter outside of my normal reading...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 45: Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
by MHill | May 24, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"Words are free, she used to say, and she appropriated them; they were all hers." That sentence from early in the novel, Eva Luna, by Isabel Allende captures the spirit of her protagonist. Eva Luna is a spinner of tales and the stories from growing up poor on the...
Marion’s Favorites: Pineapple
by MHill | May 14, 2020 | Marion's Favorites
My daughter, Norah, used to ask me on a semi-regular basis what is my favorite fruit? I would tell her pineapple every time she asked. I don't know if she wanted to me to give a different answer. Or she wanted me to reconfirm my love for this wonderful, delicious...