Is the starving artist path the only accepted way in our society for an artist? Jeff Goins answers that question in his latest book, Real Artists Don't Starve (Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age). The starving artist mythos has been accepted by...
Book Review 111: The Woman Behind the Waterfall by Leonora Meriel
by MHill | Jun 24, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews
Does a child have to carry the burdens of the parents' choices? Does a child have to take on the pain that a parent can not let go of? Can a child free a parent of the pain and burdens they have kept as a part of their identity? Those aforementioned questions came to...
Book Review 110: Make Art Make Money by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens
by MHill | Jun 17, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
Is it possible to succeed as an artist and entrepreneur? Elizabeth Hyde Stevens examines this question in her book, Make Art Make Money, about how Jim Henson navigated the parallel worlds of art and business to become one of the greatest American artist-entrepreneurs....
Book Review 109: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
by MHill | Jun 10, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books
Are first impressions always true? Well, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman puts that aforementioned question to the test. Also, I believe this will be the first "get off of my lawn" novel that I have ever read. It is the story of a curmudgeon named Ove who has lived...
Book Review 108: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
by MHill | Jun 4, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books
Reading and reviewing a very popular novel like The Name of the Wind has made me examine why do I read fiction? Is it to escape the humdrum and monotony of my everyday life? Is it to learn about someone who is different from my background and can cause me to become...
Book Review 107: A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
by MHill | May 29, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews, Louise Penny Gamache Novels, Marion's Favorite Books
“It’s exactly that. Lillian Dyson murdered, or tried to murder, many people. Not physically, but just as cruelly. By taking away their dreams. Their creations.” “Her weapon was her reviews,” said Normand. “They weren’t just reviews,” agreed Gamache. “Creative people...
Book Review 106: The Long Way Home by Louise Penny
by MHill | May 7, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews, Louise Penny Gamache Novels, Marion's Favorite Books
One of the pleasures of doing book reviews is getting to discover a new author and escaping into their fictional world. I have been hearing about mystery novelist Louise Penny on the What I Should Read Next podcast by several readers. Anne Bogel, the host,...
Book Review 105: My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich
by MHill | Apr 27, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books
"Nice things happen to good people." That quote sums up my feelings about My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich. This is the story of an elegant, elderly cleaning woman named Emilia Brown, who has a dream of buying an expensive Oscar de la Renta dress. Mrs. Brown, who has...
Book Review 104: Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving
by MHill | Apr 8, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews
Sometimes you learn more about yourself as a reader when you read a book that gives you a myriad of feelings about it. Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving is such a book. The novel had me excited, disappointed, disdainful, and heartbroken throughout various stages of...
Book Review 103: The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Mar 27, 2017 | 2017 Book Reviews, Jonathan Carroll, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"Reading a book, for me at least, is like traveling in someone else's world. If it's a good book, then you feel comfortable and yet anxious to see what's going to happen to you there, what'll be around the next corner. But if it's a lousy book, then it's like going...