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...
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 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 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...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 42: Face of an Angel by Denise Chavez
by MHill | Apr 18, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Rereading a novel can bring different expectations from when you first read it over twenty-five years ago. This is the case with Face of An Angel by Denise Chavez. Face of an Angel tells the story of Soveida Dosamantes, a waitress at El Farol Restaurant in the...
Wisdom from Kammbia Book Review 41: The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner
by MHill | Apr 4, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books
As a reader, there are some books (and authors) you have been meaning to read. But other books (and authors) would come before it. Unfortunately, Wallace Stegner fell into this category for me. I've been meaning to read his...
Marion’s Favorites: 5 Uplifting Novels To Keep Your Mind Away from COVID-19
by MHill | Mar 18, 2020 | Marion's Favorite Books
Coronavirus AKA COVID-19 has taken over everybody's lives these days and created a global pandemic. However, I believe this is an opportunity to read some good books...uplifting books to keep our...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 39: Black Fortunes by Shomari Wills
by MHill | Mar 5, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Black History Month has passed, and I had a plan to read three non-fiction books about black history during the month of February. I finished Maurice White's wonderful biography, My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire quickly and then I read Before The Mayflower...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 37: My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire by Maurice White
by MHill | Feb 8, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I was challenged recently by a blog reader to read and review more nonfiction books. I have read fiction books for most of my reading life. There were numerous reasons why I have gravitated towards novels instead nonfiction. However, I chose not to state those reasons...