I read my first Murakami novel, Dance Dance Dance, earlier this year. I learned from that book why Murakami has become an international favorite for many literary fiction readers. I decided I wanted to read another Murakami novel before the year ended. I chose A...
Book Review 95: The Successful Author Mindset by Joanna Penn
by MHill | Oct 26, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
Digital Publishing has spawned the rise of the indie author movement over the past several years. As a result, there is a lot of books these days about how to become a successful indie author and how to make a living with your writing. However, there are only a few...
Book Review 94: Deep Work by Cal Newport
by MHill | Oct 24, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
"Great creative minds think like artists but work like accountants." (David Brooks) "When you work, work hard. When you're done, be done." Those two quotes from Deep Work by Cal Newport summarizes my feelings toward this excellent book. Newport introduces deep work as...
Book Review 93: Essentialism by Greg McKeown
by MHill | Oct 16, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Nonfiction
--The life of an Essentialist is a life lived without regret. If you have correctly identified what really matters, if you invest your time and energy in it, then it is difficult to regret the choices you make. You become proud of the life you have chosen to live....
Book Review 92: Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
by MHill | Oct 2, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorite Duologies, Octavia Butler
There has not been a novel that caused such discomfort, challenge my assumptions, or made me defensive while reading like Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler. It is the sequel to Parable of the Sower and continues Lauren Olamina's quest to create a new religion,...
Book Review 91: Masterminds by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by MHill | Aug 30, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Retrieval Artist Series
Masterminds is the eighth and final book of the Anniversary Day Saga in the Retrieval Artist Series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. All the threads of the previous seven books in the saga finally comes together as we find out who is the mastermind behind the Anniversary...
Book Review 90: Starbase Human by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by MHill | Aug 21, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Retrieval Artist Series
Can an old and dilapidated starbase be the key to solving the Moon's Anniversary Day Bombings and it's survival? Starbase Human, the seventh book in the Anniversary Day Saga of the Retrieval Artist Series, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch attempted to answer that question....
Book Review 89: Vigilantes by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by MHill | Aug 6, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Retrieval Artist Series
Reading a series you enjoy is like wearing your favorite part of shoes. They are a comfortable fit and make you smile every time you put them on. Well, the Retrieval Artist Series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch has given me that same kind of feeling and after 13 books...
Book Review 88: Independence Day by Richard Ford
by MHill | Jul 23, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Frank Bascombe Series, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Richard Ford, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Does living through your "existence period" mean you are truly an independent human being? Richard Ford attempted to answer that question in Independence Day, the second novel in the critically acclaimed Frank Bascombe series. Last year, I reviewed The Sportswriter,...
Book Review 87: Breeder by K.B. Hoyle
by MHill | Jul 17, 2016 | 2016 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books
How would you feel when everything that you have been taught could be a lie? That question starts to get answered in Breeder, Book 1 of the Breeder Cycle, by K.B. Hoyle. Seventeen lives a perfect life as a breeder in the Sanctuary that is ruled by the New World...