"Has there been a well-regarded or lauded author you keep trying out as a reader but have never connected with their books? Toni Morrison is my answer to that question. I have attempted several of her books (Jazz, Paradise, and Love) over the years but have never...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 199: Rediscovering Jonah by Tim Keller
by MHill | Jul 4, 2026 | Book Reviews, Books of the Bible, Christianity, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
The Book of Jonah has been on my mind for the past several weeks. I don’t know why one of the most popular Old Testament stories has been in my thoughts lately. I decided to embrace those thoughts rather than push them away; my plan was to first revisit the Book of...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 197: To Leave A Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie
by MHill | Jun 10, 2026 | Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
"Writing isn't about doing what everyone else tells you to do. Writing is about doing what your creative voice wants you to do." I begin this review with those two sentences from Kristine Kathryn Rusch's The Write Attitude. Rusch writes about what a writer's mindset...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 196: The Horse by Willy Vlautin
by MHill | May 27, 2026 | Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
He explained to her how he was tired of the uncertainty of a musician's life, tired of being gone nearly every night of the week while she sat at home alone. And he was tired of playing other people's songs in casinos. "I mean I play five nights a week with Ronnie...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 195: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
by MHill | May 26, 2026 | Book Reviews, Haruki Murakami, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
Have you ever picked a book from your library and started reading it? I did that a few days ago with Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami. Murakami is one of my favorite authors, and this is my eighth book of his I’ve read and reviewed on this blog. I was...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 190: Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark
by MHill | Mar 23, 2026 | Book Reviews, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, P. Djeli Clark, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
"For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12 Revised Standard Version) I...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 187: Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson
by MHill | Mar 8, 2026 | Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
One of my favorite Booktube channels, Books with Zara, brought Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson to my attention with one of her recent videos. The video was about heartwarming reads, and she discussed several books that qualified for that honor. She captivated me...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 186: Break Blow Burn & Make by E. Lily Yu
by MHill | Feb 15, 2026 | Book Reviews, Christianity, Christianity & Art, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
"In this day and age, it may seem anachronistic to aspire to eternal works, or to ask for help from God with a painting or a poem. But we do not have any chance of accomplishing the first without the second." E. Lily Yu wrote the above sentence in the last section of...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 181: Bathing the Lion by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Dec 27, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Jonathan Carroll, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
One of the most rewarding discoveries I’ve made in my reading life is finding an author or authors whose sensibilities resonate with me in their stories, filling me with a deep sense of connection. The key word in that last sentence is sensibilities, as it appears...
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...