My wife Jessica and I went to Las Vegas in April 2019 for a mini-vacation. Most people go to Vegas for gambling, food, and shows. However, I went to Las Vegas to see my favorite band, Incognito. I’ve been a fan of Incognito since the early 1990s when I heard...
Marion’s Favorites: Ten Summoner’s Tales by Sting
by MHill | Feb 2, 2020 | Marion's Favorites
Ten Summoner's Tales by Sting has always been my favorite album by Sting as a solo artist. I believe this is Sting as his most mature and an excellent pop album. Beginning with the first single, If I Ever Lost My Faith in You to the beautiful ballad, Fields of Gold to...
Marion’s Favorites: Santa Fe, New Mexico
by MHill | Jan 25, 2020 | Marion's Favorites
I’m writing about one of my favorite places – Santa Fe, New Mexico. Known for its strong creative community, this beautiful, unique city drew me to it in 1994, when I was not quite 23 years old. I was living in Atlanta, Georgia, at the time. Desperate for a new...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 26: The Pearl by John Steinbeck
by MHill | Oct 6, 2019 | 2019 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
One of the most often quoted verses of biblical scripture is from the New Testament book of 1 Timothy 6:10: "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Even if you are a non-religious person, I'm pretty sure you have heard that verse of scripture in a secular...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 2: Timeskip by Charles de Lint
by MHill | Sep 1, 2019 | Charles De Lint, Marion's All-Time Favorite Short Stories, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
Charles de Lint is one of the few authors I have read for over twenty-five years. His novels and stories set in the fictional city of Newford have been delightful to read for a long time. Timeskip is one of de Lint's best and well-known stories about a ghost...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 1: Haven by Alice Munro
by MHill | Aug 29, 2019 | Marion's All-Time Favorite Short Stories, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
For the past week, I have been in the mood to read short stories. I don't know why that mood for short stories came because I'm not a huge short story reader. However, I have decided not to dismiss it and go with this sudden feeling for short stories. I wrote a...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 15: Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint
by MHill | Jun 11, 2019 | 2019 Book Reviews, Charles De Lint, Fiction about Artists, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Newford, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I have mentioned in several blog posts over the years that Charles de Lint is one of my favorite authors. I read a few of his novels in the early to mid-1990s when he was the big name in fantasy fiction. His...
RIP Gene Wolfe (1931-2019)
by MHill | Apr 16, 2019 | Gene Wolfe, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I found out last night that author Gene Wolfe had died over the weekend. Wolfe has been considered by many in the Science-Fiction and Fantasy Community to be its greatest writer. Many in that community believed his body of work deserved to be mentioned in the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 1: The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint
by MHill | Jan 14, 2019 | 2019 Book Reviews, Charles De Lint, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Newford, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I ended my 2018 reading year with a short story collection by Charles de Lint. I enjoyed Dreams Underfoot and began my 2019 reading year with the second de Lint short story collection set in Newford. The Ivory and the Horn is a fifteen tale collection that continues...
Book Review 149: Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint
by MHill | Dec 24, 2018 | 2018 Book Reviews, Charles De Lint, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Newford, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
In nearly 150 reviews, I have not reviewed a short story collection. I do not have an explanation for this oversight other than I don't read a lot of short stories. However, I have reviewed one of my favorite writer's short story collections to end my reading year of...