The greatest pleasure I can have as a reader is getting lost in an author’s story. What I mean is, an author has pulled me into their imagined world and has a reality that connects with my imagination. P. Djeli Clark achieves this in his first full-length novel, A...
Rest In Love, Wayne Shorter (August 25th, 1933-March 2nd, 2023)
by MHill | Mar 3, 2023 | Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I found out earlier today that the legendary jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter passed away at the age of 89. Outside of Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery, and the Pat Metheny Group, I have listened to Wayne Shorter's music the most when it comes to jazz. I was...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 122: So Much Blue by Percival Everett
by MHill | Feb 21, 2023 | 2023 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Percival Everett, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Does secrets force us to make choices that we would not have made otherwise? This is the question I keep asking myself as I read Percival Everett's very good novel, So Much Blue. It tells the story of Kevin Pace, an artist, who has kept his past at bay to be...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 121: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
by MHill | Feb 14, 2023 | 2023 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. If you believe in God (and...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 120: Mr. Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Feb 4, 2023 | 2023 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Jonathan Carroll, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"People want life to be their friend. Some even expect or believe they deserve it. But I think of life only as a companion, and an unpredictable one at that. If it were my friend, life would be hurting or disappointing me all the time. But if it's only a companion,...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 17: The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djeli Clark
by MHill | Jan 22, 2023 | Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"For the blacksmith understood what masters had chosen to forget: when you make a man or woman a slave, you enslave yourself in turn. And the souls of those who made thralls of others would never know rest----in this life or the next." This quote is prophetic in its...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 16: George by Terry Bisson
by MHill | Jan 16, 2023 | 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
I have a question. As a parent, would you allow your child born with wings to have them removed? That question gets answered in Terry Bisson's short story George from his award-winning collection, Bears Discover Fire. The parents in this story have just given birth to...
My Favorite Books Of The Year
by MHill | Dec 30, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog
It's that time of the year. 2022 is on the way out and 2023 is coming in a few days. The Best Of and Favorite Lists will be posted online at this time. I want to share my favorite reads of 2022. I have 5 novels and 1 non-fiction book as my favorite reads of the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 15: Seven American Nights by Gene Wolfe
by MHill | Dec 27, 2022 | Gene Wolfe, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
What is America? The late Gene Wolfe attempted to answer this question in a novella that has been one of the genre's best works of short fiction since its publication in the Damon Knight's 1978 anthology Orbit 20. Seven American Nights won the 1979 Hugo Award for best...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 14: The Wallet by John Updike
by MHill | Dec 21, 2022 | Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"It was my wallet. Everything is in it. Everything. Without that wallet, I'm nothing." Have you ever lost something and felt like your world was ending? John Updike brings this common occurrence to life in his short story, The Wallet from the Trust Me short story...