When the stories one is told conflict with the world one knows, what other choice is there but to seek out other stories? Stories that could make sense of a senseless world. These two sentences came midway in Moses Ose Utomi’s last installment of his novella trilogy,...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 168: Eat Fast Feast by Jay W. Richards
by MHill | Aug 3, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Christianity, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Fasting is a practice I have become interested in recently. I have done several stints of intermittent fasting over the past couple of years and can see the benefits of giving my body a break from the diet I have eaten for most of my life. Also, my local church in San...
Rereading Mr. Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Jun 15, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Jonathan Carroll, Magical Realism, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
In this rereading series, spanning several years, I’ve revisited books I initially read nearly a decade ago, sharing my thoughts on these second readings. My last rereading post was on the novel, A Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll, and my feelings upon that reread were...
Rereading The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Jun 1, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Jonathan Carroll, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Jonathan Carroll is on the top tier of my favorite author's list. He occupies a space with Charles de Lint as the authors I have read the most throughout my adult reading life. I have reviewed seven Carroll novels since I started this blog in January 2011 and the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 165: Magical Realism by Maggie Ann Bowers
by MHill | May 21, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Over the past couple of years, I have tried to find a home as reader (and a writer for that matter). While I've enjoyed reading across genres and have broadened my reading life in immeasurable ways. Still, I've always wanted a reading home that I connected with the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 164: Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
by MHill | May 14, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Haruki Murakami, Magical Realism, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
My previous review was a reread of A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami and admittedly I did not enjoy my reading experience the second time around for one of my favorite novelists and a book that introduced me to the Murakami fictional universe. However, I had been...
Rereading The Opposite of Art by Athol Dickson
by MHill | Mar 30, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Athol Dickson, Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, Magical Realism, 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 novel must meet certain criteria to become one of my all-time favorites. I must reread it, and the rereading must feel similar to my first experience reading the novel. I will write upfront that The Opposite of Art by Athol Dickson passed my criteria for an all-time...
Rereading Footprints: The Life & Work of Wayne Shorter by Michelle Mercer
by MHill | Mar 11, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Rereading Series, Wayne Shorter, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
About 2 1/2 years ago, I read the biography of my favorite musician, Wayne Shorter, and was captivated by his musical and artistic journey. Though eccentric and understated, Shorter was a musical genius whose impact on American popular music was enormous. Also, his...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 24: A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark
by MHill | Feb 20, 2025 | Dead Djinn Universe, Marion's All-Time Favorite Short Stories, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, P. Djeli Clark, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
P. Djeli Clark has jumped on my list of authors that I must read regularly. He has become a part of that exclusive club, which includes Jonathan Carroll, Charles de Lint, Percival Everett, Guy Gavriel Kay, & Haruki Murakami. I have read multiple works by the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 162: Widdershins by Charles de Lint
by MHill | Feb 9, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Charles De Lint, Fiction about Artists, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Newford, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
True love, when it is meant to be, will always unite two people, no matter how long the journey. Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell, two beloved characters from Charles de Lint’s Newford contemporary fantasy series, are the focus of this story. Their story is...