I was invited on the Best Book Ever Podcast hosted by Julie Strauss today. We had a discussion about one of my favorite novels, Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint. Also, Julie asked about my reading philosophy and where my love of reading came from. It was an...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 45: Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
by MHill | May 24, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"Words are free, she used to say, and she appropriated them; they were all hers." That sentence from early in the novel, Eva Luna, by Isabel Allende captures the spirit of her protagonist. Eva Luna is a spinner of tales and the stories from growing up poor on the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 42: Face of an Angel by Denise Chavez
by MHill | Apr 18, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Rereading a novel can bring different expectations from when you first read it over twenty-five years ago. This is the case with Face of An Angel by Denise Chavez. Face of an Angel tells the story of Soveida Dosamantes, a waitress at El Farol Restaurant in the...
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 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...
Book Review 147: Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay
by MHill | Nov 19, 2018 | 2018 Book Reviews, Guy Gavriel Kay, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorite Duologies, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Guy Gavriel Kay is becoming one of my favorite authors and joining a list that includes Jorge Amado, Jonathan Carroll, and Charles de Lint Sailing to Sarantium will be the second Kay novel I have read this year and the third one in the past couple of years. Sailing to...
Do You Have A Reader Prejudice Towards A Popular Author?
by MHill | Apr 16, 2018 | Marion's Reading Life Blog
I had a reader prejudice against Stephen King for a long time. I don't know why. Prejudice does that. I have several reasons or rationalizations for my reader prejudice towards King. One of them was because I did not like to read anything scary. However,...
Book Review 129: Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
by MHill | Mar 18, 2018 | 2018 Book Reviews, Guy Gavriel Kay, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Have you ever as a reader given a novel you did not finish another chance? Well, there is a first time for everything. I gave Children of Earth and Sky a second chance. I read it a couple years ago when it was first released. Kay writes beautifully, and the...
It’s Not Snobbish or Old-Fashioned If You Still Prefer Reading A Book!
by MHill | Mar 5, 2018 | Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I have a confession to make. I still prefer reading a physical book over an eBook or audiobook. Whew...I got it off my chest! It seems these days (in our social media age) that if you only read paperbacks or hardcover books, you are outdated like the 8-Track or...
The Value of a Reading List
by MHill | Jan 30, 2018 | Marion's Reading Life Blog
I was not a fan of a reading list until a few years ago. I will admit with Goodreads coming on the book reading scene has helped in letting me see the need of a reading list. Since 2015, I have kept a reading list, and it has made a better reader. My reading list has...