2020 is mercifully coming to a close, and it has been probably one of the most challenging years that I can remember. A global pandemic. A contentious American presidential election. Big time celebrity deaths. So on and so on. Reading has been choppy. However, I...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 67: Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey
by MHill | Dec 17, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Sometimes going down an internet rabbit's hole can lead you to an author you had never thought to read before. This is the scenario with Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey. Every time I go to my local used bookstore here in San Antonio, I see many of the McCaffrey...
Marion’s Favorites: Brother Sister by The Brand New Heavies
by MHill | Dec 13, 2020 | Marion's Favorites, Music Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
As a music lover, I enjoy a variety of musical genres from old school R&B and Hip-Hop, Jazz, and Afro-Cuban Music. However, I was asked recently what is my favorite musical genre. I told the person it is Acid Jazz. They immediately asked me what is Acid Jazz?...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 66: Brown Girl In The Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
by MHill | Dec 6, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Nalo Hopkinson is an author I have wanted to read for a long time. I have seen her novels over the years but had not gotten around to reading one until now. Hopkinson tends to get overlooked in the current trend of black authors writing science fiction or fantasy. I...
Wisdom From Kammbia Movie Review: Blow The Man Down
by MHill | Dec 3, 2020 | Movie Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Over the past holiday weekend, I watched an interesting, quirky movie set in a small Maine town. Blow the Man Down is an Amazon Prime Original movie and tells the story of how two sisters attempt to cover up a gruesome murder committed by one of them. The movie does...
Gabo: The Creation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez
by MHill | Nov 28, 2020 | Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
Gabo: The Creation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the second documentary about a writer I have watched in the past few days. This 2015 documentary chronicles the author's rise from a small Colombian town to becoming one of the world's greatest and beloved writers. We...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 65: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
by MHill | Nov 27, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Sometimes you can listen to an author explain what made them write a novel and it changes your mind about reading that book. This was the case for A Wizard of Earthsea, the first book of Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Leguin. I recently watched the documentary called...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 64: Memoir From Antproof Case by Mark Helprin
by MHill | Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Mark Helprin has written two of my favorite novels: Winter's Tale (In my top 5 novels) & A Soldier of the Great War (In my top 20 novels). I had been looking forward to reading another Helprin novel for a long time. I remembered when Memoir From Antproof Case came...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 63: The Practice by Seth Godin
by MHill | Nov 21, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Seth Godin is becoming one of my favorite public thinkers. I read his blog daily and listen to his podcast, Akimbo, as often I can. Also, I have read several of his books like Tribes, Permission Marketing, and This Is Marketing. He's had a pulse on the business...
Marion’s Favorites: Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin Documentary
by MHill | Nov 19, 2020 | Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I just finished watching a documentary on Ursula K. Le Guin, the great writer of Imaginative and speculative fiction. I know that Le Guin has categorized and championed herself as a science fiction and fantasy writer. After watching this documentary, I get why she...