"Has there been a well-regarded or lauded author you keep trying out as a reader but have never connected with their books? Toni Morrison is my answer to that question. I have attempted several of her books (Jazz, Paradise, and Love) over the years but have never...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 191: Night Hawks by Charles R. Johnson
by MHill | Mar 28, 2026 | Book Reviews, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
In recent years, my consumption of short stories has significantly increased. I now appreciate the short story for its own artistic merit, moving past the idea that it’s less significant than a novel. After reading several novels to start my 2026 reading year, I knew...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 190: Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark
by MHill | Mar 23, 2026 | Book Reviews, Magical Realism, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, P. Djeli Clark, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
"For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12 Revised Standard Version) I...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 189: Dominion by Addie E. Citchens
by MHill | Mar 21, 2026 | Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I have stated previously on the blog that I’m not a new fiction book reader. Mostly, I’ve read backlist novels and only purchased new books from my favorite authors. There is always an exception to any reading rule I have made for myself. This is the case for Dominion...
Rereading Erasure by Percival Everett
by MHill | Nov 1, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Fiction about Artists, 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 trout is very much like truth; it does what it wants, what it has to." The above quote came near the end of the novel, Erasure, by Percival Everett. I'm rereading this wonderful and thought-provoking novel again to see if it will make my all-time favorite novels...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 163: Bloodchild & Other Stories by Octavia Butler
by MHill | Feb 17, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Black History Month, Book Reviews, Octavia Butler, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
It's been awhile since I read Octavia Butler and I had planned to read her short story collection, Bloodchild & Other Stories for quite some time. Well, I had an opening last week and read this excellent and important collection. Butler writes in the preface, “The...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 150: Returning The Bones by Gin Hammond
by MHill | Aug 16, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"Who I am now and who I’ve wanted to become are meeting each other for the first time." Towards the end of the novel, “Returning the Bones” by Gin Hammond, this sentence encapsulates the journey of the protagonist, Carolyn “Bebe” Hammond, as a young light-skinned...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 136: A Red Death by Walter Mosley
by MHill | Feb 28, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Black History Month, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
When the IRS comes knocking at your door looking for back taxes, it will put you in an untenable position that provides no easy way out. Easy Rawlins finds himself in such a situation in the novel, A Red Death. A Red Death is the second novel in the Easy Rawlins...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 23: Since You Went Away by Frankie Y. Bailey
by MHill | Feb 20, 2024 | Black History Month, Short Story Review, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
Anthologies provide a great opportunity to explore new genres of fiction that you wouldn't typically read. Also, I have integrated more short stories into my reading life in the last couple of years. Incorporating short stories into your reading life can provide a...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 135: Suder by Percival Everett
by MHill | Feb 16, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Black History Month, Book Reviews, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Percival Everett has quickly joined my favorite author’s list, which includes Paul Auster, Octavia Butler, Jonathan Carroll, Charles de Lint, Guy Gavriel Kay, & Haruki Murakami. Having read multiple novels by these authors, I must say that Everett has ventured...