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 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...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 161: Spirits in the Wires by Charles de Lint
by MHill | Jan 19, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Charles De Lint, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Newford, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I can’t recall reading any novels that blend contemporary urban fantasy with the internet. I realize the internet, now a mature technology over three decades old, is no longer the cultural novelty it once was, despite our continued immersion in the social media age....
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 159: Killing The Top Ten Sacred Cows Of Publishing by Dean Wesley Smith
by MHill | Jan 9, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
In the last ten plus years as an author-publisher, I have learned about the publishing business on that level. Also, I have carried a lot of beliefs that I'm unlearning. Dean Wesley Smith (along with his wife, Kristine Kathryn Rusch) has helped in that unlearning...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 158: Rethinking The Writing Business by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by MHill | Jan 6, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
Think Differently! Those words came to me during my morning prayer time a couple of weeks ago. Prayer is my time for personal reflection and conversation with Christ, sharing my concerns and those of others. Since hearing those words, they’ve been constantly on my...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 157: Tapping The Dream Tree by Charles de Lint
by MHill | Dec 18, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Charles De Lint, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Newford, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
I’ve frequently praised Charles de Lint on this platform; he’s my favorite author, and The Little Country and Memory & Dream rank among my most beloved novels. I’ve discovered yet another reason de Lint is my favorite author. I’ve just completed “Tapping the Dream...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 155: Master of One by Jordan Raynor
by MHill | Oct 31, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Christianity & Art, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction
An old age question gets examined in Master of One by Jordan Raynor. Is less truly better? Raynor presents his argument in the book by drawing on biblical teachings, anecdotes of various individuals who have harmonized their Christian faith and careers, and his own...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 153: The Faithful Artist by Cameron J. Anderson
by MHill | Oct 17, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Christianity & Art, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
On the blurb of The Faithful Artist: A Vision for Evangelicalism and the Arts, Cameron J. Anderson writes The Tension between Christianity and the arts is often real. But it also offers a false dichotomy. Many Christian artists think they must choose between their...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 149: Art For God’s Sake by Philip Graham Ryken
by MHill | Aug 12, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Christianity & Art, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
The tenuous relationship between art (in all its forms) and Christianity has always fascinated me. Especially American Evangelical Christianity. I’m someone who is a believer in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and have attempted my entire adult life as a Christian...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 148: The Marriage of Sticks by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Jul 31, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Jonathan Carroll, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"You and Hugh were not supposed to stay together. He was fated to go back to his wife and have that little boy with her. You two were supposed to have a quick, red-hot affair. You were supposed to end up writing postcards from exotic places telling him how much you...