Does secrets force us to make choices that we would not have made otherwise? This is the question I keep asking myself as I read Percival Everett's very good novel, So Much Blue. It tells the story of Kevin Pace, an artist, who has kept his past at bay to be...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 120: Mr. Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll
by MHill | Feb 4, 2023 | 2023 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Jonathan Carroll, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"People want life to be their friend. Some even expect or believe they deserve it. But I think of life only as a companion, and an unpredictable one at that. If it were my friend, life would be hurting or disappointing me all the time. But if it's only a companion,...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 16: George by Terry Bisson
by MHill | Jan 16, 2023 | Marion's All-Time Favorite Short Stories, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
I have a question. As a parent, would you allow your child born with wings to have them removed? That question gets answered in Terry Bisson's short story George from his award-winning collection, Bears Discover Fire. The parents in this story have just given birth to...
My Favorite Books Of The Year
by MHill | Dec 30, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog
It's that time of the year. 2022 is on the way out and 2023 is coming in a few days. The Best Of and Favorite Lists will be posted online at this time. I want to share my favorite reads of 2022. I have 5 novels and 1 non-fiction book as my favorite reads of the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 13: Can You Wear My Eyes by Kalamu ya Salaam
by MHill | Dec 19, 2022 | Marion's All-Time Favorite Short Stories, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"A man should never know a woman's secret life; men cannot stand so much reality. Their fragile egos can't cope. It's like they say in Zimbabwe: men are children and women are mothers. Being a child is about innocence, about not knowing the realities that adults deal...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 119: Serafina’s Stories by Rudolfo Anaya
by MHill | Dec 8, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"The spirit of story and the spirit of peace are naturally bound together. Storytellers are one of the standard bearers for the creation of peace. I am convinced that story, as an expression of life, constitutes one of the highest forms of value creation." I took...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 117: The Write Attitude by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by MHill | Nov 21, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
“If you as a writer are not willing to take risks, if you’re not willing to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, if you’re not willing to write what you want—screamers be damned—then why are you writing? To please others? There are better ways to do that. Yes,...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 114: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
by MHill | Oct 24, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
"Let 'em consolate theyselves wid talk. 'Course, talkin' don't amount tuh uh hill uh beans when yuh can't do nothin' else. And listenin' tuh dat kind uh talk is jus' lak openin' yo' mouth and lettin' de moon shine down yo' throat. It's uh known fact, Phoeby, you got...
Marion’s Favorites: First Circle by Pat Metheny Group
by MHill | Oct 17, 2022 | Marion's Favorite Albums, Marion's Favorites, Music Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
About two years ago, I posted my ten favorite albums on Instagram. As a music lover, it was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. My ten favorite albums: 1) Tiempos by Ruben Blades 2) Brother Sister by The Brand New Heavies 3) Buena Vista Social Club by...
Think! by Lonnie Smith
by MHill | Oct 13, 2022 | Marion's Favorites, Music Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Over the past several months, I have wanted to listen to 1960s Jazz Music. It started when I purchased Wayne Shorter's Night Dreamer and got Horace Silver's Song For My Father a few days later. I recently bought Lee Morgan's Sidewinder (I saw the documentary on...