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...
Marion’s Favorite Cities: Strasbourg, France
by MHill | Sep 26, 2022 | Marion's Favorite Cities, Marion's Favorites, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Earlier this month, I went on a eight-day vacation to France. I spent 4 1/2 days in Strasbourg and 3 1/2 days in Paris. I had visited Paris in the summer of 2017 and seen the most of the major tourist spots (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre Museum, Cathedrale...
Rereading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
by MHill | Jun 29, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
I just finished reading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett for a second time today. Bel Canto is Patchett's most well-known and beloved novel. This blog post is not another review of what I have already written. But, it is another look at her story and hopefully a different...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 109: All The Seas Of The World by Guy Gavriel Kay
by MHill | Jun 15, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Guy Gavriel Kay, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Guy Gavriel Kay has joined my short list of favorite authors, that includes Jorge Amado, Octavia Butler, Jonathan Carroll, Charles de Lint, Haruki Murakami, & Robert Silverberg. I have read quite a bit of each author's oeuvre and this my sixth Kay novel so far....
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 108: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
by MHill | Jun 11, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Have you ever read a novel where you hated the main character but found the story compelling? Have you ever read a novel where you loathed the main character's lifestyle choices but can still find compassion in those choices? Have you ever read a novel you did not...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 106: Leviathan by Paul Auster
by MHill | May 1, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Paul Auster, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
What is friendship? Especially what is male friendship? Paul Auster gives us an answer in his novel, Leviathan. Leviathan is an Old Testament reference meaning a dragon-like monster, serpent or even a crocodile that represents evil. While, Auster’s novel is not...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 105: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
by MHill | May 1, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Have you ever read a book that you knew instantly you should have read years ago? I knew it after reading the first chapter of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I was working at a mom-and-pop bookstore in Santa Fe, NM in 1996 when this novel was published. I...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 103: Queen of Angels by Greg Bear
by MHill | Apr 26, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Queen of Angels by Greg Bear has been a book I've wanted to read for years. I've seen it at used bookstores and bought it several times intending to read the book but never get around to it until recently. Queen of Angels is an ambitious, thought-provoking...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 102: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
by MHill | Apr 26, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
When I heard that Ray Bradbury had passed in 2012, I realized that I had never read any of his books. Wow, that surprised me. Well, in honor of his passing, I decided to read his most popular and enduring work, Fahrenheit 451. “Do you know why books such as this are...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 101: The Opposite of Art by Athol Dickson
by MHill | Apr 22, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
The Opposite of Art is the story of the genius artist, Sheridan Ridler, who is known for painting nudes without faces. Ridler gets quite a reputation in the art world as a cad to the ladies and an arrogant jerk to everyone else that comes in contact with him. Well, he...