Mary Daniels Brown

My mother always insisted that, as soon as I was old enough to sit up, she’d find me in my crib after my nap babbling away, with a Little Golden Book on my lap. I’ve had my nose in a book ever since. I grew up in a small town, with the tiny town library literally in my backyard. As an only child in an unhappy home, I found comfort and companionship in books. As an adult I wanted to be Harry Potter, although I admit I’m more Hermione. My life has been a series of research projects. Reading has taught me that human lives are deliciously messy and that “it’s complicated” isn’t a punchline.

A stack of 3 closed books, next to an open notebook on which rests a ballpoint pen. Text: Literary Links: Life Stories in Literature

Literary Links: Life Stories in Literature

On Reading Ovid’s Metamorphoses As a Military Spouse If you’ve forgotten, or if you didn’t know in the first place, I was a classics major (B.A. and M.A. in Latin), and that explains why I’m always drawn to any article whose author expresses love for any aspect of this area of study. Here Jehanne Dubrow […]

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Literary Links

Power and Punishment: Using the Language of Fantasy to Subvert Real-Life Oppression Power lies at the heart of all fantasy, written or imagined. To craft a novel of the genre is to visualize an expression of power and assign it to factions that will then weave and warp over the course of the story. Yet,

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Literary Links

Science fiction may help foster a sense of global solidarity by evoking awe, study finds New research suggests that regularly engaging with science fiction—whether through films, books, or other media—can help people feel a stronger connection to humanity as a whole. The researchers found that science fiction’s ability to evoke awe, a powerful emotion triggered

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The Novel I’m Searching For “Five years after the pandemic, I’m holding out for a story that doesn’t just describe our experience, but transforms it.” Novelist Lily Meyer, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, writes that early literature about the COVID-19 pandemic aimed at giving people a sense of control by mentioning details of how

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Collage of book covers: Knife by Salman Rushdie; Lucky by Alice Sebold; The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold; Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman; The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager; Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay; My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

6 Degrees of Separation: Crimes and Punishment

I haven’t yet read this month’s starter book, Salman Rushdie’s memoir Knife, although I certainly do intend to. The book describes an attack by a knife-wielding man as Rushdie was about to begin speaking at a literary event.  first degree Lucky by Alice Sebold is another memoir about a personal attack: Sebold’s rape at the

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Background: 3 stacked, closed books; open notebook with pen on top. Text: Reading Notes: March

Reading Notes: March

My reading intentions for March were interrupted by the sudden death of my cousin in New Hampshire, an event that hit me more heavily than I thought it would. Waiting to hear about funeral arrangements and then the actual traveling knocked me out of commission for about two weeks. I therefore have only two books

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A stack of 3 closed books, next to an open notebook on which rests a ballpoint pen. Text: Literary Links: Life Stories in Literature

Literary Links: Life Stories in Literature

The Real Cognitive Neuroscience Behind Severance I haven’t caught up with the second season of Severance yet, but I will because I’m interested in both the dichotomy of inside vs. outside stories and the use of science fiction elements to portray aspects of human existence. In this article two neuroscientists explore the question “Can a

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Photo: a long shot of a baseball field from seats high above home plate; crowds in stands along left and right sides and across the field behind the fences,

Play Ball!

5 Books About Baseball Feature image (Turner Field, Atlanta, GA) by Joshua Peacock on Unsplash   ’Tis the season! In honor of opening day, here are five books (2 novels and 3 works of nonfiction) about the boys of summer and the game they play.  What books would you add to this list? Play Ball:

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