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 bluish-green rectangle with drawings of leaves in various shades of yellow, orange, and brown. Superimposed is a smaller rectangle of the same bluish-green color. Text: Nonfiction November Week 5. 11/25/24 - 11/29/24. New to my TBR. Hosted by Readerbuzz

Books New to My TBR

My Apologies  After the migration to a new computer, I now find myself unable to reply to comments on my own blog. This pertains to all posts over the last couple of weeks.  Please know that I do appreciate your comments and read every one of them. I won’t be able to start trying to […]

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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

My Apologies in Advance. After the migration to a new computer, I now find myself unable to reply to comments on my own blog. This pertains to all posts over the last couple of weeks.  Please know that I do appreciate your comments and read every one of them. I won’t be able to start

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A bluish-green rectangle with drawings of leaves in various shades of yellow, orange, and brown. Superimposed is a smaller rectangle of the same bluish-green color. Text: Nonfiction November Week 4: 11/18/24 - 11/22/24. Mind Openers: hosted by She Seeks Nonfiction

2 Books That Opened My Eyes and My Mind

Week 4 (11/18-11/22) Mind Openers: One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is the way it can open your eyes to the world around you–-no plane ticket required. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything?

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Last Week's Links

Literary Links

ABA CEO Warns of New Challenges Post-Election In a letter to American Booksellers Association membership accompanying the publication of Wednesday’s Bookselling This Week newsletter, ABA CEO Allison Hill provided cautious words of encouragement following Tuesday’s election results. Acknowledging that the ABA does not know how its members voted in the election, Hill wrote that the

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A bluish-green rectangle with drawings of leaves in various shades of yellow, orange, and brown. Superimposed is a smaller rectangle of the same bluish-green color. Text: Nonfiction November Week 3: 11/11/24 - 11/15/24. Book Pairings hosted by Adventures in reading, running and working from home

3 Nonfiction/Fiction Book Pairings

Week 3 (11/11-11/15) Book Pairings: This week, pair up a nonfiction book with a fiction title. Maybe it’s a historical novel and the real history in a nonfiction version, or a memoir and a novel, or a fiction book you’ve read and you would like recommendations for background reading. Or (because I’m doing this) two

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Last Week's Links

Literary Links

Who’s Really Writing Celebrity Novels? “The writers and agents working behind the scenes tell us how it actually works.” “. . . what does it mean when a celebrity decides to write fiction?” Sophie Vershbow interviewed some “ writers and agents working behind the scenes on similar books [to] tell us how it actually works.”

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A bluish-green rectangle with drawings of leaves in various shades of yellow, orange, and brown. Superimposed is a smaller rectangle of the same bluish-green color. Text: Nonfiction November Week 2: 11/4/24 - 11/8/24. Choosing Nonfiction hosted by Volatile Rune

Nonfiction November Week 2: Choosing Nonfiction

Week 2 (11/4-11/8) Choosing Nonfiction: What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title

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Last Week's Links

Literary Links

‘Each bears his own ghosts’: How the classics speak to these days of fear, anger and presidential candidates stalking the land You thought Spooky Season ended at midnight on October 31? Here in the U.S., Rachel Hadas, professor of English at Rutgers University, writes, “A week before the election, everyone seems to be afraid.”  “Our

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Collage of book covers: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney; The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker; Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg; The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig; Summer of '49 by David Halberstam; The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon; Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

6 Degrees of Word-Association Separation

The starting point for this month’s 6 Degrees of Separation challenge is Sally Rooney’s latest release, Intermezzo. I keep meaning to read Sally Rooney’s works, but, you know, “so many books, so little time.” So I’m going to begin this exercise with word association first degree Intermezzo immediately reminded me of the title The Mezzanine

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A small black open container, holding a white votive candle, with 4 orange-and-black bent legs on each side. Title: Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

For your Halloween enjoyment, I offer this fascinating article: Witches around the world “The belief in witches is an almost universal feature of human societies. What does it reveal about our deepest fears?” Gregory Forthis, retired professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, has spent

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