Mary Daniels Brown

Mary Daniels Brown learned at an early age how to read people, and she’s been doing that ever since. Combining advanced education in both literature and psychology, she reads and reviews novels that explore identity, the search for meaning and purpose in life, and the varieties of human experience. She’s been blogging about books at Notes in the Margin for more than 25 years. Mary believes that her focus on Life Stories in Literature has made her both a more astute reader and a happier, more human person.

Best Books Read in 2011: My List

Most of the “best books” list that come out at the end of a year refer to books published during that year. My list, however, comprises books that I have read during the year, regardless of when they were published. My list also combines fiction and nonfiction. I finished my dissertation mid-year and read 30 […]

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The Best Books I Read in 2011

Listed alphabetically by author Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games Connelly, Michael. The Fifth Witness Donoghue, Emma. Room Egan, Jennifer. A Visit from the Goon Squad Harbach, Chad. The Art of Fielding Hillenbrand, Laura. Unbroken Hoffman, Alice. The Story Sisters McLain, Paula. The Paris Wife Shapiro, Alison Bonds. Healing into Possibility Watson, S. J. Before I

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13 best 2011 author interviews R

13 best 2011 author interviews – Noah Feldman talking about William O. Douglas – CSMonitor.com A loose young woman in Nazi-era Berlin. A titanic failure of courage on the Titanic. A Supreme Court justice with a thing for hot blondes. An American president’s scandalous love child. Book authors answered questions about these earthy topics and

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Healing Reads: The Year’s Five Best Books

Healing Reads: The Year’s Five Best Books – WSJ.com. Health and medicine books tend to be long on advice and how-to, and short on compelling narrative and literary merit. But several new books this year proved to be welcome exceptions, from a lyrical history of the human heart to an absorbing tale of one of

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PW Staff: The Best Books We’ve Read This Year « PWxyz

PW Staff: The Best Books We’ve Read This Year « PWxyz PW has already named its Best Books 0f 2011, but since readers rarely get to see the faces behind the scenes, we thought we’d let our staff share the best book they read in 2011, because deep down, we’re all just book nerds. Here

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The overlooked sci-fi of 2011 – Salon.com

The overlooked sci-fi of 2011 – Salon.com When compiling best-of lists at the end of the year, it’s easy to overlook certain classes of deserving books. In a year filled with massive, highly publicized releases — a new Neal Stephenson, a Vernor Vinge sequel awaited for twenty years — wonderful books with less flash can

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book review

“Seabiscuit” by Laura Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand, Laura. Seabiscuit: An American Legend Ballantine Books, 2001Trade paperback, 399 pagesISBN 0-449-00561-5 Recommended In Seabiscuit Laura Hillenbrand tells the classic American story of the underdog. A mud-colored horse with a crooked leg and not much ambition, Seabiscuit became the icon of rags-to-riches fame and accomplishment for an American population beaten down by years of the

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Monday Miscellany

How the literary female detective has changed In The Christian Science Monitor Randy Dotinga says of Scottish mystery writer Denise Mina: [she] has become one of the finest mystery writers of the 21st century. Her deeply perceptive grasp on the inner lives of crooks, cops, journalists, and their families has allowed her books to transcend

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