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.

Louise Erdrich’s Novel ‘The Round House’ Wins National Book Award – NYTimes.com

Awards & Prizes / By /

Louise Erdrich’s Novel ‘The Round House’ Wins National Book Award – NYTimes.com Beating out an unusually competitive field, Louise Erdrich won the National Book Award for fiction on Wednesday night for “The Round House,” a novel about a teenage boy’s effort to investigate an attack on his mother on a North Dakota reservation, and his […]

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Best Books Lists for 2012 (Yes, already)

Book Recommendations, Personal / By /

Not even Thanksgiving, and yet we have our first offerings in the annual best-books-list marathon. Best Books 2012 This is the lead-in page to Publishers Weekly’s lists: Top 10 Best Books of the Year Fiction Mystery/Thriller Poetry Romance SF/Fantasy/Horror Comics Nonfiction Children’s Picture Books Children’s Fiction Children’s Nonfiction Religion Lifestyle Best Books of the Year:

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Monday Miscellany

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Yes, there were stories in the news this past week other than the U. S. election. Author Philip Roth says he is done with writing An icon—or iconoclast, depending on your point of view—of American literature casually announced that he won’t be writing any more books. He admitted to a French magazine that he hasn’t

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Monday Miscellany

Author News, Book Recommendations, Literary Criticism, Monday Miscellany, Reading / By / / , ,

Some interesting reading this week. The Q&A: James Ellroy: Writing scandal An interesting interview with the author of one of my favorite novels, LA Confidential. Read why Ellroy tries to avoid popular culture and why he doesn’t write books about the present. And read why he says, ” I don’t read.” Reading 125 Titles A

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Monday Miscellany

Author News, Book News, Book Recommendations, Fiction, List, Literary Criticism, Literary History, Monday Miscellany, Reading / By /

Today’s links. The Most Dysfunctional Families in Literature  Neuroses run rampant across three generations of the Middlestein family in Jami Attenberg’s sublime new novel, The Middlesteins. See why Attenberg includes the families from the following books on her list: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver A Game

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2012 Whiting Award winners announced

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2012 Whiting Award winners announced – latimes.com The Whiting Foundation announced its 2012 literary award recipients Tuesday. The 10 authors will each receive a $50,000 grant, no strings attached. The Whiting Awards are geared to help extraordinary new writers find the footing to achieve success. Awards are made to poets, novelists, short-story writers, playwrights and

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Barnes & Noble Stores Have Credit Card Data Breach

Bookstores / By /

Barnes & Noble Stores Have Credit Card Data Breach – NYTimes.com Hackers have stolen credit card information for customers who shopped as recently as last month at 63 Barnes & Noble stores across the country, including stores in New York City, San Diego, Miami and Chicago, according to people briefed on the investigation. If you

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Monday Miscellany

Book Groups, Book Recommendations, Film, Literary Criticism, Monday Miscellany, Television, Writing / By /

Start you week off right, with some book-related reading. 10 reasons we still love J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ Here’s a list to warm you up for the December 21 opening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Jackson’s film adaptation (Part 1) of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novel. A Short Defense of Literary Excess Novelist Ben

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Remembering George McGovern

Obituaries, Personal / By /

    Dashed Presidential Hopes, but a Life Devoted to Liberalism  

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