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.

Monday Miscellany: Lists Edition

Top 7 Literary Cities in Europe Tourism-Review.com explores “the top seven European cities for literary tourists”: Edinburgh, Scotland Dublin, Ireland London, England Paris, France St. Petersburg, Russia Stockholm, Sweden Norwich, England A List of the Greatest Lists in Literature Speaking of lists, The Atlantic offers this one: “our favorite lists in literature, from short to […]

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5 Most Popular Books on Books

5 Most Popular Books on Books Do you have irresistible desire for books? Do you feel passionate about reading or has the book changed your life? If yes then read about some interesting plots that revolve around books or book connoisseurs resembling you. Here goes a list of top 5 well-received titles that celebrate books

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Monday Miscellany

Forgotten Chapters of Boston’s Literary History People may know about Longfellow and Poe, but do they know about the ongoing literary feud between these two sons of New England? They will after perusing this marvelous digital exhibit from the Boston Public Library and the Massachusetts Historical Society, which explores some of the “forgotten chapters” of

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Birthday: Gerard Manley Hopkins

In honor of the birthday of Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889), here’s my favorite of his poems. God’s Grandeur The world is charged with the grandeur of God.     It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;     It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed. Why do men then now not

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Going for Literary Olympic Gold

Just in time for tonight’s opening cermonies of the 2012 Olympics, USA Today offers Literary gold for Olympic readers. Here are book recommendations for the following groups of people: armchair athletes the statistically minded those seeking inspiration armchair tourists those seeking a post-Olympics prince young fans There are books for all ages here. Publisher Simon

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Best-Ever Teen Novels? Vote For Your Favorites : NPR

Best-Ever Teen Novels? Vote For Your Favorites : NPR. NPR asks for your help in choosing the best YA novels from their list of 235. I am not up enough on YA lit to participate ethically, but I’d be interested to hear in the coments which 10 you pick.

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Free Samples of the 2012 Man Booker Prize Longlist – GalleyCat

Free Samples of the 2012 Man Booker Prize Longlist – GalleyCat The longlist for the 2012 Man Booker Prize has been revealed, a list that includes four debut novelists. We’ve researched these 12 finalists, finding free samples of these books scattered across the world–a number of titles aren’t even available in the U.S. yet. More

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Monday Miscellany

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey to be reworked by Val McDermid I haven’t been this literarily excited in a long, long time. One of my favorite authors, Val McDermid, has been chosen to update Jane Austen’s least well known novel, Northanger Abbey, for a modern audience: Northanger Abbey is the story of the gothic novel-obsessed 17-year-old

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Featured Review: “The Black Echo”

Featured Review: The Black Echo In honor of Michael Connelly’s birthday, here’s a review of The Black Echo, that book that introduces Connelly’s franchise series character LAPD detective Harry Bosch.

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