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.

Julie Otsuka’s ‘The Buddha in the Attic’ wins 2012 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

Awards & Prizes / By /

Julie Otsuka’s ‘The Buddha in the Attic’ wins 2012 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction – The Washington Post Julie Otsuka’s “The Buddha in the Attic” has won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. It’s a disappointing choice from a list of finalists that gave strong preference to short fiction. The Washington Post’s Ron Charles discusses the award […]

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Monday Miscellany: Big- & Small-Screen Edition

Ebooks, Fiction, Film, Monday Miscellany, Publishing / By /

The making of a blockbuster Salon exclusive: The behind-the-scenes story of the readers and booksellers who launched the Hunger Games franchise Laura Miller’s commentary: The Hunger Games franchise, with Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence in the starring role, aims for a spot in a select but very sweet pantheon: movie adaptations of bestselling children’s book series

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Monday Miscellany

Book Recommendations, Ebooks, Fiction, Film, Literary History, Monday Miscellany, Publishing / By /

11 Literary Friendships We Can Learn From Although from a somewhat unorthodox source (accreditedonlinecolleges.com), this article presents fascinating information on the following literary friendships: Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge Philip Larkin and Kingsley Amis Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus George Sand and Gustave

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Harlan Coben Floods the Zone – WSJ.com

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Harlan Coben Floods the Zone – WSJ.com “The most annoying and full- of- crap thing a writer says is, I write only for myself, I don’t care if anyone reads it,” Mr. Coben says. “A writer without a reader doesn’t exist.” A good introduction to one of my favorite writers, Harlan Coben. Related Blog Posts:

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South Korean novelist Shin Kyung-sook’s ‘Please Look After Mom’ wins Man Asian Literary Prize – The Washington Post

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South Korean novelist Shin Kyung-sook’s ‘Please Look After Mom’ wins Man Asian Literary Prize – The Washington Post She is the first South Korean and first woman to win the Man Asian award in its five-year history. The ceremony was Thursday evening in Hong Kong.

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Monday Miscellany

Ebooks, Fiction, Literary Criticism, Monday Miscellany, Writing / By /

The private lives of great writers What would we do without literary criticism wars? Just how relevant is an author’s private life to our appreciation or understanding of his or her work? Many would argue that we should disregard it entirely. Others (myself included) might point out that while you can thoroughly enjoy a novel

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National Book Critics Circle Awards Go to Pearlman, Jasanoff, Gaddis

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The National Book Critics Circle Awards for the publishing year 2011 went to Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman fiction, Liberty’s Exiles by Maya Jasanoff nonfiction, George F. Kennan: An American Life by John Lewis Gaddis biography, The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok autobiography, Otherwise Known as the Human Condition by Geoff Dyer criticism, and Space,

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Monday Miscellany

Libraries, Monday Miscellany, Publishing, Reading / By /

Athena’s Library, The Quirky Pillar Of Providence NPR offers a look at the Providence Athenaeum in Providence, RI, USA: With a bit of reverence, librarians carefully wind an antique library clock near the circulation desk in a temple of learning called the Providence Athenaeum. This is one of the oldest libraries in the United States,

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“The Chalk Girl” by Carol O’Connell

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O’Connell, Carol. The Chalk Girl (2011)Audiobook by Recorded Books   Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat  When a little red-haired girl with blue eyes shows up in Central Park and hugs everyone who will let her, psychologist Charles Butler’s cleaning woman, Mrs. Ortega, knows something is amiss. She takes the little girl to Butler’s house, where he

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