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.

Top book picks for 2010

Top book picks for 2010 / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com: “The experts tell us what they are excited about reading in 2010” Oh, good grief. A “best books of the year” list for 2010 already, and it’s only January 4. At any rate, here are recommendations from some book store owners about books […]

Top book picks for 2010 Read More »

More on Ereaders

Devices to Take Textbooks Beyond Text A lot of the talk about digital reading devices has centered around their usefulness for textbook-toting students. Although the ability to carry a lot of hefty textbooks around on one much smaller device is a big plus, the drawback has been that the monochrome screens of current ereaders don’t

More on Ereaders Read More »

Round-Up: Best Books Lists for 2009

I really hate it when people put up their Christmas decorations right after Halloween. In the same way, it rankles me when “Best Books of the Year” lists begin appearing well before the year is over. Now that 2009 is officially approaching its end, here’s a round-up of some of the more prominent “Best Books

Round-Up: Best Books Lists for 2009 Read More »

The Best Books I Read in 2009

Listed alphabetically by author Corrigan, Kelly. The Middle Place Didion, Joan. Slouching Towards Bethlehem Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique Genova, Lisa. Still Alice Hoffman, Alice. The Story Sisters Larsson, Stieg. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo O’Connell, Carol. Bone by Bone Sarton, May. Journal of a Solitude Stockett, Kathryn. The Help Zaslow, Jeffrey. The Girls

The Best Books I Read in 2009 Read More »

Most Literate Cities in the U. S.

Central Connecticut State University (CCSU): AMLC Home: This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources. Seattle, Washington DC, and Minneapolis head the list. My hometown of nearly 40 years, St. Louis, came in at #11.

Most Literate Cities in the U. S. Read More »

Books | Colum McCann novel wins national award for fiction

Books | Colum McCann novel wins national award for fiction | Seattle Times Newspaper: The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times, reports on the National Book Awards. McCann’s novel Let the Great World Spin took the fiction prize, and T.J. Stiles’s The First Tycoon, a biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, won for nonfiction. Also a winner

Books | Colum McCann novel wins national award for fiction Read More »

Many libraries go quiet as local budget cuts deepen

Many libraries go quiet as local budget cuts deepen — latimes.com: Just as the bad economy is driving more people to use library resources to save money, so is it forcing some libraries in the Los Angeles area to close or cut back on services. Ironically, “The bad times for libraries are coming just as

Many libraries go quiet as local budget cuts deepen Read More »

Scroll to Top