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.

‘Conversations With God’ Author Accused of Plagiarism

Author News, Personal, Publishing / By /

‘Conversations With God’ Author Accused of Plagiarism – ArtsBeat Blog – NYTimes.com: Neale Donald Walsch, author of the best-selling series ‘Conversations with God,’ recently posted a personal Christmas essay on the spiritual Web site Beliefnet.com that was nearly identical to a 10-year-old article originally published by a little-known writer in a spiritual magazine. He now […]

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Donald E. Westlake, Mystery Writer, Is Dead at 75

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Donald E. Westlake, Mystery Writer, Is Dead at 75 – Obituary (Obit) – NYTimes.com: Donald E. Westlake, a prolific, award-winning mystery novelist who pounded out more than 100 books and five screenplays on manual typewriters during his half-century career, died Wednesday night. He was 75. Aw, darn. The audiobook currently playing on my iPod is

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My Best Books Read in 2008

Book Recommendations, Personal / By /

Most of the year’s best books listed compiled by book reviewers cover only books published during the current year. My list, however, includes books that I read during this past year, regardless of when they were published. Being a full-time student has cut way, way down on my pleasure reading. This past year I only

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With ‘Angel at the Fence,’ Another Memoir Is Found to Be False

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With ‘Angel at the Fence,’ Another Memoir Is Found to Be False – NYTimes.com: In media circles, there is a joke about facts that are too good to check. This week Oprah Winfrey and the New York publishing industry stumbled on yet another unverified account in the form of a Holocaust survivor who said his

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The Best Books I Read in 2008

List, Year's Best / By /

Listed alphabetically by author Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby Goldberg, Natalie. Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir Hood, Ann. Comfort: A Journey through Grief O’Farrell, Maggie. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Saks, Elyn R. The Center Cannot Hold:

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Madoff Case Echoes Rich Lode of Swindler Literature

Literary History / By /

Madoff Case Echoes Rich Lode of Swindler Literature – NYTimes.com: In the “there’s nothing new under the sun” department, this article points out some of the literary predecessors to the Bernie Madoff financial scandal: ‘You must realize that money making is one thing, religion another, and family life a third,’ Mr. Voysey matter-of-factly tells his

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Harold Pinter, Nobel-Winning Playwright, Is Dead at 78

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Harold Pinter, Nobel-Winning Playwright, Is Dead at 78 – Obituary (Obit) – NYTimes.com: Harold Pinter, the British playwright whose gifts for finding the ominous in the everyday and the noise within silence made him the most influential and imitated dramatist of his generation, died on Wednesday. He was 78 and lived in London.

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