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.

Best Books of 2008 : NPR

Best Books of 2008 : NPR: This list includes links to recommendations of books in many categories, including fiction, foreign fiction, politics and current events, cookbooks, crime and mystery novels, and National Book Award Winners.

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The Big Pictures: Best Gift Books 2008

The Big Pictures: Best Gift Books 2008 : NPR: NPR (National Public Radio) weighs in with some gift suggestions, with the following warning: “A few of the gorgeous tomes below tip into the 20-pound range, so to give you a sense of what you might be lugging and/or mailing, we’ve included the physical attributes of

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Writers strike out on their own with a website

Writers strike out on their own with a website | csmonitor.com: Striking writer Peter Hyoguchi was walking the picket line outside Disney’s ABC Studios in Burbank, Calif., in January when he had an epiphany. What if scriptwriters launched a website featuring their work, which they would own and control free of studio interference? That hunch

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Best nonfiction books of 2008

Best nonfiction books of 2008 | csmonitor.com: The Christian Science Monitor offers its gift-giving guide to nonfiction.

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Things I’m Thankful For

Here’s a list of some of the things I’m thankful for as this Thanksgiving weekend winds down: family and friends, even though they’re scattered all over the country the Internet, which, in addition to enabling us to learn anything we want to know, also allows us to keep in touch with family and friends, even

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A Head Start of the Year’s Notable Books

Just as holiday decorations appear earlier and earlier every year, The New York Times is getting an early start on making its gift-giving suggestions. So, with all proper fanfare, here are some of its lists: 100 Notable Books of 2008 This is the first page of a multi-page listing of books in the categories of

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The Internet vs. books: Peaceful coexistence

The Internet vs. books: Peaceful coexistence – Los Angeles Times: Books require a different sort of communion with one’s subject than the Internet. They foster a different sort of memory — more tactile, more participatory. . . . For literary works, books are still, and most likely always will be, indispensable. In the Los Angeles

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“Promised Land” looks at books that shaped who we are

Books | “Promised Land” looks at books that shaped who we are | Seattle Times Newspaper: Some books are so well-known that almost no one actually reads them. They have had so much influence that we ‘know’ them merely by living in the world they have helped create. And yet, as the distinguished poet, novelist

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Michael Crichton Dies

Michael Crichton Dies – ArtsBeat Blog – NYTimes.com: Michael Crichton, the author of the blockbuster science-fiction novels ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘The Andromeda Strain’ and ‘State of Fear,’ has died. He was 66.

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How to Read Like a President

Essay – How to Read Like a President – NYTimes.com: “You can tell a lot about a president — or a presidential candidate — by what he reads, or says he reads,” declares Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek, in this essay in the New York Times. After discussing both John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s favorite

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