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.

Book covers: Hydra by adriane Howell; The New One by Evie Green; The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz; The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson; Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent; The Rose Code by Kate Quinn; Small Mercies by Dennis Lehand.

6 Degrees of Separation: From Dark to Darker

Before we get started on this month’s exercise, here’s a bonus offering: What Does the Term ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ Mean? Moving on, we start this month with a book on the Stella Prize 2023 shortlist – Hydra by Adriane Howell. From the Amazon description, I think this novel would be squarely in my wheelhouse: […]

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book review

2 Recent Audio Reviews

I’m a fair-weather walker. Here in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. we finally started having what I consider to be fair enough weather to walk in around the first of April. And walking means audiobooks. Here are reviews of two that I completed recently. “ An innocent father serving life for the murder of

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Last Week's Links

Literary Links

‘Little Banned Library’ featuring books removed from schools opening in Houston’s Heights neighborhood Many of the current book challenges are coming out of Florida. Here’s a heartening story about a Little Banned Library erected in a Houston suburb featuring books that have been challenged in or removed from public schools. Be sure to take a

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Photo of exterior of Inklings Bookshop. Overlay: circular logo: Independent Bookstore Day, Saturday, April 29, 2023. 10th Anniversary.

Independent Bookstore Day

Inklings Bookshop in Yakima, WA Today is Independent Bookstore Day! To celebrate, I’m featuring a delightful store we visited last summer (July 2022) on our first road trip emerging from COVID-19 lockdown. Because it had been so long since we could travel anyplace to visit a bookstore, we made it a priority to look for

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stack of books and open notebook. Label: Quotation

Elly Griffiths on Writing

“It’s a strange thing but writers can only write what they want to write. I used to be a commissioning editor and I remember wishing that I could point authors towards a particular genre or subject. ‘Books about librarians in Sheffield are popular this year, can you write me a couple?’ But, of course, this

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Light blue background. Text: National Library Week April 23-29, 2023; There's More to the Story.

Celebrate National Library Week

Resources National Library Week Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022 State of America’s Libraries Report 2023 Florida at Center of Debate as School Book Bans Surge Nationally

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Last Week's Links

Literary Links

Charles Frazier Wants You to Wait Before Reading the Classics “‘Over the years,’ says the historical novelist, whose new book is ‘The Trackers,’ ‘I’ve come to realize that many great books we were assigned to read in school are far more enjoyable and have more to say when approached later in life.’” I was attracted

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Earth photographed from space

Celebrate Earth Day!

Related Post: Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22 since 1970 to encourage people to protect the environment. Test your knowledge of environmental protection and learn about programs like The Canopy Project and issues like sustainable fashion by clicking here: Earth Day 2023 And you can celebrate with reading by checking out this article:

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