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.

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How Do the Books We Read Change Our Brains? “Gregory Berns on Measuring the Effects of a Really Good Story” In this article, adapted from his book The Self Delusion: The New Neuroscience of How We Invent—and Reinvent—Our Identities, Emory University psychology professor Gregory Berns describes a neuroimaging experiment he devised to measure whether reading […]

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8 Cozy Books That Will Make You Think Sharon Van Meter writes: “I have discovered a whole subgenre of books that propose hard-hitting philosophical questions while enveloping readers in a homey, inviting atmosphere. It’s the best of both worlds, a cozy read that will make you think!” Read her list to discover what books she

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stack of 3 books plus open book with pen. Title: Top Ten Tuesday

#TopTenTuesday Books I Read On Vacation

Today’s topic is Books I Read On Vacation (bonus points if you tell us where you were!). I only read 8 books over the summer on 3 different road trips, but I’m going for the bonus points on all of them, which should compensate for the shortfall. And making this list has painfully reminded me

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Opinion  Have we forgotten what a public library is for? The executive directors of the Michigan Library Association and Michigan ACLU reflected on the recent vote to defund a public library outside of Grand Rapids over its display of LGBTQ books.  Categories: Censorship, Libraries The Ultimate Guide to Wondrous Independent Bookstores Shortly after opting out

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stack of 3 books plus open book with pen. Title: Top Ten Tuesday

#TopTenTuesday 8 Suggestions for Spooky Halloween Reading

Today’s assigned topic is Favorite Bookstores OR Bookstores I’d Love to Visit. Once again, this is not a topic I’ve ever thought about. I usually try to visit a local book store whenever I travel, but I’ve never drawn up a bucket list of bookstores to visit. So, in place of a bookstore list, today

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The Queen of arts: Elizabeth II in fiction “It wasn’t until 1988 that the Queen began to make appearances in fiction, but since then she’s had many, largely sympathetic portrayals” Categories: Fiction, Literary History How Will Overturning of Roe v. Wade Influence Book Trends? “Without Roe v. Wade, we probably never would have gotten the

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Collage of book covers: Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller, In the Margins by Elena Ferrante, How to Read Now by Elaine Castillo, Writing in an Age of Silence by Sara Paretsky, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

6 Degrees of Separation: Reading About Reading and Fiction

This month we start with Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller. I thought I had seen the film adaptation of this book, but from the description I see that I have not. I saw something, probably on Netflix, similarly titled, but about a politician. first degree However, not having seen the film or read

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stack of 3 books plus open book with pen. Title: Top Ten Tuesday

#TopTenTuesday   10 Novels of Female Friendship

This week’s topic is Typographic Book Covers (covers with a design that is all or mostly all words). I honestly don’t think much about book covers; I’m more interested in content And one content area that interests me is female friendship. Here are 10 novels that examine aspects of female friendships, both the good and/or the

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How Librarians Can Counter Lies from Book Banners This problem isn’t going to go away any time soon, so we need to stay informed. Categories: Censorship, Libraries 5 Messy Characters You Can’t Help But Love My favorite phrase for describing humans is “deliciously messy.” So I immediately zoomed in on this list by Zeniya Cooley:

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Banner: Celebrate Banned Books Week, September 18-24, 2022 (from the American Library Association). Several brightly colored birds fly over a muted background of open books.

Banned Books Week Wrap-Up

The Banned Books You Haven’t Heard About A Colorado Library Board Has Voted to Ban Book Bans Alexie, Evison, Hopkins Speak Up in Defense of Banned Books Book bans reflect outdated beliefs about how children read I’m a retired teacher. I know you can ban books, but you can’t ban their ideas: Opinion Overwhelming Majority

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