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.

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

#TopTenTuesday  Books With a Unit of Time In the Title 

Today we shine the spotlight on books with a unit of time in the title. I haven’t read The Ten Thousand Doors of January or any of the novels in “The Seasonal Quartet.” But I have read the others and recommend each one. 11/22/63 by Stephen King Specific date, a specific time in history. Tolstoy […]

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It’s Pride Month. Here’s what you need to know From CNN, a look at the origin and history of Pride Month. Category: Personal The Novel That Started the Trans Literary Revolution “Imogen Binnie first published Nevada nine years ago. In the near decade since, a renaissance of trans fiction bloomed. Now republished this summer, Binnie

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Book covers: Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, Father Melancholy's Daughter by Gail Godwin, Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel, Where the Moon Isn't by Nathan Filer, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

6 Degrees of Separation: Mental Health Edition

This month starts with a book by an Australian author shortlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction – Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. I got a late start on reading Sorrow and Bliss and have not yet finished it, but so far I’m liking it. The novel deals with one of my particular

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Rainbow graphic with text: Pride Month June 2022

Celebrate Pride Month!

(Feature image by Kseniia Timoshenko from Pixabay.) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) Americans. In June of 1969, patrons and supporters of the

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

#TopTenTuesday: 10 Memoirs That Taught Me the Power of Life Stories

Today’s topic for #TopTenTuesday is comfort reads, “books or kinds of books you turn to when you need to escape.” I don’t exactly read to escape. I think that escape may be the result that occurs when I read, because I read primarily to immerse myself in a world different from my daily reality. But

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Summer Reading Guide While most newspapers and magazines have been reducing their books coverage for some time now, The Atlantic has recently decided to increase its coverage. Here’s its recent list of summer reading suggestions: For the summer, The Atlantic’s writers and editors have picked sets of books to match your mood. Do you want

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book review

Review: “The Darkest Child” by Delores Phillips

Review The Darkest Child is a powerful novel you’ve probably never heard of, but it’s not for everyone. Set in the early 1950s in rural Georgia in the U.S., this novel presents a picture of life during the Jim Crow era, when formal laws and societal conventions reinforced racial segregation in the South. The story

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What Is Short Story Month and Why Is It in May? Carolina Ciucci digs into the origin and history of Short Story Month, with some reading suggestions and links to information about the short story as a literary form. Categories: Literary History, Writing As the Supreme Court Weighs Roe vs. Wade, These Novels Offer Perspective

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Text Block: "Together for Mental Health," graphic created by the National Alliance on Mental Illness for Mental Health Awareness Month.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month has been celebrated in the U.S. since 1949. For 2022, the National Alliance on Mental Illness has chosen the theme “Together for Mental Health.” The stigma surrounding mental health and its treatment persists despite recent emphases by well-known figures such as gymnast Simone Byles and tennis pro Naomi Osaka on the

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How Literature Depicts the Chinese Cultural Revolution Here’s an engaging article that illustrates one of the major themes of Life Stories in Literature: how dominant—and dominating—societies control the historical narrative and attempt to erase the voices of individuals and marginalized groups. Dee Das writes: When we talk about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, we mostly zoom

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