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.

Books I Read in April

What? I read only three books this month? I can’t even begin to figure out how I read so little. The Three-Body Problem is quite long, but still . . . What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty Pan Macmillan, 2009, rpt.2018 Recommended When we had to come home early from our world cruise, we flew […]

Books I Read in April Read More »

The Classics Club

The Classics Club Spin #20

It’s time for another CC Spin, The Classics Club Spin #20. Yes, this is the event that made me decide it was time to redo my entire Classics Club list. This spin is based on that new list. Here’s the procedure: By Monday, April 22nd, I am to create a list of 20 books from

The Classics Club Spin #20 Read More »

The Classics Club

New Classics Club List

A recent call for a Classics Club Spin reminded me that I need to re-examine my Classics Club commitment. When I originally signed up for the Classics Club back in March 2014, I put together a list of just over 50 books that I pledged to read by March 1, 2019. Well, that date has

New Classics Club List Read More »

Viking Sun ocean cruise ship

A Sea Change: Coming Home Early

We were scheduled to return home from our world cruise on May 11, but during late March, while we were visiting Australia, I began to feel what I thought was the start of a sinus infection. The ship’s doctor said, “No, I think you have something wrong in your tooth.” He sent me to a

A Sea Change: Coming Home Early Read More »

book review

Books I Read in January

Watership Down by Richard Adams Adams, Richard. Watership Down© 1972rpt. Avon, 1975ISBN 0-38000293-0 If you liked The Lord of the Rings, you’ll probably like this book. Replace Hobbits with rabbits, and you’ve got an archtypical heroic quest. Forced by the encroachment of people into their warren of Sandleford in England, a small band of rabbits

Books I Read in January Read More »

My Reading Plan for 2019

My Reading Plan for 2019

I’m going to be a bit less formal in my reading plan for 2019 than I was last year. First, because I read so many books last year, I’m boldly going to increase my annual Goodreads challenge to 50 books for 2019. Second, I’m going to avoid any other particular reading challenges and instead just

My Reading Plan for 2019 Read More »

The Best Books I Read in 2018

As with all my annual reading lists, this one comprises books I read in 2018, regardless of when they were published. In past years I’ve limited my list to 15 books, broken down into the best (10) and honorable mention (5). This year I found it particularly hard to distinguish between those two divisions. I

The Best Books I Read in 2018 Read More »

Did I Fulfill My Reading Plan for 2018?

Back in January I put together My Reading Plan for 2018. My follow-through has been mixed: I overly fulfilled some intentions but failed woefully in others. Reading Challenges Goodreads Challenge I crushed my Goodreads challenge to read 45 books by knocking off 63. Here, according to Goodreads, are my additional statistics for 2018: I read

Did I Fulfill My Reading Plan for 2018? Read More »

Remembering Those We Lost in 2018

Preparing the annual list of people from the writing whom we lost over the year is the least favorite of my year-end blogging tasks. Rereading the list always painfully takes my breath away. Ursula K. Le Guin, 1/22 Barbara Wersba, 2/18 Lisa Garcia Quiroz, 3/16 Philip Kerr, 3/23 Anita Shreve, 3/29 Drue Heinz, 3/30 Sergio

Remembering Those We Lost in 2018 Read More »

New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out

Source: New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out – The New York Times This coming year marks the first time in two decades that a large body of copyrighted works will lose their protected status — a shift that will have profound consequences for publishers and literary estates, which stand to lose

New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out Read More »

Scroll to Top