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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Last Week’s Links

A neuroscientist explains what tech does to the reading brain An interview with UCLA neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain and the recently released Reader, Come Home, which details “how technology is changing the brain, what we lose when we lose deep attention, and […]

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Sept. 23:  Bi Visibility Day and the start of #BiWeek

Source: 4 Books About Bisexuality that Made Me Feel Seen Septembr 23 is Bi Visibility Day and the start of #BiWeek. Here, one reader discusses four books about bisexuality that made her feel valid and understood. I welcome you and ask that you join me on the journey of understanding bisexuality. It isn’t another “kind

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Last Week’s Links

The History and Future of the Western in 10 Books Part immigrant story, part adventure tale, and part allegory of truth and justice—the Western has been entertaining American readers for nearly two hundred years. Maybe we’re drawn to the setting: a frontier where mountains claw at the sunset and calamity is just around the corner.

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Last Week's Links

Last Week’s Links

Why Doctors Should Read Fiction Students in medical school and nursing traditionally study ethics through the use of case studies, short synopses of situations the students may face later in their careers. This article describes a recent paper from the journal Literature and Medicine that suggests replacing case studies with short stories that present ethical

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Congratulations to Your 2018 Hugo Awards Winners!

Congratulations to Your 2018 Hugo Awards Winners! Read More »

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Last Week’s Links

The theory of mind myth Theory of mind is the psychological term for our belief that other people have emotions, beliefs, intentions, logic, and knowledge that may differ from our own. That we have a folk psychology theory of other minds isn’t surprising. By nature, we are character analysts, behavioural policemen, admirers and haters. We

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Last Week’s Links

THE BEST BOOK DATABASE YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF Abby Hargreaves talks about Novelist, a database that librarians use to recommend books to patrons. This database, which may be available to you through your local library’s web site, is especially good for finding recommendations on what to read next if you liked a particular book and

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V.S. Naipaul, Nobel Prize-winning author, dies at 85, family says

V.S. Naipaul, Nobel Prize-winning author, dies at 85, family says Read More »

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Last Week’s Links

Hunter S. Thompson and the Sanity of Writers A short appreciation of writer Hunter S. Thompson, who often claimed to have done much of his writing “half out of his skull,” under the influence of drugs and alcohol. This link is worth clicking just to see the illustrations. THE GENERATION THAT GREW UP ON STEPHEN

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Last Week's Links

Last Week’s Links

I’ve come across lots of interesting stuff lately. When a Stranger Decides to Destroy Your Life I’m including this article on all my blogs this week because it’s important that everyone with any online presence, no matter how small, read it. 50 MUST-READ CONTEMPORARY ESSAY COLLECTIONS From Book Riot’s Liberty Hardy: To prove that there

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