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.

Last Week's Links

Internet reading that caught my eye over the past week. Megan Abbott’s Bloodthirsty Murderesses The thriller writer probes the psychological underpinnings of female rage. Because, Abbott says, “girls are darker than boys.” New Black Gothic Sheri-Marie Harrison, associate professor of English at the University of Missouri, explains what she calls the new black Gothic in […]

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Last Week's Links

Last Week’s Links

These are the stories from the internet that piqued my interest over the last week. Why We Don’t Read, Revisited Caleb Crain, in a follow-up to a decade-old report on Americans’ reading habits, reports that the time Americans spend reading continues to decline. “Television, rather than the Internet, likely remains the primary force distracting Americans

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Women’s Prize for Fiction Revealing the 2018 Women’s Prize shortlist… – Women’s Prize for Fiction

Women’s Prize for Fiction Revealing the 2018 Women’s Prize shortlist… – Women’s Prize for Fiction Read More »

12 Books You to Read Before Seeing the Movies this Spring | Off the Shelf

A sneak preview of the exciting book-to-film adaptations coming to theaters this spring. Source: 12 Books You to Read Before Seeing the Movies this Spring | Off the Shelf

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Ursula K. Le Guin, Acclaimed for Her Fantasy Fiction, Is Dead at 88 – The New York Times

“If you cannot or will not imagine the results of your actions, there’s no way you can act morally or responsibly.” –Ursula K. Le Guin Source: Ursula K. Le Guin, Acclaimed for Her Fantasy Fiction, Is Dead at 88 – The New York Times

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My Reading Plan for 2018

I’ve spent the first three days of the new year putting together my reading plan for the next 12 months. Reading Challenges I usually only do the Goodreads challenge of reading a certain number of books during the year. After meeting the goal of 40 books for the last several years, I’m increasing my magic

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The 15 Best Books I Read in 2017

Since I’m choosy about what I read and mostly read only books I’m interested in, it’s often difficult to choose the titles that belong on my year-end “best books I read this year” list. And this year the task was particularly difficult. After much adding and subtracting, I’ve finally hit on this list of the

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Thanks to Goodreads for the following statistics: I read 16,335 pages across 48 books. SHORTEST BOOK: 135 pages. So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell LONGEST BOOK: 894 pages. Dune by Frank Herbert AVERAGE LENGTH: 340 pages MY AVERAGE RATING FOR 2017: really liked it: 4.0 stars © 2017 by Mary Daniels Brown

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In Memoriam: Literary Folks We Lost in 2017

This is always my least favorite post of the year. Here’s a list of people the literary world lost in 2017, including, where available, a link to an obituary and the date of death. John Berger, 1/2 Nat Hentoff, 1/7 Clare Hollingworth, 1/10 William Peter Blatty, 1/12 William A. Hilliard, 1/16 Peter Abrahams, 1/18 Byron

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Some Best Books Lists for 2017

Announcing the Winners of the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards The Best Books of 2017 From Amazon The Best Books of 2017 From Esquire. © 2017 by Mary Daniels Brown

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