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
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
In Memoriam: Literary Folks We Lost in 2017 Read More »
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
Some Best Books Lists for 2017 Read More »
The Recipients of the 2017 National Book Awards in All Four Categories
The winners of the 2017 National Book Awards in all four categories, as well as the presenters and the lifetime achievement award. Source: The Recipients of the 2017 National Book Awards in All Four Categories
The Recipients of the 2017 National Book Awards in All Four Categories Read More »
Seven Finalists for 2017 BookLife Prize Announced
Seven books—six novels and a memoir—were named finalists for the 2017 BookLife Prize. Each book was selected by an award-winning or bestselling author who served as a guest judge in one of seven genres. Source: Seven Finalists for 2017 BookLife Prize Announced
Seven Finalists for 2017 BookLife Prize Announced Read More »
Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to British author Kazuo Ishiguro – UPI.com
Source: Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to British author Kazuo Ishiguro – UPI.com
Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to British author Kazuo Ishiguro – UPI.com Read More »
My Top 5 Novels of All Time
Every December 31st I sit down with the list of books I read that year and choose the best ones. I usually end up with 10 bests plus 5 honorable mentions. I include this many because I’m fortunate enough to be in the time of life when I can choose to read whatever I want,
My Top 5 Novels of All Time Read More »
Review: “Y Is for Yesterday”
Grafton, Sue. Y is for Yesterday Random House Audio, © 2017 (print edition also © 2017) Recommended I’m always eager to read the newest installment of Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone series. However, this time my pleasure in digging into it was bittersweet. Y is, after all, the penultimate letter of the alphabet. This time Kinsey is
Review: “Y Is for Yesterday” Read More »
What I’ve Been Reading on Writing About Literature
Since reading and writing about books is my primary activity, I’ve recently been reading some articles on reading and writing about books (1) 38 Years on Books: The Essential Michiko Kakutani Reader One of the biggest recent events among book people was the retirement of Michiko Kakutani, who had been the chief book critic of
What I’ve Been Reading on Writing About Literature Read More »
The 2017 National Book Award Longlists
Source: The 2017 National Book Award Longlists This list from Publishers Weekly includes links to its reviews of many of the nominated works.
The 2017 National Book Award Longlists Read More »


