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.

Quotation of the Day

“writing and reading can allow people to live other lives and to try things out symbolically so that we can make better decisions about what we value and do. There is no guarantee, of course, that reading and writing make people act more wisely. But, writing and reading, by expanding our experience and repertoire of […]

Quotation of the Day Read More »

‘The Corrections’ Pilot At HBO Not Going Forward

If you were holding your breath in anticipation of HBO’s series based on Jonathan Franzen’s novel The Corrections, it’s time to exhale. Despite a stellar cast, the series has been scrapped: the decision came down to adapting the book’s challenging narrative, which moves through time and cuts forwards and back. While that works in the

‘The Corrections’ Pilot At HBO Not Going Forward Read More »

“The Opposite of Me” by Sarah Pekkanen

Pekkanen, Sarah. The Opposite of Me: A Novel   Simon & Schuster, 2010   Kindle Edition: ISBN 978-1-4391-3475-7 Former journalist Pekkanen’s debut novel presents a full-life makeover.  Lindsey Rose has spent her entire adult life climbing the corporate ladder. At age 29 she’s on the brink of a big promotion at her high-level ad agency

“The Opposite of Me” by Sarah Pekkanen Read More »

book review

“The Storytelling Animal” by Jonathan Gottschall

Gottschall, Jonathan. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012ISBN 978-0-547-39140-3 Recommended “We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories,” declares Jonathan Gottschall in the preface to his recent book The Storytelling Animal. Gottschall, a member

“The Storytelling Animal” by Jonathan Gottschall Read More »

Monday Miscellany

The Truth Versus Twilight This site, a collaboration between the Burke Museum and the Quileute Tribe, aims to set the record straight about the culture that forms the backdrop for Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga. Made famous by the recent pop-culture phenomenon Twilight, the Quileute people have found themselves thrust into the global spotlight. Their reservation,

Monday Miscellany Read More »

Quotation: The Writing Life

“I’m conscious of writing as a living, breathing practice, not as something in a textbook or something you do for a grade in a 10-week course. It’s living a life. And particularly for women, it’s living a struggle to claim artistic practice as a viable and socially relevant activity. So as a writer I teach

Quotation: The Writing Life Read More »

Monday MIscellany

A Coalition of Dunces The Pulitzer Prize committee refused to award a 2011 prize for literature despite the nominations of three novels by the judges. The Morning News has a good summary of the issue. And in Time magazine’s entertainment section, writer Lev Grossman explains Why I’m Okay With There Being No Pulitzer for Fiction

Monday MIscellany Read More »

Scroll to Top