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.

Why Borders Failed While Barnes & Noble Survived : NPR

It appears to be all over for the Borders bookselling chain. The company will be liquidated — meaning sold off in pieces — and almost 11,000 employees will lose their jobs. The chain’s 400 remaining stores will close their doors by the end of September. Say what you like, it’s a sad day for book […]

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Monday Miscellany

How we read now Amanda Katz writes in the Boston Globe about the quickly advancing trend of digital reading, or ebooks. And this is the hitch. For the last 1,500 years or so, the idea of the book and the book as object have been indivisible. We readers respect and adore long-form writing, whether it

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Learning to Love a Killer: John Hart’s Fourth Novel Takes Different Twist

Learning to Love a Killer: John Hart’s Fourth Novel Takes Different Twist | The Pilot: Southern Pines, NC. Iron Horse, the fourth novel by New York Times best-selling author John Hart, was released last week. “Given the success of the first three, I always allow myself to feel confident when I might be feeling uncertain,”

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Monday Miscellany

This post introduces a new feature, Monday Miscellany, a conglomeration of intriguing literary items that have found their way to my monitor. Remembering Stieg Larsson In The New York Times, David Carr reviews ‘There Are Things I Want You to Know’ About Stieg Larsson and Me, by Eva Gabrielsson. Gabrielsson is the woman who lived

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YA Author Apologizes To ‘Wall Street Journal’ Critic : NPR

YA Author Apologizes To ‘Wall Street Journal’ Critic : NPR. NPR offers a follow-up to the recent controversy over the current state of YA (young adult) literature. Related Posts: Darkness Too Visible YA Fiction Is Too Dark: Some Responses Are Teen Novels Dark and Depraved–Or Saving Lives?  

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Kate Middleton’s Fondness for ‘Anne of Green Gables’

The Duchess of Cambridge, better known as Kate Middleton, is already a fashion trendsetter, but Penguin Canada will now have a chance to see if she can also be a literary trendsetter. Reports that the duchess loved the Canadian classic Anne of Green Gables as a girl and wanted to visit Prince Edward Island, the

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Books | Seventy years later, we still ‘Make Way For Ducklings’

Books | Seventy years later, we still ‘Make Way For Ducklings’ | Seattle Times Newspaper. An appreciation of Robert McCloskey’s children’s classic, published 70 years ago this year. Generations of children have delighted in the story of how Mr. and Mrs. Mallard first find the perfect place in Boston to start their family, and how

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