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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Literary Links

Home and Away: Horror & Gothic Fiction 2022 Among this season’s horror releases, twinned themes emerge. On one side, the oppressive atmosphere of a childhood home and the secrets it holds; on the other, the ambiguity of liminal spaces and the unease of isolation. PW spoke with editors about the fear of the unknown, whether

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Book covers: Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick,Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, The Eleventh Plague by John S. Marr & John Baldwin, Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

6 Degrees of Separation: From the Sea to the Plagues

As this month’s starting point, Kate has chosen “a hot favourite to make the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield.” As wonderful as this book sounds, it won’t be available in the U.S. until July 12, 2022.  first degree Therefore, I’ve decided to start with a key

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stack of books and open notebook. Label: Quotation

Quotation: Why We Read

“we read because it’s exciting. Metaphorically speaking, books are always taking us to the big city, opening our eyes to the world’s plenitude and diversity. By contrast, those who ban or censor them want to keep us down on the farm, restricting our experience to some safe or approved orthodoxy.” — Michael Dirda

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An In-Depth Guide to Book Sizes Every once in a while I come across a book that isn’t a standard size. That difference may not seem important, but it can make shelving the book difficult if you want to put it in with, say, other books by the same author. Category: Publishing People Are Sharing

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Book Covers. Top row: Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman, Blue Nights by Joan Didion, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, The Black Echo by Michael Connelly, The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel, Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch. Second row: Red Leaves by Thomas H. Cook, Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle, Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara John

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With an Adjective In the Title 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Here’s how it works: Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl

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The Book That Unleashed American Grief “John Gunther’s Death Be Not Proud defied a nation’s reluctance to describe personal loss.” Deborah Cohen discusses Death Be Not Proud, published in 1949, John Gunther’s account of the his son’s death at age 17 from a brain tumor. The publisher, Harper & Brothers, feared at the time that

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stack of 3 books plus open book with pen. Title: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Spring 2022 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Here’s how it works: Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl

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Women’s History Month at New York Public Library “This March, The New York Public Library celebrates Women’s History Month with recommended reading, spotlights on significant women librarians from our 125 year history, events and programs, and more.” Categories: Literary History, Literary Criticism 13 Empowering Memoirs Written by Women In honor of Women’s History Month. Categories:

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Discussion

What Makes a Good Twist Ending?

Introduction I still remember the experience of first seeing the movie Planet of the Apes (the original 1968 version starring Charlton Heston). As the movie ended, Taylor (the astronaut played by Heston) and Nova rode off on a horse in search of a new place to live. As they rode along the beach, the camera

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