Kristine Ball, Founder. I conceived of BookMuse as a perfect way to combine my passion for literature and my business skills. At BookMuse I coordinate all aspects of the business, managing the relationships with sponsors and working with the Board of Advisors to build and maintain a dynamic, audience-responsive site. And I get to read lots of books!
I have been a book group facilitator for six years in the San Francisco Bay Area and seem to be good at choosing books that others love to read. A writer for the Pacific Sun newspaper described one of my groups' discussions as "lively, smart, stimulating and fun." (June 18, 1997). I also run international workshops for people interested in starting and maintaining successful book groups.
In my past life, I was a v.p. with Bank of America in San Francisco, having received an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth and a BA in English from Williams College. I live in Mill Valley, California with my husband and two children, all of whom, luckily for me, love to read.
Patricia Marby Harrison, Editor-in-chief. Having grown up in Arizona, where the blazing summer months were spent reading books in the swimming pool, I have always coveted the luxury of escape and relaxation that books offer. This love for literature has manifested itself in various ways in my professional life. Working at bookstores as a student, I eventually received a B.A. in English from Stanford University, then a Ph.D. in English from UC Santa Barbara. I taught a wide variety of classes, including Renaissance and Victorian literature, but my favorite subject was eighteenth-century literature: I loved the opportunity to introduce people to vivid, lively literature that they had thought would be boring, and to ignite their interest in a long-ago world through literature. After teaching literature and writing at UC Santa Barbara and Clemson University for several years, I decided to focus on writing and editing. At BookMuse, I work with the reviewers and do all the last-stage editing of the site. BookMuse provides a good outlet for my teacherly interests, as I still get to read great books and write materials to help others talk about how great those books are.
Anji Brenner, Editor of Kid's Corner. I lead parent-child book discussion groups (and offer tips in BookMuse), and I work part time as a children's librarian at the Mill Valley Public Library. For the last twenty years I have owned and operated Brenner Associates, a company that provides research and information services to such individual and corporate clients as Oracle, America Online, Clorox, Intuit, E-Trade and Motorola. I graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and a Masters in Library Science.
My Kid's Lit reviewers either run the children's book section at large independent bookstores or are head children's librarians at schools and public libraries.
Brant Fetter, Art Director and Information Systems Manager
(Webmaster). Due to my interest and previous participation in reading
groups both private and academic, I have enjoyed bringing BookMuse to new
levels of service for our community. I work for Connective Medium, Electronic
Arts, and also do private contracting in the Information Systems/Web field.
My background is in both architecture and information systems. I have given
lectures at the Art and Technology Symposium recently in Seattle along with
developing 'mods' for virtual environments (3D games on PC). I attended the
University of Washington
for my undergraduate in Architecture and Computer Science, and did graduate
work at the Rhode Island School of Design. Having had the privilege of travel
after growing up in Seattle, and the Midwest, I work in downtown San Francisco
and live in San Bruno, California with my wife Tracy.
Diane Krantz, Director of Marketing and New Business Development.
BookMuse.com is a delightful change of pace for me. Previously, I spent 17
years "doing deals" as an investment banker for two major Wall Street firms and a women-owned, start-up boutique. This experience sharpened the skills I now use to build the BookMuse brand, expand our traffic and generate revenue. I am on the prowl for new partners with whom we might exchange links or content, new products to broaden our reach and new advertisers and sponsors to pay our bills. I especially enjoy promoting reading group involvement with great books, a work product which to me is as rich and delicious as chocolate soufflé.
I have been a member of reading groups for as long as I can remember. I earned
a BA in American Civilization from Brown University and an MBA from New York
University. I currently am earning stripes as a mother of two young, busy boys
for whom reading is almost a favorite activity.
Senior Reviewers:
Anji Brenner For the last twenty years I have been self-employed as an information broker, providing research and information services to businesses and individuals. During this time, I have also taught research and organization skills to college students and have worked as an editor, indexer and abstractor. Having a child who is a voracious reader sparked my interest in children's literature, which eventually led to my conducting mother-daughter book clubs and to occasional work as a children's librarian. I have a B.A. in Russian Language and Literature and a Masters in Library Science. My current favorite book for adults and kids is Olivia by Ian Falconer. Other favorite kids books include Juniper by Monica Furlong and Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood. Please reach me directly at anji@bookmuse.com.
Gail David-Tellis I teach literature and writing, as a freeway flier, throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. (Freeway fliers work part-time at several colleges--I've worked in 3 colleges at once! It has a certain recherchez chic to be designated as such--kind of like saying you're in rehab.) I have a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of California at Davis, and my expertise includes modern narrative, Shakespeare, and the Victorians. My book of criticism, Female Heroism in the Pastoral, was published in 1991 and my book reviews have been published in The San Francisco Chronicle. I am now working on a biography of the women in Dickens' circle. My favorite books? The Great Gatsby, for one, Middlemarch, for another, and possibly my favorite, Fanny Burney's Evelina. Also, Alexis, my husband, reads to me every night from Harry Potter, and we're now on the fourth volume: I think it's phenomenal!
Patricia Marby Harrison I have taught literature and writing at universities on both coasts, and I am now an independent scholar and writer living in South Carolina. I received my Ph.D. in English literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and my areas of expertise include seventeenth-century women's writing, Restoration drama, and eighteenth-century British poetry. My "fun" reading, however, covers a wide range of genres, including essays/nonfiction, travel writing, and nineteenth-century British poetry and novels. I am addicted to traveling and have lived in Australia and England, and thus I especially love to read books that allow me to be an armchair traveler to other places and times. Some of my favorite books include Dickens' David Copperfield, Hardy's Jude the Obscure, James' Portrait of a Lady, Forster's Howards End, Rowling's Harry Potter books, and anything by travel writer Bill Bryson.
For individual profiles of all of our writers, see About the Reviewer on the Muse Notes pages.
