Archive for 2009
Another review to close out 2009
Hartford Magazine reviewed Something Missing for their January 2010 edition, which arrived at my home this week. Marion Dooling writes that “Matthew Dicks’s tale about OCD thief Martin Railsback and his clients is a fun, quirky book that kept me reading far beyond regular bedtime. His sense of humor and off-beat storyline often made me…
Read MoreMy 2009 Christmas haul
My wife is the best gift giver ever, and particularly the best stocking stuffer of all time. My gifts from Christmas morning included: 1. A signed first edition of Kurt Vonnegut’s A Man Without a Country with a rare illustrated signature. 2. Several clever golf accoutrements 3. Christopher Myer’s modern adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s The Jabberwocky.…
Read MoreThe Simpsons and me
In 1989, I was eighteen years old. I had just graduated high school and quickly moved out on my own. I lived in a townhouse in Attleboro, Massachusetts, with two friends. One was going to college, and the other worked in manufacturing. I was managing a McDonald’s restaurant. None of us had much money, and…
Read MoreWhat woman buys this stuff?
This product litters the counter of my local 7-11, and it’s always half-empty or better. I don’t get it.
Read MoreHollywood does it right
Having just finished reading Under the Dome and Scroogenomics, I’ve decided to treat myself to a re-reading of Peter Benchley’s JAWS, a book I have not read since I was a teenager. I’m hoping it’s as good as I remember it. I thought the contrast between the novel’s original cover and the movie poster was…
Read MoreLiterally singing the praises of books!
What’s better than an independent bookseller singing the praises of your book to the tune of a classic Christmas carol? Not much!
Read MoreUncommonly bad advice
My wife is Jewish. I am not. I have agreed to raise our daughter in the Jewish tradition, though, for my wife, this tends to lean more on the cultural aspects of the Jewish faith rather than the actual religious dogma. I support this decision, though I have also made it clear that when our…
Read MoreNo more ring
My wife called me at work to tell me that the phone service in our home was out. “The internet and cable?” I asked, panicking inside. A Friday night at home without the internet? What would we do? “No. Just the phone line,” she assured me. “Oh, that’s good,” I said, and I meant it.…
Read MoreTiming is everything
Just as the Miami Dolphins tied the score, sending their game against Tennessee into overtime (annoying me immensely), my Google Alert pointed me to a delightful post on The Official Gordon Korman website. It read: I quite accidentally stumbled across this writer, and I’m glad I did. Matthew Dicks is the first author in a long…
Read MoreNot cool
Nothing against a holiday wreath, but what’s with the disembodied baby’s head? Who thinks this is cute? I had to stare at it throughout breakfast, and it got creepier by the second.
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