Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 725

Hollywood does it right

Having just finished reading UNDER THE DOME and SCROOGENOMICS, I've decided to treat myself with a re-reading of Peter Benchley's JAWS, a book that 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 original cover of the novel and the movie poster was striking.  Both are effectively ominous, but the book cover doesn't hold a candle to its cinematic counterpart. 

In fact, in comparison, it looks a little silly. 

Literally 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!

Uncommonly 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 culture 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 daughter approaches me at the age of seventeen, declaring herself a Buddhist, a Pastafarian or an agnostic, I will tell her to follow her heart and do what she thinks is right (and hide from her...

No 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 meant it. In fact, I was secretly hoping that she couldn't get it working for at least a month. I hate the house phone. Actually, I hate all telephones, but at least I can ignore my own cell phone. When the house phone...

Timing 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 this delightful post on The Official Gordon Korman Web Site. 

It read:

"I quite accidentally stumbled across this writer, and I'm glad I did. Matthew Dicks is the first author in a long time that held my interest the same way GK does. I finished the book in 2-3 days, and GK's the only other author who's books I finish that fast.

This is...

Not 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. 

Holiday treat

Praise from Jim Higgins of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, who includes SOMETHING MISSING in his Ten Books You Will Just Simply Enjoy.

Challenging literary analysis

Tonight I was reading Eric Carle's THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY to my daughter. Though I like the book a lot, I apparently never fully understood the story. As the firefly makes its way around town, people pop their heads out of windows and doors, wondering about the origins of all the apparent noise going on outside.

I've always thought it was the firefly making the noise, though admittedly I found it odd that a firefly would be making any noise. I caught enough of them in jars as a kid to know...

Bad book covers

Joe Queenan recently wrote an essay in the Sunday Book Review about the influence that bad book covers can have on his reading choices. 

I feel his pain.  Bad book covers have kept me from reading some books for years.  

The best example of a bad book cover (and a bad title) preventing me from reading the book is Sharon Creech's YA novel WALK TWO MOONS.  My wife insists that it's a great book, and she's even volunteering to lead a book club in my classroom for any of my students who are...

A likely excuse