Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 739

New York Times Sunday Book Review!

No need to wait until Sunday!  The New York Times Sunday Book Review was published online this afternoon, and (I still cannot believe it) my book, SOMETHING MISSING, was included! 

My book.  My name.  In the Sunday Book Review. 

The review is short but very positive, and it's the third book listed. 

I still can't believe it.   

RJ Julia appearance

Last night's appearance at RJ Julia Booksellers was delightful. A warm and engaging audience, interesting questions, gracious and charming hosts, and an opportunity to speak about my book and the writing process in general, which I simply adore.

And I love that bookstore a great deal. Before publishing my book, I appreciated RJ Julia for its atmosphere, selection and location, but now that I've gotten to know the people who work there, I've come to realize that they could be selling their books

In good company

The Hartford Courant published a blurb about my appearance tonight at RJ Julia entitled "Mathew Dicks and Dr. Ruth."  Surprisingly, I received considerably more attention than the famed sex therapist in the short piece.

Never could I have ever envisioned my name being published alongside that of Dr. Ruth.

Matthew Dicks and a world renowned German sex therapist. 

Let the jokes begin.

Work space

Quite a while ago, I posted photos of my office, where I occasionally work.  More often than not, I'm sitting at the dining room table, across from my wife, who is pecking away at her laptop as well. 

But compared to the offices and workspaces of some of these fantasy and science fiction writers, my office is downright boring.

I'm always so fascinated about the environments in which authors choose to write. 

A different kind of childrens literature

My wife and I saw a trailer for the film Where the Wild Things Are, an adaptation of the famous children's book by Maurice Sendak. Elysha is skeptical of the movie, concerned that it is expanding too much on the original text.

"I've never read the book," I said.

"You've never read WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE?" she asked in disbelief.

I was forced to remind her that I did not have many children's books growing up, and I have no recollection of a mother or father ever reading to me. As a result,

New York Times Book Review!

I just received word that SOMETHING MISSING will receive a review in this weekend's New York Times Book Review.

This is another one of those moments that I will not soon forget. 

Of course, as soon as I received the email from my publicist, I called my wife to tell her of the great news, but she had left her phone at home and was unreachable for about two hours.  Though she rarely does this kind of thing, she always seems to choose the worst moments to do so. 

Instead, I told Dick, the sale

Redundant

I thought that this week's Grammar Girl podcast on literary redundancies was well worth a listen. You can also read the text of the podcast on the site as well.

A couple of my favorite points that she makes:

WHETHER OR NOT

Another quick way to trim a couple of words at a time from your writing (and your speech) is to keep an eye on the "whether" – the "whether or not," that is.

I can't decide whether or not to bring my umbrella. Lose the "or not" in that instance, and you're fine.

Readers and booksellers making my day

I had been asked via email and on this blog when SOMETHING MISSING would be placed on Border's Book Club list.  For those of you kind enough to care, it will be on October's list.  It will remain in the new release section for a while, then go to regular shelving, and then back to the front of the store as a book club pick. 

I must say that I have both astonished and humbled by the communication that I have received from readers and booksellers on an almost daily basis.  Whether through email,

If not me, how about Dr. Ruth?

My next appearance will be on Thursday, August 13th at 7 PM at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT.

I've written about this store before and can't recommend it enough.  And if you can't make it to my appearance, check out all the upcoming events at RJ Julia.  The range of authors that they get to speak is amazing.  On Monday I'll be heading to Madison to see Richard Russo, and future appearances include Dr. Ruth, Nicholson Baker, and many, many more.   

Bookseller, blogger and Twitter extraor

Words not required

I recently became aware of several companies that sell books by the foot to home decorators who incorporate books of a certain appearance in a room's décor.

This seems wrong to me on so many levels.

First, who would want to stock their shelves with books that they have not read? Since when did the appearance of a book trump the words contained within? This seems like the ultimate in pretension and affectation, two qualities that I despise.

One of our bookshelves is in the dining room, nearly