Saturday, August 29, 2009

Other Genres

Posted by Simcha 6:29 PM, under | No comments

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Something Missing
by Matthew Dicks

The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Twenties Girl
by Sophie Kinsella

Science Fiction Book Reviews

Posted by Simcha 9:59 AM, under | No comments

Science Fiction Book Reviews


The Apex Book of World SF
by Lavie Tidhar

Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Rusch

Gateway by Frederik Pohl

Girl in the Arena by Lisa Haines

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Passage
by Justin Cronin

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

The Tel Aviv Dossier
by Lavie Tidhar and Nir Yaniv

The Unit
by Ninni Holmqvist

Fantasy Book Reviews

Posted by Simcha 9:30 AM, under | No comments

The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede

Bayou Moon (Edge, Book 2) by Ilona Andrews

Blameless by Gail Carriger

Bloodlist (audio book) by P.N Elrod

The Bookman
by Lavie Tidhar

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Dale

Brightly Woven by Andrea Bracken

Cold Magic by Kate Elliott

The Demon's Lexicon by Saah Rees Brennan

The Desert Spear
by Peter Brett

Eyes Like Stars(audio book) by Lisa Mantchev

Glenraven by Marion Zimmer Bradley

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Just Plain Bad (Bad-Ass Fairies Anthology, Book 2)
Edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Lord Foul's Bane (Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book 1) by Stephen R. Donaldson

Lord of the Fading Lands (Tairen Soul, Book 1) by C.L Wilson

Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next, Book 2) by Jasper Fforde

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

My Mother, She Killed Me, My Father, He Ate Me Edited by Kate Bernheimer

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1)
by Patricia Briggs

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper

On The Edge by Ilona Andrews

Personal Demons
by Lisa Desrochers

Red Seas Under Red Skies
(Audio book) by Scott Lynch

Servant of a Dark God by John Brown

Shades of Milk and Honey
by Mary Robinette Kowal

Shadow's Son by John Sprunk

Something Rotten (Thursday Next, Book 4) by Jasper Fforde

Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Spellwright by Blake Charlton

Street Magic
by Caitlin Kittredge

Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson

The Blending
by Sharon Green

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Witch Fire by James Clemens

Book Reviews, by Author:

Posted by Simcha 8:51 AM, under | No comments

Ilona Andrews


Galen Beckett
Kate Bernheimer

Andrea Bracken
Marion Zimmer Bradley

Sarah Reese Brennan


Peter Brett


John Brown

Patricia Briggs



Gail Carriger



Blake Charlton


James Clemens



Suzanne Collins



Justin Cronin



Jennifer Crusie



Shannon Dale



Stephen Deas



Lisa Desrochers
Philip K. Dick

Matthew Dicks

Stephen R. Donaldson

Kate Elliott
P. N Elrod
Nancy Farmer
Jasper Fforde

Sharon Green


Lev Grossman

Molly Harper
Lisa HainesRobert HeinleinNinni Holmqvist
Caitlin KittredgeMary Robinette Kowal
Scott Lynch
Lisa Mantchev
  • Eyes Like Stars (audio book)
Danielle Ackley-McPhail


Naomi Novik


Frederik Pohl


Kristine Rusch


Brandon Sanderson




John Sprunk



Levi Tidhar

  • The Tel Aviv Dossier
  • The Apex Book of World SF
  • The Bookman


  • Heather Tomlinson


    C.L Wilson


    Patricia Wrede


    Nir Yaniv

  • The Tel Aviv Dossier


  • Carlos Ruiz Zafon

    Monday, August 24, 2009

    A break from fantasy for Something Missing

    Posted by Simcha 4:43 PM, under | No comments

    This weekend I took a short break from my regular fantasy reading for Matthew Dicks’ debut novel Something Missing. It’s another recommendation from my favorite blog, Books on the Nightstand, and I have been eager to read it as soon as I heard Anne Kingman describe the quirky and fun sounding plot of this book

    Something Missing is about an off-beat, socially inept burglar, with OCD tendencies, who regularly steals from a select group of victims, or “clients,” as he calls them, but only takes items that will go unnoticed. Groceries, liquid plumber and the occasional neglected piece of jewelry are Martin’s usual targets, each item carefully chosen by the likelihood if its disappearance being overlooked by the homeowner.

    Each client is carefully selected and researched, following Martin’s precise list of requirements, which include:

    1. No single clients
    2. No roommates, maids or children
    3. Never too rich, never too poor and never , ever through inheritance

    Adhering to these rules is what has led to Martin’s success as a thief and has allowed him to maintain the same list of victims for many years. In fact, Martin has come to know these homeowners quite well over the years and had developed a fond attachment towards them, as he glides undetected through their lives. And so, when Martin one day accidentally knocks a homeowner’s toothbrushes into the toilet he feels compelled to replace it, horrified at the idea of the woman, whom he has come to care for, to unknowingly brush her teeth with a contaminated toothbrush.

    Therefore, for one of the few times in his career as a burglar, Martin deviates from his carefully laid plans and breaks many of his own rules in order to right the wrong that he had inadvertently caused. But this deviation plummets Martin into a thrilling adventure that causes him to rethink his role in his victim’s lives, and changes his own life as a consequence.

    After reading Something Missing I was reminded of one of the reasons that I love reading so much and that is the opportunity that it gives me to experience life through someone else's eyes. Martin is not a particularly likable individual, his awkwardness and oddities making him someone I would be unlikely to befriend. But Dicks causes us to not only get to know Martin, but to be him; to get inside his head and understand what makes him tick. I found Martin’s detailed explanations for each action and conversation to be fascinating, providing insight to a personality so different from my own. I particularly enjoyed the humor and cleverness in the numerous disguises that Martin adopts, from a writer of instruction manuals to an elderly retired woman who waxes eloquently of her worldly voyages.

    My only real complaint is that sometimes Martin’s explanations were a little too wordy and bogged down the story a bit, but other then that I found Something Missing to be a delightful and highly enjoyable novel that I will enthusiastically be passing on to all my friends.

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