The Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien (2018) - Lana Lee works in her family's restaurant, Ho-Lee Noodles.  It's a boring life that she would really love to put behind her.  Unfortunately, she has to turn down her big break when her parents go to care for her grandmother on the other side of the planet.  While... Continue Reading →

Making a change in some of my blogging.  Since this is the blog that is mostly focused on things book-ish, I've decided to move my book reviews over here from The View From The Phlipside. (You didn't know I write more than one blog?  TVFTP is focused on the wider world of media and is... Continue Reading →

This post is part of a year-long series about short stories.  Read about my "Year of the Short Story" HERE. Cabbages and Kings by O. Henry (1904) - A collection of short stories about the same place (the fictional "banana republic" of Anchuria) and people (mostly expatriate Americans living or visiting there).  It is a... Continue Reading →

This post is part of a year-long series about short stories.  Read about my "Year of the Short Story" HERE. Things We Lost In The Fire by Mariana Enriquez (2017) - Stretching our wings some more with the first English language collection of Argentine writer Mariana Enriquez.  An award-winning author and editor based in Buenos... Continue Reading →

This post is part of a year-long series about short stories.  Read about my "Year of the Short Story" HERE. Seven Icelandic Short Stories I’m trying to offer as much variety in this series as possible. So, when I saw this collection, I grabbed it. Something from a different literary tradition offers a great chance... Continue Reading →

This post is part of a year-long series about short stories.  Read about my "Year of the Short Story" HERE. The Suicide Club by Robert Louis Stevenson (1878) - Three short stories that make up a longer narrative.  Originally published individually in London Magazine, they were later collected and put into book form. Some may... Continue Reading →

This post is part of a year-long series about short stories.  Read about my "Year of the Short Story" HERE. Male of the Species by Alex Mindt (2007) - This book was recommended to me by my daughter, who is a wonderful writer and has a wide range of reading.  I will admit to kind of... Continue Reading →

This post is part of a year-long series about short stories.  Read about my "Year of the Short Story" HERE. The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories by Mark Twain (1872) - A collection of 30 short stories from one of the greatest American authors.  Twain is in many ways the most American of our native... Continue Reading →

This post is part of a year-long series about short stories.  Read about my "Year of the Short Story" HERE. The Djinn Falls In Love and Other Stories by Mahvesh Murad, K. J. Parker, Kuzhali Manickavel, Maria Dahvana Headley (2017) - A collection of stories from around the world focusing on the djinn, the magical... Continue Reading →

I don't know about you, but as a reader, I spend very little time thinking about book titles.  They either interest me or they don't, and I have no idea why usually.  To be honest, a title has to work at it to turn me away from a book. If the title hasn't managed to... Continue Reading →