This week I received a galley copy of Matthew Pearl‘s new book The Last Dickens, which will be released on March 17, and I feel duty-bound to sit down and read it since Matthew was kind enough to send it.  Actually, I’ve been looking forward to the book ever since I heard it was coming soon.  Folks interested hearing Matthew discuss the book, please note:

• March 17 at 6:30 P.M., Barnes and Noble, Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
• March 19 at 7:00 P.M., Newtonville Books, Newton MA.
• March 23 at 6:00 P.M., Margaret Mitchell House, Atlanta, GA. (I’ll be at this event.)
• March 24 at 8:00 P.M., Books and Books, Coral Gables, FL.
• March 26 at 7:00 P.M., Prairie Lights Bookstore, Iowa City, IA.
• March 30 at 7:00 P.M., University Book Store, Seattle, WA.
• March 31 at 7:00 P.M., Books, Inc. (Opera Plaza), San Francisco, CA.
• April 2 at 7:00 P.M., Boosktail, Chicago, IL.

More information about venues, including full addresses, phone numbers, and contact information, can be found at Matthew’s Web site.

I would encourage you to check out Matthew Pearl’s books if you haven’t read them before.  He writes smart literary thrillers that appeal especially to book lovers.  I really enjoyed his first two books, The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow.  One of my literary treasures is a signed manuscript page I won by correctly answering a trivia question at Matthew’s last stop in Atlanta.  It was a lot of fun to meet him.  He’s very friendly and personable in addition to being a great writer.