David Abrams's Blog, page 110

My First Time: Kelly Jones

My First Time is a regular feature in which writers talk about virgin experiences in their writing and publishing careers, ranging from their first rejection to the moment of holding their first published book in their hands.  Today’s guest is Kelly Jones, author of Evel Knievel Jumps the Snake River Canyon...and Other Stories Close to Home , a novella and short story collection published by Ninth Avenue Press .  Kelly grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho, and attended Gonzaga University in S...

Sunday Sentence: The Nixon Tapes by Douglas Brinkley and Luke Nichter

Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.


You should have heard, Bob, the way we worked her around.  I dropped stilettos all over her.

President Richard M. Nixon to Bob Haldeman,
referring to a meeting with Indira Gandhi
The Nixon Tapes by Douglas Brinkley and Luke Nichter 

Dad's Dadblasted Hot Chili

What's a recipe doing on a blog about books?  As anyone who follows my Instagram account can tell you, I love to cook (and take annoying snapshots of meals).  This is the only recipe I can truly call my own, so I thought I'd share it with you here today during a brief break from book chatter.  Besides, we're approaching the deep freeze of winter and what could be better than curling up with a good book and a steaming bowl of chili?

Growing up, my three children were notoriously...

Friday Freebie: The Forgers by Bradford Morrow

Congratulations to Billie Hinton, winner of last week's Friday Freebie contest: Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates and Return to Oakpine by Ron Carlson.

This week's book giveaway is The Forgers , the new novel by Bradford Morrow, who's been called "a mesmerizing storyteller who casts an irresistible spell" by Oates herself.  One lucky reader will win a new hardback copy of the book.  Read on for more information about The Forgers...

The rare book world is stunned when a reclusive collecto...

Front Porch Books: November 2014 edition

Front Porch Books is a monthly tally of books--mainly advance review copies (aka "uncorrected proofs" and "galleys")--I've received from publishers, but also sprinkled with packages from Book Mooch, independent bookstores, Amazon and other sources.  Because my dear friends, Mr. FedEx and Mrs. UPS, leave them with a doorbell-and-dash method of delivery, I call them my Front Porch Books.  In this digital age, ARCs are also beamed to the doorstep of my Kindle via NetGalley and Edelweis...

The New Jungle: Blackboard by Lewis Buzbee

Blackboard: A Personal History of the Classroom
by Lewis Buzbee
Review by Lily Iona MacKenzie

Most of us who have been teaching for some time need periodic reminders of the important work we’re doing in the classroom.  It’s easy to become insensitive in our relations with our students and let our automatic pilot take over.  Since our salaries usually don’t reflect the value of what we do and the central role we play in students’ lives, it’s easy to stagnate.  Being one of those te...

Trailer Park Tuesday: The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent

Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday, a showcase of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies.




The trailer for the paperback release of Kathleen Kent's novel The Outcasts reminds us of that saying: "Never bring a knife to a gunfight."  The simple (but beautifully-filmed) 30-second video sets up a clear tension between two characters: a man and a woman face off across a creek somewhere in the American frontier.  There's no dialogue and very little action (apart...

My First Time: Andrew Eddy

My First Time is a regular feature in which writers talk about virgin experiences in their writing and publishing careers, ranging from their first rejection to the moment of holding their first published book in their hands.  Today’s guest is Andrew Eddy, author of Revontuli , a novel which depicts one of the last untold stories of World War II: the burning of the Finnmark, a land above the Arctic Circle where Norway and Finland meet.  Andrew conducted extensive research to write Re...

Sunday Sentence: "Vision" by Tiffany Briere (Tin House, Issue #59)

Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.




God is taking my mother in pieces.

"Vision" by Tiffany Briere in Tin House, Issue #59 

Cream of the Crop: The Best American Short Stories 2014, edited by Jennifer Egan

Each October, there are certain things I can expect to see: candy corn in Aisle 12 of my local Safeway, inflatable pumpkins on neighbors' lawns (pumped full of air, most of them are now larger than the houses themselves), Vs of Canada geese arrowing across the sky, and copies of The Best American series showing up in bookstores.  I'm the happy owner of four volumes in this year's collection:  The Best American Travel Writing , The Best American Comics , The Best American Non-Required R...