David Abrams's Blog, page 24
October 28, 2018
Sunday Sentence: American Radiance by Luisa Muradyan
Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.
If sadness were a fruit
It would be a sadberry
which is related to the blueberry
but sadder.
“Clams” from American Radiance by Luisa Muradyan
October 26, 2018
Friday Freebie: Evergreen Tidings From the Baumgartners by Gretchen Anthony
Congratulations to Elyse Garrett, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener.
This week’s giveaway is for Evergreen Tidings From the Baumgartners , a new holiday novel by Gretchen Anthony. One lucky reader will win a new paperback copy. Will it be you? Keep scrolling for more information on the book and how to enter the contest.
Dearest loved ones, far and near—evergreen tidings from the Baumgartners!
Violet Baumgartner has opened her annual holiday letter the...
October 25, 2018
Front Porch Books: October 2018 edition
Front Porch Books is a monthly tally of new and forthcoming books—mainly advance review copies (aka “uncorrected proofs” and “galleys”)—I’ve received from publishers. Cover art and opening lines may change before the book is finally released. I should also mention that, in nearly every case, I haven’t had a chance to read these books, but they’re definitely going in the to-be-read pile.
The Adults
by Caroline Hulse
(Random House)
Jacket Copy: A couple (now separated), plus their daug...
October 22, 2018
My First Time: Adrianne Harun
My First Time at a Transformational Reading
I arrived at college, raw and confused, bobbing between a cocky embrace of unwarranted privilege and a contradictory but equally keen awareness of my many limitations. The college I attended was beyond my ken, socially and academically. Although I had likely been admitted based on a musical resume—I’d been performing since I was fourteen—I knew early on that I didn’t have enough desire or talent to be a true professional and that I didn’t want to be...
October 21, 2018
Sunday Sentence: Half-Hazard by Kristen Tracy
Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.
His hair became my favorite thing to touch.
I didn’t want my hands back.
“Waiting for Crocuses” from Half-Hazard by Kristen Tracy
October 19, 2018
Friday Freebie: Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener
Congratulations to Ray Clapper, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: The Fall of Gondolin by J. R. R. Tolkien and A Middle-Earth Traveler by John Howe.
This week’s giveaway is for Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener. I previewed the novel earlier on the blog , but here’s what Susan Henderson, author of The Flicker of Old Dreams , had to say about Strangers: “Jessica Keener has written a gorgeous, lyrical, and sweeping novel about the tangled web of past and present. Suspenseful, perceptive...
October 15, 2018
My First Time: Lee Zacharias
My First Lesson Learned
If book tours were a thing when Houghton Mifflin published my first novel in 1981, I’m sure I would have had one. My publisher had big expectations: ads in the Washington Post and New York Times, an auction for paperback rights with a minimum bid of six figures, a first press run of 30,000 copies. That the novel didn't sell anywhere near 30,000 copies, that the one company offering the minimum six figures was immediately sold to another that was iffy about my novel—let’...
October 14, 2018
Sunday Sentence: Half-Hazard by Kristen Tracy
Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.
My life was going by. Year. Cake. Year. Cake.
“Circus Youth” from Half-Hazard by Kristen Tracy
October 12, 2018
Friday Freebie: The Fall of Gondolin by J. R. R. Tolkien and A Middle-Earth Traveler by John Howe
Congratulations to Tisa Houck, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: Godsend by John Wray.
This week’s giveaway is a Lord of the Rings prize pack for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy series. First is the newly-released book by Tolkien: The Fall of Gondolin . It’s edited by the author’s son, Christopher, and illustrated by Alan Lee. I also have a nice hardbound copy of the lavishly-illustrated A Middle-Earth Traveler by John Howe. Keep scrolling for more information on the books and how to en...
October 7, 2018
Sunday Sentence: One-Sentence Journal by Chris La Tray
Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.
I admire the three-years-and-running commitment
the neighbor’s dog has made to going apeshit with barking
whenever she sees me arrive home,
as if I were the first man she’s ever seen.
One-Sentence Journal by Chris La Tray
