David Abrams's Blog, page 44

Sunday Sentence: We Come to Our Senses by Odie Lindsey

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


Men go to war to be men worth a damn.

“So Bored in Nashville” from
We Come to Our Senses by Odie Lindsey

Friday Freebie: Beauty and the Beast, edited by Maria Tatar

Congratulations to Tisa Houck, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: The Weight of This World by David Joy.

This week’s contest is for the new Penguin Classics edition of Beauty and the Beast , edited by Maria Tatar. If you’re making plans to see the new Disney movie starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, this collection of “Classic Tales about Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World” will be the perfect literary companion to get you in the mood. Keep scrolling for more information about...

Front Porch Books: March 2017 edition

Front Porch Books is a monthly tally of books—mainly advance review copies (aka “uncorrected proofs” and “galleys”)—I’ve received from publishers. 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 Edelweiss. Note: many of these books won’t be released for another 2-6 months; I’m here to pique your interest and stock y...

Trailer Park Tuesday: Blitzed by Norman Ohler

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


There are many words we can use to describe Third Reich Nazis: thugs, torturers, murderers, exterminators. Now, thanks to Norman Ohler’s new book, we can add one more: pill-popping drug fiends. It’s a subject that rarely, if ever, comes up when we talk about Germany’s powerful elite in the 1930s and 40s. “I think historians have been afraid to touch it,” Ohler says in the vide...

My First Time: Deborah Willis

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 Deborah Willis, author of The Dark and Other Love Stories , published by W.W. Norton (U.S.) and Penguin Random House (Canada) on Valentine’s Day 2017. Her first book, Vanishing and Other Stories , was nominated for a Governor General’s Award, called one of...

Sunday Sentence: Hourglass by Dani Shapiro

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


In this soft, summer light, everyone on the boat is as beautiful as they will ever be.

Hourglass by Dani Shapiro

Friday Freebie: The Weight of This World by David Joy

Congratulations to Rhian Ellis , winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: All Grown Up , the new novel by Jami Attenberg.

This week’s contest is for The Weight of This World by David Joy. Here’s what Eric Rickstad, New York Times-bestselling author of Lie in Wait, had to say about the novel: “The Weight of This World is a savage and heartbreaking tragedy. David Joy writes with a deep wisdom, compassion, and respect for the psychic and physical wounds, the pain and anger and sadness that at once sh...

My First Time: David Joy

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 David Joy, author of the new novel The Weight of This World . His first novel, Where All Light Tends to Go , debuted to great acclaim and was named an Edgar Award finalist for Best First Novel. His stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in Drafthors...

Sunday Sentence: Goodnight, Beautiful Women by Anna Noyes

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

(This week's #SundaySentence is dedicated to Jean , the most beautiful of women)

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Before they were married, before Jenny, he was certain that he’d love her face in old age, that their job as lovers was to love each other’s faces in all their forms.

“Safe as Houses” from Goodnight, Beautiful Women by Anna Noyes

Friday Freebie: All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg

Congratulations to Katrina Roberts, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: The Dark and Other Love Stories by Deborah Willis.

This week’s contest is for All Grown Up , the new novel by Jami Attenberg. Keep scrolling for more information about the book...


From the New York Times best-selling author of The Middlesteins comes a wickedly funny novel about a thirty-nine-year-old single, childfree woman who defies convention as she seeks connection. Who is Andrea Bern? When her therapist asks the que...