David Abrams's Blog, page 53
October 14, 2016
Friday Freebie: The Age of Daredevils by Michael Clarkson
Congratulations to Ginger Heatwole, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: Sunday’s on the Phone to Monday by Christine Reilly.
This week’s contest is for
The Age of Daredevils
by Michael Clarkson. I’ve got a hardcover copy of the new book about Niagara Falls to send to one lucky reader. Read on for more information about the book... At the dawn of the twentieth century, a small but determined band of barrel jumpers risked their lives in one of the world’s most wondrous waterfalls. Only a few...
October 12, 2016
Haunted by Books: Caroline Leavitt’s Library
Reader: Caroline Leavitt Number of Books: Please don’t ask me to count. It will take me forever to number them because I know I will sit down and start reading.
My personal library began when I was 9 and my mother bought me a blue painted bamboo shelf for my room. I loved that I had my very own shelf! I immediately began putting my favorite books on it—starting with Nancy Drew and moving on to 1984 , Animal Farm , A Clockwork Orange , and all sorts of other books. Over the years, tha...
October 10, 2016
My First Time: Stephanie Gangi
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 Stephanie Gangi, author of The Next , “a novel of love, revenge and a ghost who can't let go.” Stephanie was born in Brooklyn, raised on Long Island, attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, and raised her own kids in Tribeca, Rockland C...
October 9, 2016
Sunday Sentence: Splitting an Order by Ted Kooser
Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.
I saw her coming from a long way off,
that singular, side-to-side, whisk-broom movement
as she swung her arms and legs, brushing
the morning and its inertia aside,
and the dew which throughout the cool night
had settled on the path like starlight.
“The Rollerblader” fro...
October 7, 2016
Friday Freebie: Sunday’s on the Phone to Monday by Christine Reilly
Congratulations to Paulette Livers, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie: the Big Box of Books giveaway .
This week’s contest is for the debut novel by Christine Reilly,
Sunday’s on the Phone to Monday
. One lucky reader will win a new hardcover edition of the novel. Pamela Erens, author of The Virgins, calls it “a unique and big-hearted novel.” Read on for more information about the book... The Middlesteins meets The Virgin Suicides in this arresting family love story about the eccentric yet t...
October 4, 2016
Trailer Park Tuesday: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday, a showcase of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies.
Emma Donoghue (
Room
) returns to her historical fiction roots in the new novel,
The Wonder
. Set in a small Irish village in the mid-1800s, The Wonder, like Room, revolves around a child—this time, instead of the room-bound Jack, it’s eleven-year-old Anna O’Donnell who hasn’t eaten any food for months, claiming to be living off manna from heaven. A nurse is dispatched to watch o...
October 3, 2016
My First Time: Rachel Hall
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 Rachel Hall, author of
Heirlooms
, a collection of linked stories which was BkMk Press’ 2015 G. S. Sharat prize winner selected by Marge Piercy. Rachel’s short stories and essays have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies including Black W...
September 18, 2016
Sunday Sentence: Searching for John Hughes by Jason Diamond
Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.
In my naivete, I approached turning thirteen thinking it was going to be like it was in the movies or TV. I expected some heartbreak and bad moments here and there, but I truly believed adolescence was going to be this magical time where everybody looked good. I thought turning thirteen was when my life would start to look like a John Hughes film.
Searching for John Hughes by Jason D...
September 16, 2016
Friday Freebie: Big Box of Fall Reading! Diamond Head by Cecily Wong, The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson, The Spice Box Letters by Eve Makis, Teacher: Two Years in the Mississippi Delta by Michael Copperman, Tailored for Trouble by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff, Orha
Congratulations to Tisa Houck, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie giveaway: Brightwood by Tania Unsworth and The Unbelieveable FIB: The Trickster’s Tale and The Unbelieveable FIB: Over the Underworld by Adam Shaughnessy.
This week’s contest is for another big ol’ stand-back-I’m-clearing-the-shelves box o’ books. ONE lucky reader will win ALL of the following books: Diamond Head by Cecily Wong, The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson, The Spice Box Letters by Eve Makis, Teacher: Two Years in...
Front Porch Books: September 2016 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 Edelweiss. Note: many...
