David Abrams's Blog, page 63

Trailer Park Tuesday: Everybody’s Fool by Richard Russo

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




Welcome back to North Bath, New York, population: 1. As in, one memorable character: Donald “Sully” Sullivan. The lovable, irascible, unforgettable character of Richard Russo’s 1993 novel Nobody’s Fool (played so memorably by Paul Newman in the 1994 film ) returns to the page in Everybody’s Fool . In the trailer for the new novel, Russo explains why he decided to “sneak back int...

My First Time: Alyson Foster

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 Alyson Foster, author of the new short story collection Heart Attack Watch , now out from Bloomsbury. E.J. Levy had this to say about the book: “The seven stories in Alyson Foster’s Heart Attack Watch are gripping, strange, quietly haunting. Foster has a...

Sunday Sentence: Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris

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


A child, thought Carl, is not the only result of childbirth. A mother, too, is born.

Then We Came to the End  by Joshua Ferris

Friday Freebie: They Could Live With Themselves by Jodi Paloni

Congratulations to Lisa Grimes, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie contest: Relief Map by Rosalie Knecht and Montauk by Max Frisch.

This week’s book giveaway is a signed copy of Jodi Paloni’s debut short story collection, They Could Live With Themselves . I’m about halfway through reading my own copy of the book and so far I am completely absorbed with the lives of Paloni’s deeply-etched characters who live in Stark Run, Vermont. Paloni writes with the confident pen of someone who has three...

It Started in Wood Shop: Chris McClelland’s Library and Its First Resident, J.R.R. Tolkien

Reader:  Chris McClelland
Location:  Provo, Utah
Library Size:  Approximately 250 books

My personal library had its humble beginnings with a wood shop project bookshelf I built in the seventh grade and a new Lord of the Rings paperback trilogy. Throughout high school, I filled that shelf, and some others, with the latest sci-fi and fantasy books. It wasn’t until I got to college and decided to become an English major that my library began in earnest, with the best of the classics...

Trailer Park Tuesday: Fifty-Six Counties by Russell Rowland

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




     One writer.
     One state.
     One car with a cracked windshield and a back seat littered with the paper wrappers from McDonald’s burgers.
     Five thousand miles.
     Novelist Russell Rowland ( High and Inside , In Open Spaces ) wanted to know what made his home state of Montana tick, so he set out...

My First Time: Jodi Paloni

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 Jodi Paloni, author of the debut collection of linked stories, They Could Live With Themselves (Press 53), a runner up in the 2015 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction. She won the 2013 Short Story America Prize and placed second in the 2012 Raymond Carver S...

Sunday Sentence: Little Known Facts by Christine Sneed

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


Eight stories below, the streets pulsed with traffic and possibility and the desperate energy of a million dreams not coming true fast enough.

Little Known Facts by Christine Sneed

Little Known Facts by Christine Sneed

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


Eight stories below, the streets pulsed with traffic and possibility and the desperate energy of a million dreams not coming true fast enough.

Little Known Facts by Christine Sneed

Friday Freebie: Relief Map by Rosalie Knecht and Montauk by Max Frisch

Congratulations to Bart Zimmer, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie contest: True Stories at the Smoky View by Jill McCroskey Coupe.

This week, I have a nice pair of new releases from our friends at Tin House Books to put in one lucky reader’s hands: Relief Map by Rosalie Knecht and Montauk by Max Frisch. Read on for more details about the books...

In Relief Map, a small town is swept up in a manhunt for a fugitive from foreign soil and a teenage girl struggles to make the right choices with...