Powells Books Events Calendar

07.06: Macintosh Users Group Meeting: Graphics/Video

Join us the first Monday of every month for a graphics/video meeting with like-minded Mac geeks. Bring your questions and tips to share with the group.

07.06: Lance Reynald

Hailed as "marvelously endearing and insightful" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Lance Reynald's debut novel Pop Salvation (Harper Perennial) spins together pop art and burgeoning sexuality in a fresh story about learning to trust yourself and the people you love.

07.07: Craft Circle Book Group

This month we meet to discuss Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton. Bring your crafting supplies as we talk books and crafts.

07.07: Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing

Gods and Soldiers (Penguin), edited by Rob Spillman, is a one-of-a-kind collection that showcases the energy of new African literature and offers a vibrant and essential glimpse of Africa as it enters the 21st century. “This collection sheds light on a multifarious continent too often thought of in one-size-fits-all terms,” hails Publishers Weekly.

07.08: Book Bags Women's Book Group

This month we meet to discuss Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. Join us!

07.08: David J. Williams

In his electrifying debut, The Mirrored Heavens, David J. Williams created a dark futuristic world grounded in the military rivalries, terror tactics, and political wrangling of our own time. Now, in The Burning Skies (Spectra Books), he takes his masterful blend of military sci-fi, espionage thriller, and dystopian cyberpunk one step further -- to the edge of annihilation.

07.08: Isis Aquarian

The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13 and the Source Family (Process) is the astonishing true story of a young, white-robed tribe of outlaw mystics living communally in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills and serving the likes of John Lennon, Warren Beatty, and Marlon Brando at a famous Sunset Strip vegetarian restaurant called The Source.

07.09: Deadly Diversions Mystery Book Group

This month we meet to discuss Colin Dexter's Last Bus to Woodstock. Join us!

07.09: Rhys Bowen

Royal Flush (Berkley), the latest in Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness mystery series, stars Lady Georgiana, who is 34th in line for the throne and the mystery world's favorite penniless heiress.

07.09: John Kroger

Starting from his time as a green recruit and ending at the peak of his career, John Kroger's Convictions (Farrar Straus Giroux) is an unflinching portrait of the complexities of life as a prosecutor. “Kroger’s assessment of the federal prosecutor’s problematic, overly powerful role in the legal system is well-rendered and crisply delivered,” proclaims Kirkus Reviews.

07.09: Operation Bite Back

As the environmental movement gains followers and momentum, Dean Kuipers's Operation Bite Back (Bloomsbury) gives us an insider's look at its radical wing and its uneasy relationship with the mainstream. “Anyone interested in the extreme edges of the environmental movement will be well served by this account,” hails Publishers Weekly.

07.10: Mary Guterson

Mary Guterson's new novel, Gone to the Dogs (St. Martin's Griffin), is the hilarious story of a woman who is driven to the edge...and ends up "accidentally" stealing her ex-boyfriend's golden retriever.

07.11: Bright Neighbor University: Tom Dywer and Randy White

Join Tom Dwyer and Randy White as they discuss sustainable fueling and offer techniques for producing alcohol-based fuel at home. This event is part of a series co-sponsored by Bright Neighbor, a Portland-based organization dedicated to local living and neighborhood building.

07.11: Philosophy Cafe

Join philosophers and PCC instructors Brian Elliott and John Farnum as we discuss topical issues from a philosophical perspective. This month we will address the topic of secrets and lies. Please note: Philosophy Cafe typically meets the first Saturday of every month, but this month's discussion has been pushed back due to the July 4th holiday.

07.12: Blake Nelson
Blake Nelson's latest young adult novel, Destroy All Cars (Scholastic), features James Hoff, who likes to rant against America's consumerist culture and his ex-girlfriend, Sadie, who he feels isn't doing enough to change the world. But, just like he can't avoid buying things, he also can't avoid Sadie. "[A]n elegant and bittersweet story," cheers Publishers Weekly.

07.13: Footprints
In Footprints (Hadley Rille), 21 authors spin tales of speculative fiction, imagining a future where alien explorers find human traces on the moon after the human species has died out. This event features contributors Brenda Cooper, Jody Sherry, and Chad Grayson.

07.13: The Girls' Guide to Rocking
Written by Jessica Hopper, an obsessive music lover who's spent her life playing, performing, publicizing, and writing about rock 'n' roll, The Girls' Guide to Rocking (Workman Publishing) is a hip, inspirational guide for rad girls who want to make their rock dreams come true.

07.13: The Crying Tree
Dramatic, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting, Naseem Rakha’s The Crying Tree (Broadway Books) is an unforgettable story of love and redemption, the unbreakable bonds of family, and the transformative power of forgiveness. "This complex, layered story of a family’s journey toward justice and forgiveness comes together through spellbinding storytelling," cheers Publishers Weekly. "[A] testament to Rakha’s ability to create wonderfully realized characters."

07.14: Macintosh Users Group
Join us every other Tuesday for a fun and informal meeting with like-minded Mac geeks. Bring your questions and tips to share with the group.

07.14: Science Fiction Book Group
This month we meet to discuss The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. Join us!

07.14: Colum McCann
Award-winnining author Colum McCann's most ambitious work to date, Let the Great World Spin (Random House) offers a dazzling and hauntingly rich vision of the loveliness, pain, and mystery of life in New York City in the 1970s. "[McCann] succeeds in giving us a high-wire performance of style and heart". (Publishers Weekly).

07.15: Eric Barnes
A beach-bag perfect combination of intrigue and deceit, Eric Barnes's Shimmer (Unbridled Books) is the timely, gripping tale of a worldwide corporate Ponzi scheme.

07.15: The Book of William
Paul Collins’ The Book of William (Bloomsbury) is the first popular narrative history of Shakespeare's First Folio, the world's most obsessively pursued book. "Collins is the best sort of popular historian: someone who can make the obscurest facts and people absorbing and entertaining," says Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust.

07.16: Derek McCormack and Stacey Levine
Starring a host of Hollywood’s brightest stars, Derek McCormack's The Show That Smells (Akashic) is a thrilling tale of hillbillies, high fashion, and horror about a country music singer dying of tuberculosis whose wife tries to save him by selling her soul to the devil. In The Girl with Brown Fur (Akashic), PEN-West Award winner Stacey Levine has invented stories that will thrill readers of literary fiction who hunger for an innovative American voice.

07.16: Get Animated!
A clearly written and illustrated guide for the home animator, Tim Maloney’s Get Animated! (Watson-Guptill) shows aspiring animators how to create studio-grade animation on simple home equipment.

07.17: Cheeky Pages Romance Book Group
This month we meet to discuss Rebellion by Nora Roberts. Join us!

07.19: Things to Know before You Say "Go"
Elsbeth Martindale’s Things to Know before You Say "Go" offers individuals a unique and powerful method of examining romantic partnership. The set contains a deck of 76 cards and accompanying book, both printed on recycled materials and packaged in a reusable, earth-friendly box.

07.20: The Motion of the Ocean
The Motion of the Ocean (Touchstone) is the humorous true story of Janna Cawrse Esarey who abandons her tidy life to honeymoon across the Pacific on a leaky old boat -- only to find that sailing 17,000 miles is easier than keeping her relationship off the rocks.

07.20: Generation T: Beyond Fashion
From Megan Nicolay, the author of Generation T, comes Generation T: Beyond Fashion (Workman), a new collection of 110 projects to take the humble yet ever-malleable T-shirt in dozens of new directions -- from baby gifts to pet accessories. Bring your own T-shirt to the event to follow along with Megan’s demonstration!

07.21: Get Gardening with Ray Rogers: Pots in the Garden
The use of ornamental containers on decks, patios, terraces, and in the garden itself can save time, space, and money. Ray Rogers's Pots in the Garden (Timber Press) reflects one longtime gardener's accumulated thoughts on and experiences with container gardening and the basic principles behind good garden design.

07.21: Chris Hedges
Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges's Empire of Illusion (Nation Books) charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate America that craves fantasy, ecstasy, and illusion.

07.22: Lance Allred
In Longshot (HarperOne), Lance Allred, the first legally deaf player in the NBA, chronicles his unlikely journey from a polygamous compound in Montana to playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers. "Allred’s voice is humorously self-deprecating and youthfully winning," cheers Publishers Weekly.

07.23: Brett Battles
Fast, smart, sleek, and stunning, Shadow of Betrayal (Delacorte Press) is vintage Brett Battles: a gritty, gripping masterpiece of suspense, this thriller will make the pulse pound -- and stir the heart as well.

07.23: Robin Romm & Jessica Anthony
Sharply funny and deeply moving, Robin Romm's extraordinary collection, The Mother Garden (Scribner), introduces a young writer of fierce originality and prodigious talent. In The Convalescent (McSweeney's Books), Jessica Anthony, the inaugural winner of the Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award, makes an unforgettable debut with an unforgettable hero: Seymour Akos Pfliegman -- unlikely bandit, unloved lover, and historian of the unimportant.

07.23: Tattoo Machine
In Tattoo Machine (Spiegel & Grau), natural-born storyteller Jeff Johnson gives a behind-the-scenes tour of Portland’s Sea Tramp Tattoo Company and the fabled tattoo industry. "An amazing firsthand account of all things you wondered about tattoo shops," says Gus Van Sant. "I loved it."

07.24: Howard Dean
What would real healthcare reform look like? And how can everyday Americans trump big money and put healthcare back on track? Howard Dean, the former DNC Chairman, presidential candidate, six term Governor, and physician, tells Americans what needs to be done to successfully reform healthcare in his bold new book, Howard Dean's Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform.

07.25: Portland Farmers Market
Join us the last Saturday of each month at the Portland Farmers Market in the South Park Blocks at PSU in the South Park Blocks at PSU. Seasonally appropriate books will help market-goers prepare and store their bounty — and even grow some of their own food. The 2009 series includes:

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April 25: Going to Seed — Seed gardening and composting

May 30: Localvores — Preparing local food and eating locally

June 27: Birds and Bugs — The care and feeding of chickens and bees
July 25: Berries — Cook 'em, eat 'em, store 'em
August 29: BBQ — Build it and they will come
September 26: Preserving — Capturing the harvest

October 24: Fun with Fungi — Hunting and cooking the elusive mushroom

Throughout the summer, local authors will be stopping by the booth to sign and talk about their books.This month's selection will feature books on berries. Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson will join us to sign copies of their book, Rustic Fruit Desserts, from 10 a.m. to noon.

07.27: Thom Hartmann
In Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture (Viking), writer and Air America radio host Thom Hartmann looks at the deteriorating state of our planet, where the dynamics of environmental, economic, and population change are boiling over the limits within which society can function. Please note: This ticketed event takes place at the Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Tickets, $5, are available at the Bagdad Theater box office, the Crystal Ballroom box office, Ticketmaster.com, and all Ticketmaster outlets.
Co-sponsored by AM 620 KPOJ

07.28: Macintosh Users Group
Join us every other Tuesday for a fun and informal meeting with like-minded Mac geeks. Bring your questions and tips to share with the group.

07.28: Tomato Rhapsody
In Adam Schell's extravagant, inventive debut novel, Tomato Rhapsody (Delacorte), love's heart beats tomato red under a sultry Tuscan sun. "Schell displays the finesse of a master chef as he spices up the story with a delicious array of humorous subplots — ranging from the bawdy to the sweet — guaranteed to appeal to discerning literary palates".(Booklist).

07.29: Classics Book Group
This month we meet to discuss The Aeneid by Virgil. Join us!

07.29: Carolyn Turgeon
An atmospheric twist on the tale of Cinderella, Carolyn Turgeon's Godmother (Three Rivers Press) centers on the dark yet enchanting backstory of the Fairy Godmother.

07.30: Gothic Charm School
From Jillian Venters, the creator of the online advice forum about how to be strange and unusual, comes Gothic Charm School (Harper), the ultimate guide to dark decorum and etiquette for Goths and the non-Goths who love them, vividly illustrated by Pete Venters.

07.30: Embedded with Organized Labor
Collected for the first time, the essays that comprise Steve Early’s Embedded with Organized Labor (Monthly Review Press) present a unique and informed perspective on the class war at home from a longtime organizer and participatory labor journalist.