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Interviews | January 24, 2012
By Jill Owens
 Ben Marcus's books The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women were considered "experimental" fiction because of his unconventional use of...
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Powell's Books on Hawthorne
Powell's Books on Hawthorne
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Powell's Books on Hawthorne
3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214
(map/directions)
United States of America
Work 503 228 4651
45.51214382316533,
-122.62604981660843
From appropriately funky beginnings in a slightly funky neighborhood, Powell's on Hawthorne has grown into the largest used and new bookstore on Portland's east side. Located in a vibrant, diverse, and highly desirable neighborhood, Powell's on Hawthorne now covers more than 10,000 square feet of retail space and offers more than 200,000 used and new books. The atmosphere is relaxed, but the store is big enough to warrant a map. Not as extensive as the labyrinth at the City of Books, Powell's on Hawthorne is divided into just three rooms, each named for a neighborhood landmark: Madison, Hawthorne, and Tabor. The latter is named for Mt. Tabor, the world's only extinct volcano residing within city limits. Powell's on Hawthorne hosts lively and interesting author readings several times each week in its Tabor Room. Adjacent to the reading space, readers congregate in The Fresh Pot, an inviting corner of the store serving delicious homemade pastries and other sweet delights, along with some of the best coffee in a town that really knows its coffee. Judy Jewell says, "My favorite thing about working at the Hawthorne store is the lively feeling of community I get from my co-workers and customers. I think next best is the great used books we see here. You just never know what's going to turn up or who's going to turn up to buy it. Like the other day, we got in this copy of Huber the Tuber, a book about tuberculosis. We thought it was goofy and charming so we put it in the front window. That same afternoon, a customer snatched it up, saying it was her first book. Her father had been a lung doctor, and the book had come out when she was a toddler. She was way thrilled and we were all pretty tickled about it." --
Phone
503-228-4651
Hours
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sunday: 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Book buying hours:
Daily: 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
From appropriately funky beginnings in a slightly funky neighborhood, Powell's on Hawthorne has grown into the largest used and new bookstore on Portland's east side.
Located in a vibrant, diverse, and highly desirable neighborhood, Powell's on Hawthorne now covers more than 10,000 square feet of retail space and offers more than 200,000 used and new books. The atmosphere is relaxed, but the store is big enough to warrant a map. Not as extensive as the labyrinth at the City of Books, Powell's on Hawthorne is divided into just three rooms, each named for a neighborhood landmark: Madison, Hawthorne, and Tabor. The latter is named for Mt. Tabor, the world's only extinct volcano residing within city limits.
Powell's on Hawthorne hosts lively and interesting author readings several times each week in its Tabor Room. Adjacent to the reading space, readers congregate in The Fresh Pot, an inviting corner of the store serving delicious homemade pastries and other sweet delights, along with some of the best coffee in a town that really knows its coffee.
Judy Jewell says, "My favorite thing about working at the Hawthorne store is the lively feeling of community I get from my co-workers and customers. I think next best is the great used books we see here. You just never know what's going to turn up or who's going to turn up to buy it. Like the other day, we got in this copy of Huber the Tuber, a book about tuberculosis. We thought it was goofy and charming so we put it in the front window. That same afternoon, a customer snatched it up, saying it was her first book. Her father had been a lung doctor, and the book had come out when she was a toddler. She was way thrilled and we were all pretty tickled about it." --
More about Powell's Books on Hawthorne:
Directions to Powell's Books on Hawthorne
Here are just some of the books we're talking about at Powell's.
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Junkyard Dogs
Gripping, gritty, and hilarious, Junkyard Dogs is the sixth in the Walt Longmire series, but you can dive in and thoroughly enjoy it without reading the previous books. Though once you've read one Craig Johnson novel, you'll feel the need to read all of them. A fellow Johnson addict pointed out that his writing is similar in flavor to Richard Russo's, another master of character. I have to agree that if Walt Longmire ever met Hank Devereaux from Russo's Straight Man, they'd probably be the best of friends.
Recommended by Robin January 4, 2012
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Junkyard Dogs (Walt Longmire Mysteries) by Craig Johnson
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Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Laini Taylor writes more poetically than anyone I've read since Ursula K. Le Guin, without ever losing the momentum of her story — and what a fresh, evocative, and engrossing story. Taylor's characters live in a very believable world and struggle with decisions that have serious consequences. She doesn't offer much assurance that anyone will live happily ever after. But there is hope.
Recommended by Kathy H January 4, 2012
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Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
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Ready Player One
I had a hard time choosing a number one pick for my Top 5s of 2011, but this book won out because it was fun and nostalgic and possibly the most joyfully entertaining book I read all year. A quest story set mostly in a virtual world, it's a geeky celebration of all things '80s — a decade when video arcades and John Hughes movies reigned supreme. Is it the best book I read? Probably not. Is it the book that made me happiest while I was reading it and that I most want to force on friends and strangers alike? Absolutely.
Recommended by Billie Bloebaum January 4, 2012
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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
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Rebel Youth
This is a book of photos from the 1950s and '60s of Swiss juvenile delinquents sporting their interpretation of American culture. The large, handmade belt buckles featuring Elvis and Brando, the chain and rope-stitched fly denim jeans, fur vests, and DIY jewelry all transcend fashion and expose a style that's still being ripped-off today. Proof that fashion is for people with no style of their own who appropriate it from the so-called lower class. Criminal.
Recommended by Dennis January 4, 2012
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Rebel Youth by Karlheinz Weinberger
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Divorcer
A breathtaking suite of sentence-driven stories that are as refreshingly funny as they are emotionally eviscerating. Linked by themes of broken relationships and mistrustful lovers, Lutz's newest stories are full of descriptions and observations so bitter and dark that they're hilariously charred.
Recommended by Kevin Sampsell January 4, 2012
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Divorcer by Gary Lutz
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The Pale King
If I told you this book consists of 500+ pages detailing the inner workings of the massive bureaucracy that is the Internal Revenue Service as well as the interior lives of the people who work there, you'd probably tell me it sounds like a great way to cure insomnia. But Wallace successfully invests his characters and their surroundings with an almost mystical air, suggesting that what lies on the other side of utter dullness is brilliant transcendence — a point that is driven home when you reach the end of the book and realize you don't want to stop reading.
Recommended by Nathan W. January 4, 2012
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The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
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The Sisters Brothers
This entertaining and heartbreaking story is told by a fabulous narrator, Eli Sisters. Eli and his brother Charlie are hired killers in late 19th-century Oregon and California, and this is the tale of their final job.
Recommended by Doug C. January 4, 2012
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The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
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The Murder Room
The Murder Room is an absolutely riveting story about the history of the Vidocq Society, a group of forensic scientists, cops, FBI agents, etc., that come together to solve unsolvable crimes. I'm not usually a fan of true crime, but The Murder Room is more than that. There are real heroes on these pages, and, once you open it, I dare you to put it down.
Recommended by Lynn January 4, 2012
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The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Michael Capuzzo
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1Q84
Part of the thrill was the anticipation. After waiting for over a year for its publication, I grabbed 1Q84 and swallowed it whole. While it read simply and progressed slowly, it filled like a three-course meal. Being a long-term Murakami fan, I have seen the same themes and images reworked and woven into a variety of dreamlike states. This novel revisits the innocence of Norwegian Wood, but its mild-manneredness tricks the reader into believing it is a simple love story. Instead, Murakami gradually reveals the sinister nature of his characters and entwines the dance of love with the act of murder.
Recommended by Donna January 4, 2012
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1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
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A Dance with Dragons (Song of Ice and Fire #5)
Even five books into the series A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin is still able to produce a complex and interesting tale. A Dance with Dragons offers what all his books do: an amazingly well-crafted story with interesting and believable characters set in a dark yet realistic fantasy world. One can't help but love even the most despicable characters. I can't say enough about Martin's works. This book was worth the five-year wait. I'd recommend it to anyone, as long as you've read the first four books, which you should (and watch the TV show, too).
Recommended by Hobie January 4, 2012
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A Dance with Dragons (Song of Ice and Fire #5) by George R. R. Martin
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Among Others
Serious readers spend half their lives consumed by what they are reading. I haven't seen a novel that so vividly illustrates this as Among Others does. I've been reading science fiction and fantasy since a young age, and I loved how Walton, a constant reader herself, makes what the main character is reading so central to the story. A rich and satisfying tale that has stayed with me long after the last page.
Recommended by Mary Jo January 4, 2012
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Among Others by Jo Walton
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The Chronology of Water
The Chronology of Water was not what I was expecting or hoping for. It was more beautiful, poetic, and painful than anything I've read in a long time. I picked it up looking for debauchery and depravity; I found breathlessness.
Recommended by Linda C. January 4, 2012
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The Chronology of Water: A Memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch
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