Here at Powells.com, we have this funny tendency to let Valentine's Day scurry past unnoticed (or as unnoticed as an overhyped holiday can be). Not this year! This year we're going to celebrate V-Day our own way, by mailing valentines to the things we love. Like bacon... and bees (Georgie's first great love)... and some of our favorite books. And another one to bacon.

POWELLS.COM INTERVIEWS: ROSS KING
In Brunelleschi's Dome, Ross King took readers to Florence to witness the unlikely, unfathomable construction of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral's dome, the largest in the world (five hundred years later, still). Next, National Book Critics Circle finalist Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling brought the vaults of the Sistine Chapel — and their painter — to colorful life. Now King gives us The Judgment of Paris. Rich with period detail, populated at every turn by notable characters, his latest delivers a riveting portrait of nineteenth-century Paris — on the streets and in cafés, from the Tuileries to the battlefield — as it tracks the tumultuous decade when a new movement of painters challenged three hundred years of steadfast tradition to bring the world Impressionism.

SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS: THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS
Booklist calls Ross King's The Judgment of Paris a "supremely engaging and illuminating inquiry." Critics everywhere seem to agree: Publishers Weekly ("an engrossing account"); Library Journal("lively color and fascinating detail"); Kirkus Reviews ("an exciting chronicle about political and cultural change"); and Entertainment Weekly ("meticulously researched... Grade: A"). Order signed first editions while they last.

ORIGINAL ESSAY: DANIELLE TRUSSONI
"A bookstore junkie," writes Danielle Trussoni, "is someone who, upon arriving in a new city, drops all of her appointments and starts checking out the local bookstore." In this original essay for Powells.com, the author of the memoir Falling through the Earth shares the confessions of a lifelong book junkie, recalls her first job at a now defunct bookstore, and laments, "Now that these bookstores have closed, I have to wonder: Where do the teenaged girls with ripped jeans and Sylvia Plath poems written on their arms hang out?" Read the rest of the essay and save 30% when you buy Falling through the Earth from Powells.com.

INK Q&A: JOHN HODGMAN
Author John Hodgman describes his book, The Areas of My Expertise, as "a compendium of fascinating trivia and historical oddities in the tradition of The Book of Lists, though different in that all of the amazing true facts in my book are entirely made up by me." In this INK Q&A, Hodgman lets us know what he's doing when he isn't inventing fake trivia, titles his own biography, and shares his favorite literary first line. Read the Q&A and save 30% off the cover price when you buy The Areas of My Expertise from Powells.com.

PORTLANDERS: SEARCH, FIND, WIN!
Locals — did you know that you can use Powells.com to locate books and print a handy shopping list (complete with section and shelf locations) before coming to our stores? Our new locals page shows you how. Plus, hear the latest about upcoming events, special offers, books of local interest, and other Puddletown goodies... such as a chance for you and five friends to share coffee, dessert, and conversation with author Elizabeth Gilbert at Bluehour. In addition, the winner and guests will each receive a copy of Elizabeth's great new book, Eat, Pray, Love. Hurry — the contest ends February 28!

PUDDLY AWARD WINNERS
And the winner of the coveted Golden Galoshes is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Congratulations, you were voted the best book our customers read in 2005! In addition, Powells.com employees selected Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami as their top pick of 2005. Take a look at our Puddly page for the top fifty titles, and thanks to all who voted.

Did you miss the Powells.com commercial during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast? We didn't want to spend $2 million for a 30-second spot, but we managed to cram a whole lot of commercial goodness into a .56-second spot, including: Fup doing the watusi, surrounded by hundreds of dancing Fupettes; Dave reading; Georgie reading; back to Fup and the Fupettes; Jill reading, then passing her book to Farley, who read a bit; and a special appearance by MacGyver himself, Richard Dean Anderson! You can see all the action frame-by-frame on TiVo.

THE MORNING NEWS
Once again, Powells.com is sponsoring the Morning News Tournament of Books. Last year's winner was David Mitchell's The Cloud Atlas. Which 2005 title will receive the coveted Rooster Award? The finalists have been sent to the judges (including our own Georgie Lewis!) and the Tournament begins in earnest this March. In the meantime, you can read along: all finalist titles are 30% off at Powells.com. Start reading and decide for yourself which book most deserves a Rooster!

SALE BOOKS: HISTORY AND POLITICS
Just in time for Presidents' Day, we've gathered a bevy of books about history and politics at up to 60% off the list price. Yes, a great many Presidential puns and lame jokes are meandering through our heads like tourists on Mt. Rushmore, but we're going to refrain from all of them because this sale sells itself. Check out our selection and start winning those bar bets!

GUEST BLOGGERS: JOHN TAYMAN AND MARIA DAHVANA HEADLEY
John Tayman, author of the acclaimed book The Colony, is our guest blogger for this week — zip over to the blog and see what you've been missing. Next week we're pleased to welcome Maria Dahvana Headley, author of The Year of Yes. You can also view the archives of past guest bloggers, including Carole Radziwill, Susan Orlean, Adam Gopnik, and more!

NEW IN STORES
Some of our staff's new favorites: If the groundhog's prediction was correct and we really do have six more weeks of winter, you'll want Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen on hand. Charles Seife's Decoding the Universe is "all but impossible to put down," according to Publishers Weekly. And Geraldine Brooks's highly praised novel March comes to trade paperback. Pick up all three for 30% off. And coming soon: Sarah Dunant follows up her hugely successful The Birth of Venus with In the Company of the Courtesan, the escapades of a wily dwarf and his mistress.

DVDs
Now is the perfect time to catch up with the Oscar nominees you missed in theaters. Best Picture nominee Crash is an ensemble film co-starring Matt Dillon (nominated for Best Supporting Actor), Sandra Bullock, and Don Cheadle. Rachel Weisz received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for The Constant Gardener, which is also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. And pick up Best Documentary Feature contenders March of the Penguins, Murderball, and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. As always, shipping is free on all DVDs!

In our next edition:
An interview with Julian Barnes and signed first editions of Arthur and George; an INK Q&A with Jonathan Ames; and the fifth edition of the Bookcast at Powells.com.

eBOOKS
Download Stephen King's terrifying latest, Cell — if you dare! A mysterious signal plunges the entire world into chaos: anyone using their cell phone when the Pulse hits is turned into a savage, murderous zombie. (We're guessing most eBook users are safe... but one never knows.) Check out the novel that the Denver Post calls "a nerve-racking, genuinely unsettling thriller," and find out if humanity survives.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Melissa Bank follows up her bestselling Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing with The Wonder Spot, which Publishers Weekly calls "engrossing." Powells.com guest blogger Justin Tussing presents The Best People in the World, an unforgettable coming-of-age novel about love and redemption. Myron Ferguson's Better Houses, Better Living helps home owners and home buyers by explaining the basics of home design and building from a user's perspective. Cindy Dyson's debut novel, And She Was, has drawn comparisons to Clan of the Cave Bear, The Shipping News, and even Janet Evanovich. In his "wonderful, vivid" (Washington Post) Bury the Chains, Adam Hochschild, the acclaimed author of King Leopold's Ghost, offers a taut, thrilling account of the first grassroots human rights campaign.

FUP. STORE CAT.
Life goes too fast, and Bear has decided to do something about it. Namely, stay home. For twenty-eight days. Fup doesn't believe him.

Bear reasons, "The busier I get, the less chance I have to appreciate my time. So for a month I'm not leaving the house. There aren't any mice to chase — I've flushed them all out — and this time of year there are no flies or bees, either. It's purification month. Simple pleasures only: observing, relaxing, sitting still."

"Catnip, surely," Fup wants to clarify.

Bear shakes his head no.

Fup's still not buying it. A month of peace and quiet has a certain appeal, for sure, but Bear will hardly know what to do with himself. If anyone needs downtime, shouldn't it be Fup? You try living in a busy bookstore.

"Pawing bottle caps and twist-ties across the floor?" she asks. "What about using the scratching post? Or soliciting regular rounds of petting? You won't deny yourself that."

"I won't ask for it, but if someone wants to pet me, that's fine."

"How gracious of you."

"I'm not out to change anyone else's month," Bear says, but Fup's not so sure.

POWELLS.COM BESTSELLERS (UPDATED HOURLY)

1. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Literature) 2. The Baby Book by William Sears (Child Care and Parenting) 3. Small Steps Signed 1st Edition by Louis Sachar (Children's) 4. Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson (Nature Studies) 5. Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher (Business) 6. The Night before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing (Children's) 7. Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man? by Charles Barkley (Biography) 8. Manual of Steel Construction by AISC (Construction) 9. Psychological Science by Michael S. Gazzaniga (eBooks) 10. Thirteen by Marc Atkins (Photography)