We were only searching for a good read, but somehow we staggered off the beaten path and found ourselves in an unmapped aisle of the Blue Room. None of these titles looked familiar, and there was something unsettling about those author photos: the way their eyes seemed to follow our every movement, or the way their smiles seemed a little too wide for their faces, teeth too long for their mouths.

POWELLS.COM INTERVIEWS: SCOTT SMITH
Scott Smith burst onto the literary scene in 1993 with his blockbuster A Simple Plan. He wrote the screenplay for director Sam Raimi's film adaptation, starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton, and received an Oscar nomination. Now, thirteen years after his startling debut, Smith's long-awaited follow-up, The Ruins, hits bookstores with a bang. We spoke to Smith about where he's been, what he was doing, and what's next for him.

SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS: THE RUINS
Stephen King proclaims Scott Smith's The Ruins "the book of the summer." Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review, Entertainment Weekly awards it an A-, and Laura Miller of Salon sums it up best: "The Ruins is like all great genre fiction in its irresistible storytelling momentum, but in its lack of mercy, it's more like real life....Scott Smith shows us an aspect of ourselves and of human nature we'd rather not acknowledge. He's such a master, though, that it's impossible to look away." Add all that praise to the fact that everyone at Powells.com who's read it has done so in a single, horrified burst. Get a signed first edition of The Ruins before they disappear.

INK Q&A: GORDON DAHLQUIST
Gordon Dahlquist describes his blockbuster debut novel as "an epic adventure, with elements of romance, mystery, and even a stripe of Victorian science-fiction. As someone who loves these sorts of stories, I take all of this fairly seriously, but that only means that my main intention was to write a novel that I myself would consider a kick in the pants." Find out more in our exclusive INK Q&A, and save 30% on The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters.

SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS: THE GLASS BOOKS OF THE DREAM EATERS
Entertainment Weekly describes The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters as "studded with treats...beautifully written." Diana Gabaldon exclaims, "This is the most original thing I've read in years." Seething with danger, terror and romance, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is a mammoth work of the imagination, a deliriously readable, heartstoppingly suspenseful, and darkly erotic masterpiece of storytelling. Pick up a signed first edition while they last.

BOOKS FOR DOG LOVERS: 30% OFF
Dog lovers are a special breed — so special they have their own books! Powells.com offers our favorite dog titles, from dog training to human training, from lessons learned to pets remembered, all at 30% off.

SUMMER OF SUSPENSE: BUY TWO, GET ONE FREE
Add three titles from our Summer of Suspense section to your shopping cart and at checkout we'll give you the lowest-priced title free. Choose from such masters of mystery as Michael Connelly, Janet Evanovich, Elizabeth Peters, Phillip Margolin, and plenty more!

We tried to backtrack our way to the store, but the mysterious aisle kept stretching on and on, never reaching an end. Over time, the shelves seemed to draw closer, as though the books themselves were reaching for us, slowly, inextricably. If you happen to be in the Burnside store and see a handful of employees with scraggly beards and bloodshot eyes wandering in a daze, take our advice before it's too late: turn and run in the other direction.

INK Q&A: TOM LUTZ
Tom Lutz's Doing Nothing is a witty, wide-ranging cultural history of our attitudes toward work — and getting out of it. This examination of slackers and layabouts, and their impact on the working world snagged a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and praise from the Washington Post, which explains, "Razor-sharp analysis and a thoughtful argument...make for a surprisingly lively read." Read our INK Q&A with Lutz and, for a limited time, save 30% on Doing Nothing.

INK Q&A: AYUN HALLIDAY
Ayun Halliday, author of previous books about travel, parenting, and job hopping, including No Touch Monkey, which Bitch magazine called "shamefully entertaining," returns with Dirty Sugar Cookies, which takes readers into the unpredictable mind and comical experiences of a true anti-foodie. Wendy McClure lauds, "Finally, food stories for the rest of us! For those of us who fondly remember our most demented culinary experiences...Ayun Halliday is our dirty sugar mama!" Find out more in our INK Q&A and save 30% on Dirty Sugar Cookies.

WIN A TRIP TO PORTLAND!
Enter now to win round-trip airfare for two, a shopping spree at Powell's and other stores, luxury hotel accommodations and great meals, and even a guided tour of the City of Books!

REVIEW-A-DAY: BITCH MAGAZINE
Powells.com is pleased to introduce Bitch magazine as our Review-a-Day partner for the month of August. Bitch has a long tradition of whip-smart feminist analysis, insightful articles, and illuminating interviews — which makes it a perfect complement to Powells.com. Check out their first offering, a review of Phyllis Chesler's Women and Madness, and sign up for our Review-a-Day mailing to make sure and catch them all.

GUEST BLOGGERS: DIANA LOEVY AND JEREMY BLACHMAN
Diana Loevy, our current guest blogger, is uniquely qualified to talk about the shared experience of reading. This week, save 30% on her new book, The Book Club Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Reading Group Experience, which includes indispensable titles, guilty pleasures, and even food and drink recipes. Jeremy Blachman, author of a popular blog, Anonymous Lawyer, has turned his experiences into a witty debut novel of the same name. "Side-achingly funny," laughs Publishers Weekly. Come back next week to check out his original entries on Powell's blog.

NEW IN STORES
The penultimate chapter in the saga of J. K. Rowling's legendary boy wizard, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is just out in trade paperback. The bestselling author of Mystic River, Dennis Lehane, presents his first story collection, Coronado, featuring five short tales and a play. Marisha Pessl's debut novel, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, is "a whirling, glittering, multifaceted marvel," according to the New York Times. Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh's new novel, The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs, is a transgressive parable about the great obsessions of our time: food, sex, and celebrity. Check out more books new to our shelves here.

DVDs
Some blockbusters new to DVD include V for Vendetta, an entertaining and thought-provoking adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel about the role of revolutionary terrorism; The Matador, starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinear, a black comedy set in the business of the underworld; and the complete fifth and final season of Larry David's hilarious Curb Your Enthusiasm. Don't forget — DVDs always ship for free.

eBOOKS
New in eBook: In Scandal in Spring, the lush conclusion to her seasonal series, New York Times-bestselling author Lisa Kleypas takes readers back to Victorian London, where after spending three seasons searching for a husband, Daisy Bowman finally meets her match. From Phillip Margolin, whose writing the Chicago Tribune called "twisted and brilliant," Proof Positive features the plot twists, stay-up-all-night suspense, and gasp-inducing surprises that are his undisputed trademarks.

In our next edition:
An interview with Lee Montgomery and signed first editions of The Things between Us; an original essay from Shari Caudron (Who Are You People?); and a special audio CD sampler with purchase of Julian Rubinstein's Ballad of the Whiskey Robber.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Prisoner of X: Twenty Years in the Hole at Hustler Magazine is a wildly entertaining memoir by Allan MacDonell about climbing the bent and fearsome masthead of the infamous magazine, and the bittersweet reward of publicly crossing its hillbilly Caesar. The Madness of George W. Bush is Paul Levy's groundbreaking work that explores whether the whirlwind of insanity that President Bush has fallen into can teach us something particularly important about ourselves. Dark, funny, and powerful, Scott Snyder's debut collection, Voodoo Heart, underscores the remarkable gifts of a fiercely original young writer. This month, Live Wire runs the gamut from comedy to tragedy to... kickball? Deliciously air-conditioned, August's show features PCS Artistic Director Chris Coleman; Live Wire's man-about-town Anthony Effinger drops by to report on extreme (and extremely weird) sports; we'll enjoy the "warped, but strangely enchanting pop tunes" of Heroes and Villains, and more.

FUP. STORE CAT.
Zooey looks left, looks right. He pants and pants and pants. The big yellow dog wants shade.

But Dinah is hogging the shade. There's more than enough cool sidewalk under the awning for two. Twice Zooey has approached. Each time Dinah tore at the space between them with her claws.

Zooey shifts on his paws. "Woof!" He twirls his head so each ear stirs the air, starting a breeze. "Woof!"

Dinah does not speak dog. Figures.

"Move!" he repeats. "Share!"

Carol pokes her head out of the bookstore. "Zooey," she says, "make nice."

Make nice? With Dinah? It'll be enough to make nice with Fup, who's responsible for his predicament. Maybe someday she'll host a downtown tour within the prescribed time, but not today. "They had a thousand questions," she'll explain. Or, "They wanted to see the tunnels." And of course she can't say no.

Again Zooey shifts on his paws. "Woof!" He might as well be talking to the sun. "Back off, stubborn cat. Share!"

POWELLS.COM BESTSELLERS (UPDATED HOURLY)

1. The Ethical Gourmet by Jay Weinstein (Cooking and Food) 2. Jim Cramer's Real Money by Jim Cramer (Business) 3. The Story of Christianity, Volume 1 by Justo Gonzalez (Christianity) 4. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Biography) 5. Economics Explained by Robert Heilbroner and Lester Thurow (Economics) 6. Doyle Brunson's Super System II by Doyle Brunson (Games) 7. The Ruins by Scott Smith (Horror) 8. On the Shortness of Life by Seneca (Philosophy) 9. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson (Young Adult) 10. Yardsticks by Chip Wood (Education)