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Interviews | June 19, 2009

Dave: IMG Jim Lynch Makes Landscape Art... Out of Text



jimlynchIf Carl Hiaasen set one of his novels on a residential stretch of boundary line between British Columbia and Washington, or if Richard Russo's characters had relatives in the Pacific Northwest, the result might be something like Jim Lynch's Border Songs. Continue »
  1. $18.16 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    Border Songs

    Jim Lynch

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As we heal from assorted colds, coughs, flu, maladies, and afflictions, this office is starting to seem like a recovery ward. Our doctor told us to read two great books and call him in the morning — but we're having a hard time choosing between signed first editions of Then We Came to the End (by this month's interviewee, Joshua Ferris) and William Deitrich's Naploeon's Pyramids, hardcover new releases The Bloodless Revolution and Poor People, and a bevy of great new paperbacks: Manhunt, In the Company of the Courtesan, and The Zinester's Guide to Portland. Fortunately, while we mull over the choices (and guzzle untold quantities of Emergen-C and Airborne), we can peruse an original essay by Bill McKibben (Deep Economy), INK Q&As from Dennis Cass (Head Case) and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore (Set Me Free), and guest blog posts from John Sellers (Perfect from Now On). See for yourself — and bring plenty of vitamins with you!
signed editions
Then We Came to the End, Signed 1st Edition Rarely does a debut novel generate so much buzz before publication. Some descriptions of Joshua Ferris's inaugural effort: "Hilarious." "Wickedly incisive satire." "Delightfully freakish and entirely credible." Nick Hornby describes Then We Came to the End as "The Office meets Kafka. It's Seinfeld rewritten by Donald Barthelme." Kirkus calls it "a surprisingly moving meditation on mortality and the ties that bind." Order signed first editions while they last.

Add to Cart New: $23.99 | Hardcover
Napoleon's Pyramids, Signed 1st EditionMoving from the lascivious salons of post-revolutionary Paris to the Mediterranean's high seas to the treacherous sands of Egypt, Napoleon's Pyramids is a riveting, action-packed thriller that will captivate readers and introduce them to the supremely talented William Dietrich. Get your signed first editions now and discover why the Seattle Times calls it "escapist fiction at its ultimate."

Add to Cart New: $24.95 | Hardcover

more signed editions

featured interview
Joshua FerrisThen We Came to the End tells the "savagely funny yet kind-hearted" (applauds the Observer) story of an ad agency in decline, circa 2001. Throughout, Joshua Ferris uses the first person plural to present the agency's collective voice in the midst of ongoing layoffs. It's an audacious narrative gimmick that could easily collapse, and yet it never does. Last week Ferris spoke to Powell's about the long process of getting that voice to work, as well as his influences, office life, chair-swapping, and more.

read the Powells.com interview
more author interviews

Win a trip to PortlandSave 30% on Michelin Maps & Travel Guides!
NEW ARRIVALS
HARDCOVER
The Bloodless RevolutionThe Bloodless Revolution by Tristam Stuart

The Bloodless Revolution is the story of how Western Christianity and Eastern philosophy merged to spawn a political movement that had the prohibition of meat at its core. Jill of Powells.com raves, "Engaging, surprising...and relevant...destined to become a classic cultural work."
Add to Cart Sale $20.96 | Hardcover
List Price: $29.95 (You Save: $8.99)
Poor People Poor People by William Vollmann

In Poor People, 2005 National Book Award winner William Vollmann explores the inescapable and timeless social phenomenon of poverty. Complete with more than 100 powerfully affecting photographs, this series of vignettes and searing insights represents a tremendous step toward an understanding of this age-old social ill.

Add to Cart Sale $20.96 | Hardcover
List Price: $29.95 (You Save: $8.99)
DVD
The Departed The Departed

Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, Martin Scorsese's The Departed stars Leonardo DiCaprio as an undercover cop deep in the ranks of a Boston mob boss (Jack Nicholson), who has his own mole (Matt Damon) in the police force. Also starring Alec Baldwin and Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg, The Departed is "Scorsese's most purely enjoyable movie in years" (Newsweek).
Add to Cart Sale $25.93 | DVD
List Price: $28.98 (You Save: $3.05)
PAPERBACK
Manhunt Manhunt by James L. Swanson

Manhunt is the riveting true story of the greatest manhunt in American history: the pursuit and capture of President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. "As gripping a page-turner as anything you'll find on the mystery shelf," raves Entertainment Weekly.

Add to Cart Sale $11.16 | Trade Paper
List Price: $15.95 (You Save: $4.79)
The Zinester's Guide to Portland The Zinester's Guide to Portland by Shawn Granton and Nate Beaty

The Zinester's Guide to Portland is a comprehensive guide of things to do in Portland, featuring information on various neighborhoods, bridges, eateries, hangouts, bars, places that sell zines, and how to navigate the city.

Add to Cart New $5.00 | Trade Paper
In the Company of the Courtesan In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant

Sarah Dunant's acclaimed bestseller is now in paperback! "[A] lush and intelligent piece of historical fiction," Booklist hails in its starred review.

Add to Cart Sale $9.76 | Trade Paper
List Price: $13.95 (You Save: $4.19)
EBOOK
ImperiumImperium by Robert Harris

From Robert Harris, the bestselling author of Fatherland and Pompeii, comes Imperium — the most provocative and brilliant novel of antiquity since I, Claudius — a cautionary tale of Cicero, the greatest orator of all time, and his extraordinary struggle for power in Rome.
Add to Cart Sale $13.59 | Microsoft eBook
List Price: $16.99 (You Save: $3.40)

Intermission.
I received some great responses to the last edition's questionnaire — so great that I wanted to share a few of my favorites from various readers. (Editor's note: Powells.com does not endorse any of the activities or opinions listed in the following responses.)

My favorite book:
Has a female character who is in excruciating pain, every minute of every damn day. There is also a man in a well. Do you know what it is?
[Brockman's note: Readers are welcome to help me cheat by writing to brockman@powells.com.]

The last book I threw at the wall was:
101 Ways to Resist Gouging Out Your Eyes While Tom Cruise Expounds the Merits of Scientology

The last good book I threw at someone's head was:
I don't know if I've ever thrown a book at someone's head. Clearly I'm missing out on something.

Did that person deserve to have a book thrown at his/her head?
Admittedly no. But putting them in a burlap bag and throwing them in the river would have taken too long.

Did said book cause any damage to the target's head?
Nah. His ego's too big. It's like a protective kevlar shell.

Do you regret throwing that book at the target's head?
No; she'd do the same for me.

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

And I'm especially fond of this one, which wasn't on the original questionnaire:

Describe yourself in one word.
Unable to follow instructions.

Thanks to all for the emails. I must confess, I'm slightly weak-kneed and trembly-chinned at the moment, awed and overwhelmed as I am to have so many unrepentantly vicious and creatively snarktastic readers. Just don't ever come to my house or I'm calling the police on the lot of you.

From the Authors: SAVE 30%
BILL MCKIBBEN: ORIGINAL ESSAY
Bill McKibben In his powerful and provocative manifesto, Deep Economy, the bestselling author of The End of Nature issues an impassioned call to arms for an economy that creates community and ennobles our lives. Read Bill McKibben's original essay and save 30% off the cover price of Deep Economy.

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
Deep Economy Sale $17.50 | Hardcover
List Price: $25.00
You Save: $7.50
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DENNIS CASS: INK Q&A
Dennis Cass In Head Case, Dennis Cass infiltrates the world of neuroscience and becomes a human guinea pig on a darkly comic journey to understand the human brain and find out what makes us who we are. Read Dennis Cass's INK Q&A and save 30% off the publisher's price when you buy Head Case from Powells.com.

Head Case: How I Almost Lost My Mind Trying to Understand My Brain
Head Case Sale $17.46 | Hardcover
List Price: $24.95
You Save: $7.49
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MIRANDA BEVERLY-WHITTEMORE: INK Q&A
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore From Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, the acclaimed author of The Effects of Light, comes Set Me Free, a compelling new novel of love, betrayal, and brotherhood that Publishers Weekly hails as an "intriguing read." Read the INK Q&A and buy Set Me Free at 30% off the cover price.

Set Me Free
Set Me Free Sale $17.49 | Hardcover
List Price: $24.99
You Save: $7.50
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JOHN SELLERS: GUEST BLOGGER
John Sellers This week we're bouncing in our seats and tapping our feet to the daily ditties from guest blogger John Sellers, pop culture journalist extraordinaire and author of Perfect from Now On, a rock music memoir that Kirkus calls a "fun read for indie-rock fans." Read Sellers's blog entries and save 30% on Perfect from Now On all week at Powells.com!

Perfect from Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life
Perfect from Now On Sale $16.10 | Hardcover
List Price: $23.00
You Save: $6.90
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ELIZABETH DEWBERRY: GUEST BLOGGER
Elizabeth Dewberry Next week, from March 12 to 16, our guest blogger will be Elizabeth Dewberry, author of His Lovely Wife, a complex, surprising novel which uses string theory to weave together two women's lives. Save 30% on His Lovely Wife, which Publishers Weekly calls "perceptive [and] poignant."

His Lovely Wife
His Lovely Wife Sale $9.80 | Trade Paper
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Save 30% on selected titles by Jane SmileySell Us Your Books Online!
in our stores
1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Memory Keeper's Daughter "Edwards is a born novelist....Rich with psychological detail and the nuances of human connection." --Chicago Tribune (read more)
3. Zinester's Guide to Portland 2007 by Shawn Granton and Nate Beaty
4. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
7. Un Lun Dun by China Miéville
8. The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder
9. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
10Clown Girl: A Novel by Monica Drake
MAR 12: Joe Conason
It Can Happen Here Political columnist Joe Conason maintains that bit by bit, essential liberties and constitutional protections are being diminished or discarded. Americans of all persuasions must ask, where will it end? It Can Happen Here is his chilling answer.

MAR 14: Loggernaut Reading Series Anniversary
A Far Country Come celebrate the second anniversary of the Loggernaut Reading Series with Portland indie folk-pop favorites Dolorean and internationally bestselling author Daniel Mason (The Piano Tuner), who will read from his upcoming novel, A Far Country. A donation fee of $10 supports Write Around Portland.

view all events
preorder signed editions by authors coming to Powell's

       
IN OUR NEXT EDITION:
An interview with George Saunders (In Persuasion Nation)
Signed first editions of William Vollmann's Poor People
An original essay by James Scurlock (Maxed Out)
An INK Q&A with Monica Drake (Clown Girl)
Fup.  Store Cat.

"We were famous and underworked," began the manuscript. "We never lacked for kibble. At least those of us who read had something to look forward to after closing. Most of us liked most everyone, a few of us despaired of specific employees, one or two store cats in Portland loved everybody and everything, even the dark winter weeks drowned in rain. Those who did were shunned for months at a time, through the whole of our long wet season, when a chummy reminder that showers make flowers 'and worms and tasty bugs and so forth' — shut it! — could drive splinters into our scalp. Grant us our cabin fever! Paws off the hallowed gripes that mark our days."

Bear comes to the end of the passage and looks up from the page. Fup pretends she isn't waiting for his response. As if, lo, she's entirely forgotten that he's reading her memoir.

"Just a first draft," she reminds him.

"A bit derivative of Ferris, wouldn't you say?"

Fup corrects him: "The French would call it an homage. Read on."

We received a lot of great responses to last week's "taste of Powell's" challenge. It was hard to choose just one, but our favorite was: "Powells.com tastes just like the fifth dish Mario Batali makes on Iron Chef when the secret ingredient is chocolate." We admire the way it makes our mouths water, as well as the somewhat Pynchonesque quality of the sentence. (Thanks, Treva!)

Send questions, comments, and suggestions to newsletter@powells.com. And, since we can never have too much of a good thing, we'd love to know how you'd finish this sentence: "Powells.com reminds me of the first time I ever..."

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by Bolton and Dave

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