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Interviews | July 4, 2009
By Jill Owens
Luis Alberto Urrea is a poet, novelist, journalist, and essayist who has been writing about the relationship between the United States and Mexico,...
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The first leaf of autumn is nearly ready to fall. We've been watching it for weeks, as the tips slowly bent inward and the small oak leaf crinkled orange. Even as its days are numbered, it clings tenaciously to its branch, shuddering in the wind, refusing to tumble earthward. But it will and when it does, our entire assemblage of guests will cheer the unofficial arrival of the season. We've gathered Diane Ackerman ( The Zookeeper's Wife) for an interview, with original essayists Maryanne Wolf ( Proust and the Squid), Brock Clarke ( An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England), and D. Michael Lindsay ( Faith in the Halls of Power) standing by on fanfare duty, clutching trumpets and drums. INK Q&A contributors Greil Marcus ( The Shape of Things to Come) and Jeff Parker ( Ovenman) have their cameras at the ready, while guest bloggers Naomi Wolf and Stephanie Bond prepare to hoist the fallen leaf above their shoulders so we may parade it past the other trees a signal to all that autumn may commence!
signed editions
Based on the author's own experiences, this first young adult novel by bestselling author Sherman Alexie features poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney that chronicle the contemporary adolescence of Junior, a Native American boy. "Junior's spirit...is unquenchable, and his style inimitable," praises Horn Book magazine. Read the recent Powells.com interview with Alexie and order your signed first edition of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian now.
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FEATURED INTERVIEW
A work of narrative nonfiction, The Zookeeper’s Wife focuses on Jan and Antonina Zabinski, zookeepers in Warsaw during World War II. In addition to saving as many animals as possible during the ongoing German assault on the city, the Zabinskis saved the lives of hundreds of Jews, often at great risk to their own. The Los Angeles Times raves, "[A] shining book beyond category....[A] book to read and reread and give to others." In our interview, Diane Ackerman discusses her new work, empathy, crocodilians, and synesthesia.
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NEW ARRIVALS
HARDCOVER
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
Denis Johnson's first full-length novel in nine years chronicles the story of Skip Sands a spy-in-training who's engaged in psychological operations against the Vietcong and the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel. "[B]ound to become one of the classic works of literature produced by that tragic and uncannily familiar war," raves Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times.
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Sale $18.90 | Hardcover
List Price: $27.00 (You Save: $8.10) |
The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World by Alan Greenspan
You've heard about it all over the press now read the book that's making headlines. The distillation of a life's worth of wisdom and insight into an elegant expression of a coherent worldview, The Age of Turbulence will stand as Alan Greenspan's personal and intellectual legacy. Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Greenspan shares the story of his life, doing justice to the extraordinary amount of history he has experienced and shaped. He further draws readers along the same learning curve he followed, so they accrue a grasp of his own understanding of the underlying dynamics that drive world events.
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Sale $24.50 | Hardcover
List Price: $35.00 (You Save: $10.50) |
The Lives of Others
Set in 1980s East Berlin, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's debut feature, The Lives of Others, provides an exquisitely nuanced portrait of life under the watchful eye of the state police as a successful playwright and his actress companion are monitored by a captain of the Stasi, East Germany's notorious secret police. This critically acclaimed, 2006 Oscar-winning film (Best Foreign Language Film) is the erotic, emotionally charged experience Entertainment Weekly calls "a nail-biter of a thriller!"
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Sale $24.70 | DVD
List Price: $26.96 (You Save: $2.26) |
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PAPERBACK
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Raji Chandrasekaran
Hailed by the New York Times Book Review as "absolutely brilliant," this national bestseller examines the numerous self-inflicted pitfalls, miscalculations, and blunders that plagued the first year of the American occupation of Iraq. "Chandrasekaran's sharp-eyed account of life inside Baghdad's Green Zone offers some of the blackest comedy at the bookstore," praises Entertainment Weekly, which picked it as one of the best books of 2006.
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Sale $10.46 | Trade Paper
List Price: $14.95 (You Save: $4.49) |
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
Now in paperback, Anne Tyler's New York Times bestseller Digging to America is her richest, most deeply searching novel yet, a story about what it is to be an American, and about Iranian-born Maryam Yazdan, who, after 35 years in this country, must finally come to terms with her status as an outsider. "This deeply human tale of valiantly improvised lives is one of Tyler's best," raves Booklist in a starred review.
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Sale $10.46 | Trade Paper
List Price: $14.95 (You Save: $4.49) |
One-Click Buy: September Harlequin Presents by Various Authors
With One-Click Buy: September Harlequin Presents, now you can get all eight of the September Harlequins for one bargain price. From Sandra Marton's The Greek Prince's Chosen Wife to The Rich Man's Bride by Catherine George, get your monthly fix of passionate romance, glamorous settings, and sexy alpha-heroes all in one eBook! And click here to find more great bundles.
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Sale $25.97 | Microsoft eBook
List Price: $30.55 (You Save: $4.58) |
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Two weeks ago the literary world lost another beloved author, Madeleine L'Engle. Melissa Hart, author of the memoir "The Assault of Laughter," shared her memories of this cherished writer on Powell's blog.
Remembering Madeleine L'Engle
Every day after lunch, we sat in our fifth grade classroom and listened as Mrs. Jansta read a novel for fifteen minutes. The room was warm and smelled of grass and sour milk. I put my head down on my desk. Beside me, Kristen Hernandez snored. But I remained wide awake, riveted by books like The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Where the Red Fern Grows, and especially by A Wrinkle in Time.
In the late 1960s, Madeleine L'Engle struggled to interest editors in her book. Finally, Farrar, Straus and Giroux published it and it promptly won the Newbery. Hers was a strange novel of child protagonists who grappled busily with morality and physics. I couldn't grasp her "tesseract" concept and how I might use it to transcend space and time to propel myself off to the beach, but I understood her theme perfectly. Don't conform. Celebrate joy and love and originality. Otherwise, you'll end up in a glass case like the terrifying disembodied brain at the end of her novel.
Throughout adolescence, I read her other books the rest of the Wrinkle trilogy and obscure young adult novels she penned before her fame. From the latter, I learned to love Holst's The Planets, Bach's cantatas, El Greco, and Shakespeare. My favorite of her books, A Ring of Endless Light, inspired a letter on my finest unicorn stationery. "Dear Ms. L'Engle," I penned carefully. "Thank you for your book. I want to be a writer and work with dolphins like Vicky does in your novel. Love, Melissa Hart."
She wrote back.
Dear Melissa, thank you for the lovely unicorn paper. I'm sure that if you put your mind to it, you will work with dolphins. And you will become a writer. Love, Madeleine
Click here to read the rest of Hart's post and to share your memories of Madeleine L'Engle.
From the Authors: SAVE 30%
BROCK CLARKE: ORIGINAL ESSAY
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After spending ten years in prison for accidentally burning down Emily Dickinson's house, Sam Pulsifer is determined to start a new life. But when the houses of Mark Twain, Robert Frost, and others start going up in smoke, Sam's past comes back to haunt him. Brock Clarke's novel, An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, is earning some of the year's biggest praise ("[A] page-turning pleasure for anyone who loves literature," hails Kirkus Reviews). Read Clarke's original essay for Powells.com and save 30% when you buy An Arsonist's Guide. Also, don't miss Brock Clarke's reading on Thursday, September 20, at our Cedar Hills Crossing store. |
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An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England
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Sale $16.76 |
Hardcover
List Price: $23.95
You Save: $7.19
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JEFF PARKER: INK Q&A
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Skateboarder, restaurant worker, and punk-rocker wannabe, the antihero of Ovenman adds a new twist to the classic coming-of-age story. Jeff Parker's laugh-out-loud funny first novel follows a contemporary Everyguy through the strange twists of a woefully complicated life. "Funny, soulful, and energetic, Ovenman is wonderful," says Mary Gaitskill, author of Veronica. Check out Parker's INK Q&A and grab your copy of Ovenman for 30% off. |
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Ovenman
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Sale $9.80 |
Trade Paper
List Price: $14.00
You Save: $4.20
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NAOMI WOLF: GUEST BLOGGER
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We're thrilled to have author and provocateur Naomi Wolf as this week's guest blogger. Wolf's latest work, The End of America, exposes how the escalation of executive power has eroded the core values surrounding personal freedoms. An impassioned call to action for Americans from all walks of life to restore the checks and balances and our time-honored protections against abuses of power outlined by our Founding Fathers, The End of America is sure to be one of the year's most-talked-about books. Don't miss Wolf's daily posts on our blog and save 30% when you order The End of America from Powells.com! |
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The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot
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Sale $9.76 |
Trade Paper
List Price: $13.95
You Save: $4.19
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in our stores
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"A sober, analytical elucidation of the effects of human dominance on this planet, intriguing if not especially comforting. This book should be broadly read and discussed." Library Journal (starred review)
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SEPTEMBER 26: Amy Bloom
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In her brilliant new novel Away which Publishers Weekly calls "stunning" and the New York Times praises as "a literary triumph" bestselling author Amy Bloom pens the epic and intimate story of young Lillian Leyb, who comes to America alone after her family is destroyed in a Russian pogrom, determined to make her way in a new land. |
SEPTEMBER 28: Steven Pinker
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In The Stuff of Thought, New York Times-bestselling author Steven Pinker (The Blank Slate) marries two of the subjects he knows best: language and human nature. The result is a fascinating look at how words explain human nature. "[Pinker's] vivid prose and down-to-earth attitude will once again attract an enthusiastic audience outside academia," says Publishers Weekly. Please note: This event will be held at the Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Tickets, $21, include admission and a copy of The Stuff of Thought, and are available at the Crystal Ballroom box office and the Bagdad Theater box office. Books will be distributed at the event. |
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preorder signed editions by authors coming to Powell's
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IN OUR NEXT EDITION:
"What'd you do today?" Oreo asks, though Bagheera rarely strays more
than a hundred feet from the house. Sometimes the other cats will tease
him, singing, "He's got the whole yard / at his paws..."
Bagheera says, "Hung out under the Claytons' porch this morning, in the
garden most of the afternoon."
Oreo used to question aloud Bagheera's motives for staying put, and
whether he was scared of what might be hiding down the block. At first
Bagheera would tell him, "No, I'm not scared," then he wouldn't bother
answering, and finally one time he shot back, "Are you scared of an
inner life?" Oreo shut up after that.
Oreo had always assumed that Bagheera is smart. It hadn't occurred to
him previously that Bagheera might simply use his brain more.
He imagines himself in Bagheera's place, among the year's last tomatoes.
They smell great, don't they, tomatoes on the vine? He wills himself to
daydream.
But kids shout to each other in the park beyond the backyard fence. Dog
collars jingle on the sidewalk out front. Tree limbs beg him to climb.
Meanwhile, the bulkhead is wide open at Thelma's, Oreo can sense it.
Distractions.
"Good times?" Oreo asks.
"Worms and spiders," Bagheera replies. "A bluebird raised hell for about
a half-hour and then disappeared."
Fup and Bear are holding court in Thelma's basement right now, Oreo
might even be willing to bet.
"I'm going to see if anyone's at Thelma's," the black and white cat
decides. He should check. Might as well. "Want to come? No?"
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