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Interviews | June 19, 2009
By Dave
 If 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.
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One of the nice things about living in Oregon is that our colleges and universities start their fall term later than many other places, which means we get to let summer live in our minds until the very last day of the season! But now everyone's back in school, the equinox is upon us, and it's time to put away those shorts and skirts and t-shirts that (if we're honest) were really too small for us anyway, and focus on all things autumnal. Which is great when you have an interview with Neal Stephenson ( Anathem) to read over a mug of steaming cider. Who needs long bike rides in the sun when we've got original essays by Dexter Filkins ( The Forever War) and Donald Worster ( A Passion for Nature)? INK Q&As by Francine Prose ( Goldengrove) and Howard Blum ( American Lightning) set off enough fireworks to make that July holiday a faint memory, and there are always guest bloggers Robert Kuttner ( Obama's Challenge) and Kenny Shopsin ( Eat Me) to keep us from noticing the rain that's just starting to tap against our windows.
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Special Offer
 Get a signed first edition of Neal Stephenson's Anathem. In a starred review, Booklist raves, "[Anathem] is beautifully written...and, even though it runs to nearly 1,000 pages, it feels somehow too short....A magnificent achievement."
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FEATURED INTERVIEW
 Neal Stephenson has been a staple name in science fiction ever since his incandescent opus Snow Crash appeared. What separated Snow Crash from the other cyberpunk novels of the world was, first, Stephenson's knowledge of computers and programming and, second, his wealth of research on topics as obscure as Sumerian mythology. This theme of in-depth research has continued through his other books, especially Cryptonomicon and the The Baroque Cycle. Before his reading, Stephenson discussed the mathematical philosophy and quantum mechanics in his newest novel, Anathem, as well as why he still writes by hand.
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NEW ARRIVALS
HARDCOVER
 Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life by Kathleen Norris
Acedia and Me is Kathleen Norris's masterpiece: a personal and moving memoir that resurrects the ancient term "acedia," or soul-weariness, and brilliantly explores its relevancy to the modern individual and culture. "[A] fascinating inquiry [that] casts our predicament in a new light and maps a course out of this enervating despair," hails Booklist (starred review).
 Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3 by Annie Proulx
Returning to the territory of Brokeback Mountain, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx's Fine Just the Way It Is is a stunning and visceral collection of new stories. Booklist hails that it "takes giant steps in advocating Proulx as simply one of the most inventive yet, at the same time, traditional story writers working today."
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 Mad Men: Season One
Set in New York City in the 1960s, AMC's hit series Mad Men explores the glamorous and ego-driven "Golden Age" of advertising, where everyone is selling something and nothing is ever what it seems. Now on DVD, critics call the award-winning first season "exceptional" (San Francisco Chronicle), "a joy to watch" (USA Today), "extraordinary" (Boston Globe), and "smart and tremendously attractive" (The New Yorker). As always, all DVDs ship free from Powells.com!
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PAPERBACK
 Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body by Jennifer Ackerman
In Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream, acclaimed science writer Jennifer Ackerman lends her keen eye and lively voice to this marvelous exploration of the human body, and reveals the body as it's never been seen — as an amazing, rhythmic creature. "An insightful text celebrating just how clever is the machine we call the human body," praises Kirkus.
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 Boone: A Biography by Robert Morgan
Robert Morgan's epic, sweeping biography of Daniel Boone is the most comprehensive book ever written about the man who was the largest spirit of his time. Hunter, explorer, and settler, Boone was a trailblazer, a revolutionary, and an American icon for more than 200 years. "[An] absorbing and stirring chronicle of the great frontiersman....Outstanding," raves Booklist (starred review).
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 Eight Sandpiper Way by Debbie Macomber
The #1 New York Times bestseller — now in eBook! Cedar Cove is shocked after Pastor Dave Flemming is accused of stealing jewelry. His wife, Emily, doesn't know what to believe, especially since Dave is being so evasive. Then she finds an earring in his pocket. Could he have stolen it — or is he having an affair?
Plus: feast on all the September Harlequin One-Clicks while they last! |
 Last week Selden Edwards was our guest blogger. He wrote about his novel, The Little Book, which took more than 30 years to publish. He explains why in the following post:
September 15, 2008:
The 30-Year Novel
A most improbable thing has happened to me. On August 14, at age 67, I have published my debut novel, The Little Book. And not only is it my debut novel, but it is my first piece of commercial fiction ever, and after an entire adult life of trying. I began writing seriously shortly after getting my first English teaching job in the early 1960s. In the late '60s I paid out a lot of money to the Famous Writers School, which was later exposed as something of a scam. But it got me going and started me on a quest for my own novel. I began writing short stories and sending them out to magazines, with a few encouraging letters, but always rejections. In 1974, I started a graduate year in education at Stanford University, and it was there that I wrote the first draft of what I called "my Vienna novel." I had read an intriguing book about 1897 Vienna, and I fantasized about time traveling there and finding the child Hitler: "Would you kill him?" I asked. And that was the simple idea. A fellow from San Francisco named Wheeler Burden wakes up in 1897 Vienna and sets out to find the evil child, meeting a beautiful American woman in the process — pretty simple plot line. That manuscript was rejected unceremoniously, and I put it away, having been told that it was improbable, impractical, and unpublishable.
Read the rest of Selden's post — plus daily guest bloggers, Book News, Read It Before They Screen It, and more — all on our blog!
| From the Authors |
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DEXTER FILKINS: ORIGINAL ESSAY
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In The Forever War, prize-winning New York Times correspondent Dexter Filkins chronicles a remarkable chain of events that begins with the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, continues with the attacks of 9/11, and moves on to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Read Filkins's original essay for Powells.com and save 30% on The Forever War. |
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The Forever War
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KENNY SHOPSIN: GUEST BLOGGER
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The legendary owner and chef of the Greenwich Village restaurant Shopsin's dishes food and philosophy in Eat Me, Kenny Shopsin's collection of more than 120 recipes, including such perfect comfort foods as High School Hot Turkey Sandwiches, Cuban Bean Polenta Melt, and Cornmeal-Fried Green Tomatoes with Comeback Sauce, plus the best soups, egg dishes, and hamburgers. Whet your appetite with our blog when Shopsin is our guest blogger all next week! Check out his mouth-watering posts every day and save 30% on Eat Me. |
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Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin
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in our stores
1. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (Children's)
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Brisingr, the third book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, is one of the most highly anticipated books of the year. Sure to please both fans and newcomers, Paolini continues the dragon tale that has captivated its devoted readership. Recommended by Danielle, Powells.com
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4. The Shack by William P. Young (Christianity)
5. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Children's)
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SEPTEMBER 28: Floyd Skloot
 In his new memoir, The Wink of the Zenith, award-winning poet Floyd Skloot sifts through memories and observations to discover how circumstance and nature conspired to make him the writer he is. And his latest poetry collection, The Snow's Music, continues Skloot's lyrical and narrative explorations of memory, love, loss, and artistic expression. |
SEPTEMBER 29: Emma Donoghue
 Based on a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864, Emma Donoghue's The Sealed Letter is a riveting, provocative drama of friends, lovers, and divorce, Victorian-style, from the bestselling author of Slammerkin and Life Mask. "Donoghue's latest has style and scandal to burn," raves Publishers Weekly (starred review). |
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IN OUR NEXT EDITION:
An original essay from Ron Rash ( Serena) 
Bandit lunged at the Doberman. The Doberman parried. Bear didn't stick around for the outcome. Let the dogs maul each other! He rushed into the woods while he had the chance.
Bear says now, to Zooey and the others, "I was so excited to get away that it hadn't occurred to me that I didn't know where to go."
Where had Fup run off to? He'd follow her. But what would Bear say if he found her? If he went back to the house and she wasn't there, what then?
"Dumped one cat for another?" the Doberman had asked the German shepherd. What was that about?
Bear stopped in his tracks.
He heard Lisa call for Fup. He heard a child shout for Bandit. He heard his own name — in Fup's voice. When he turned, she was standing right there.
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by Bolton and Dave
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