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Powell's Q&A, Q&A | June 21, 2009
By Adam Schell
"As a husband who often lies to his wife, or tries to (small stuff, nothing scandalous — believe me), I can tell you first-hand that no married man I know can lie effectively to his wife"
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It's a little known fact that leaves have voices — and if you listen closely as they tumble past your ear in autumn, you can hear them speak. The same is true of email newsletters. Press your ear to the monitor and you may hear a faint voice half-whisper, "Can't wait for the Iain Banks ( The Crow Road) interview!" Your keyboard may type its own feelings onto a Notepad file: "What about the original essays by Kathleen Norris ( Acedia and Me), Ron Rash ( Serena), George Herring ( From Colony to Superpower), and Kathleen Kent ( The Heretic's Daughter)?" If your mouse is anything like ours, it's sure to add its opinion: "I much prefer CLICK the INK Q&A by CLICK Dave Zirin ( A People's History of Sports in the United States) and the CLICK CLICK guest blogs from Thomas Kostigen and CLICK Elaine Szewczyk CLICK CLICK CLICK." We're grateful that the printer keeps its, er, mouth shut. 
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
 Iain Banks first published The Crow Road in the UK in 1992, and it is one of his best-loved books. Time Out called it "Riveting... exhilarating... its pace, development, intensity and, above all, its hip and sexy humour never allow it to flag." The Crow Road is a philosophical saga and a romantic coming-of-age story, a mystery and a comedy, and a raucous, moving, and deeply human look at relationships and family. As Publisher Weekly says, "Readers unfamiliar with Banks's prodigious output have a great starting point here."
| Subscribe now — $39.95 per shipment includes shipping and handling within the continental United States. Volume 6 ships on October 23, 2008.
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ongoing (until I cancel) |
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3 shipments |
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6 shipments |
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12 shipments |
Powell's new subscription club delivers the best new books, with special attention to independent publishers. Signed first editions, custom printings, creative sets — every six weeks another at your door.
Plus, each package is stocked with surprises to please: an advance copy we've been passing around the office, or a sampler or bonus DVD or book art. Maybe handmade chocolate, just because...
 VOLUME 6
The Crow Road
by Iain Banks
(MacAdam/Cage Publishers)
Hardcover first editions with laid-in bookplates signed by the author. Packaged in a custom, full-cloth slipcase and available only to Indiespensable subscribers.
Plus, a full-length CD of original music by Portland artists and a limited printing of Graeme Thomson's 40 greatest death songs of all time.
Less than 150 copies remain. Claim yours before they disappear.
NEW ARRIVALS
HARDCOVER
 Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life by Jamie Oliver
With this companion book to Oliver's new Food Network show, the irrepressible, much-loved chef returns with a new collection of more than 100 fresh, healthy recipes as well as advice on growing vegetables.
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Sale $26.25 |
Hardcover
List Price: $37.50 (You Save: $11.25) |
 The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
This highly anticipated book recounts, with intimate detail, the life experience and wisdom of the man known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett. The Snowball tells you why Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success story of our time.
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Sale $24.50 |
Hardcover
List Price: $35.00 (You Save: $10.50) |
 Young at Heart
An inspirational documentary guaranteed to get you up out of your seat, Young at Heart follows a group of Massachusetts senior citizens who thrill audiences worldwide with their unusual — and unusually poignant — covers of rock songs. "You won't believe the world of Young at Heart, but you'll have a hard time resisting it," promises Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times. And as always, all DVDs ship free from Powells.com!
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Sale $25.15 |
DVD
List Price: $27.98 (You Save: $2.83) |
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PAPERBACK
 Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander
In this bitingly funny memoir of growing up in a dysfunctional Jewish family and wrestling with a vengeful God, Shalom Auslander's combination of unrelenting humor and anger renders a rich and fascinating portrait of a man grappling with his faith, his family, and his community. (Don't miss Auslander's reading at Powell's City of Books on Friday, October 17!)
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Sale $10.50 |
Trade Paper
List Price: $15.00 (You Save: $4.50) |
 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
20th Century Ghosts is the award-winning debut collection of short fiction by the New York Times-bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box. "I'm left with no recourse but to declare Joe Hill a genuine original," hails Bolton of Powells.com. "20th Century Ghosts grabbed me with its first story and refused to let go."
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Sale $9.76 |
Trade Paper
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 Deadly Night by Heather Graham
Aidan Flynn, a private investigator and eldest of the Flynn brothers, scoffs at the rumors that claim the New Orleans plantation his family has inherited is haunted. After he finds a human bone on the grounds, Aidan is joined by the tarot card reader Kendall Montgomery to uncover the truth.
Plus: check out the October One-Clicks from Harlequin!
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 Our resident rare book expert, Kirsten Berg, weighs in on Stephen Timoshenko.
October 1, 2008:
The Fine Line between Poetry and Mathematics
For most of us, engineering isn't inherently sexy. Why should we get all hot and bothered just because, as my colleague Collier at the Tech store explains it, an engineer named Stephen Timoshenko was able to quantify the theoretical?
No reason at all, unless you've ever wondered why buildings stand up or why they fall down or why you don't fall through the floor. If you believe, as Henry Petroski does, that to engineer is human, then you're probably the type of person who can get a giggle from the sexiest mechanical engineering book ever: Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown.
Though he might not have been the type to indulge in scintillating small talk at cocktail parties, Stephen Timoshenko was singular in purpose, driven, and mathematically gifted. His textbook History of Strength of Materials is famous. That's right — famous. Some of the other enduring classics penned by this engineer are Strength of Materials, Elementary and Advanced, Theory of Structures, and the lyrically titled Theory of Plates and Shells.
We've been lucky enough over the years to acquire several books signed by Timoshenko. Our copy of The Collected Papers is inscribed....
Read the rest of Kirsten's post — plus daily guest bloggers, Book News, Read It Before They Screen It, and more — all on our blog!
| From the Authors |
SAVE 30% |
KATHLEEN NORRIS: ORIGINAL ESSAY
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In Acedia and Me, as in her bestselling Amazing Grace, poet Kathleen Norris demystifies a spiritual concept, exploring acedia — or soul-weariness — through the geography of her life as a writer, her marriage and the challenges of commitment in the midst of grave illness, and her keen interest in the monastic tradition. "Reading this strongly argued, paradigm-altering work may be the first strike against the demon it portrays," proclaims Booklist (starred review). Read Norris's original essay for Powells.com and save 30% when you buy Acedia and Me. |
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Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life
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$18.16
Hardcover
List Price: $25.95
You Save: $7.79
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RON RASH: ORIGINAL ESSAY
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From award-winning writer Ron Rash, Serena is a Gothic tale of greed, corruption, and revenge set against the backdrop of the 1930s wilderness and America's burgeoning environmental movement. In his biggest, most accessible novel to date, Rash masterfully balances violence and beauty to yield a riveting tale of love both honored and betrayed. "Should be a breakthrough for this masterful storyteller," hails Kirkus (starred review). Read Rash's original essay for Powells.com and save 30% on Serena. |
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Serena
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$17.46
Hardcover
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KATHLEEN KENT: ORIGINAL ESSAY
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Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried, and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. The Heretic's Daughter, Kathleen Kent's first novel, is the haunting story of Carrier's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by her daughter, Sarah. "[A] fresh, bracing and unconventional take on a much-covered episode," proclaims Publishers Weekly (starred review). Read Kent's original essay for Powells.com and save 30% when you buy The Heretic's Daughter. |
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The Heretic's Daughter
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$17.49
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DAVE ZIRIN: INK Q&A
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In A People's History of Sports in the United States, sportswriter Dave Zirin offers a rollicking, rebellious, myth-busting history of sports in America that puts politics in the ring with pop culture. Booklist calls it a "thought-provoking, contrarian take on American sport." In this INK Q&A, Zirin describes his literary pilgrimage to Powell's, explains why writers are better liars than other people (maybe), and more! Read Zirin's INK Q&A and save 30% on A People History of Sports in the United States. |
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A People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play
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$18.86
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List Price: $29.95
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ELAINE SZEWCZYK: GUEST BLOGGER
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Elaine Szewczyk's debut novel I'm with Stupid is a hilarious tale of girl meets boy, girl falls in lust, girl discovers boy is not playing with a full deck. Kirkus cheers, "Often laugh-out-loud funny...a quirky, perverse take on dating that easily rises above the singleton genre competition." Next week we're thrilled to welcome Szewczyk as our guest blogger! Check out her daily posts and save 30% on I'm with Stupid. |
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I'm with Stupid
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$9.79
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in our stores
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"Van Jones represents a new generation of environmental leader — one who sees the Greening of America as both a moral imperative and a nuts and bolts economic issue. His passion, intelligence, and idealism shine through every page of this must-read book." Arianna Huffington
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6. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (Children's)
8. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Children's)
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OCTOBER 9: Art Spiegelman
 In Breakdowns, a reissue of his 1978 collection of early strips, Art Spiegelman, creator of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus, explores the comics form — and how it has formed him. Including a new illustrated essay that looks back at the 1960s, this collection alters the terms of what can be accomplished in a memoir. "[R]evelatory," hails Kirkus Reviews. "Fans of graphic novels in general and Spiegelman in particular will savor this." |
OCTOBER 14: Sarah Vowell
 From the New York Times-bestselling author of Assassination Vacation and The Partly Cloudy Patriot comes The Wordy Shipmates, an examination of the Puritans, their covenant communities, their deep-rooted idealism, their political and cultural relevance in today's world, and their myriad oddities. "Gracefully interspersing her history lesson with personal anecdotes, Vowell offers reflections that are both amusing...and tender," hails Publishers Weekly (starred review). |
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preorder signed editions by authors coming to Powell's
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IN OUR NEXT EDITION:
"Let's go home," Fup said. Bear remembers what he can of the moment — the unfamiliar woods, the two dogs barking, the sun going down. And immeasurable relief as soon as Fup spoke.
"She caught me completely off-guard," he recalls. "She caught herself off-guard, too. Said so later."
Impossibly young, both cats, in Boring, Oregon, what seems like forever ago. More than half their lives still ahead. The best halves, it turned out — or so it seems to Bear, looking back.
He tries to explain to Zooey and the others: That day in Boring, he wasn't looking so far ahead.
"By 'home,' did she mean 'home to me' or 'home to the store'?" Bear asks now. "I didn't care to know just yet. As long as she was coming back to Portland."
Send questions, comments, suggestions, and pictures of autumn leaves to newsletter@powells.com.
PowellsBooks.news
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