Poetry Month!
 
 

Special Offers see all

Enter to WIN!

Weekly drawing for $100 credit. Subscribe to our Specials newsletter for a chance to win.
Privacy Policy

More at Powell's


Staff Picks


spacer

Staff Picks




New Arrivals
Browse more New Arrivals in Staff Picks

  1. $16.00 New Trade Paper add to wish list

    Alif the Unseen

    G. Willow Wilson 9780802121226
  2. $10.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  3. $16.95 New Trade Paper add to wish list
  4. $12.59 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Summer Prince

    Alaya Dawn Johnson 9780545417792
  5. $11.89 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    A Little Book of Sloth

    Lucy Cooke 9781442445574
  6. $11.87 Sale Trade Paper add to wish list

Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Literature
Browse more picks by Dianah

The Snow Child
The Snow Child
by Eowyn Ivey
Staff Pick
In the 1920s, married couple Jack and Mabel leave their home in Pennsylvania and travel to Alaska to homestead a farm. Still grieving the loss of their stillborn child years before, Jack and Mabel are faced with the inhospitable land and deadly weather of Alaska. Their marriage begins to unravel; Mable feels lost and alone, while Jack struggles under the unrelenting workload. In a rare moment of levity, on the night of the first snowfall, Jack and Mabel sculpt a snow child. The next morning they discover the statue destroyed and find footsteps leading away from the wreckage, but none to it. They slowly begin to realize just what they have set in motion, and both are terrified, yet hopeful, for the outcome. Both lyrical and magical, The Snow Child is a haunting, bittersweet, lovely read.
Recommended by Dianah, Powells.com

Your price: $14.99
New - Trade Paper

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Biology
Browse more picks by Serra

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books)
The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books)
by Norman Doidge
Staff Pick
You can change your brain! Neuroplasticity is the new gospel for remapping your brain and making real changes to not only the way you think but how your brain is actually wired. Using this new science, medical conditions previously thought of as untreatable are cured, damaged sense organs are restored, and learning disorders are solved. If stroke patients can learn to walk and talk again in spite of damaged brains, then surely there is hope for the rest of us to manage our daily anxieties and undesirable behaviors. Dive into the future of neuroscience with this amazing book.
Recommended by Serra, Powells.com

List Price $17.00
Your price: $8.50
Used - Trade Paper

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in General
Browse more picks by Jeremy

Children of the Days: A Calendar of Human History
Children of the Days: A Calendar of Human History
by Eduardo Galeano
Staff Pick
The great Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan writer and journalist, has spent some five decades in literary pursuit of restoring memory, veracity, and justice to their once-exalted heights. Resounding throughout his works are the amplified echoes of the forgotten, forsaken, silenced, and slandered. In giving voice to the voiceless, Galeano ensures that history's authorship shall not be entrusted solely to the wealthy, powerful, and victorious.

Children of the Days is composed of 366 of Galeano's trademark vignettes — one for every Gregorian calendar day of the year. Each of these entries, marked by both brevity and beauty, recounts or remembers an individual, moment, or era omitted from the official annals of yesteryear. In retrieving these stories from their historical exile, Galeano redeems their dignity and reanimates their tale. More than the mere act of commemoration alone, these vignettes illume the dark and disregarded corners of our collective past (and act, perhaps, as a bulwark against repeating its myriad misdeeds).

Like nearly all of Galeano's books, Children of the Days excoriates the excesses of war, religion, capitalism, and conquest. In reframing the historical narrative to be more inclusive and forthright, Galeano takes equal inspiration from politics, poetry, and the proletariat. Whether by revolution or revelation, many of the figures he chose to memorialize could be defined by their defiance, outspokenness, and dissatisfaction of the status quo. Galeano's longing for an equitable, verdant, and peaceable world has informed his writing since he began his career, and his commitment to engendering such a vision is one of the essential characteristics of his work.

Eduardo Galeano composes prose as resplendent as some of his subjects are sorrowful. With ever the eye for the neglected, distressed, oppressed, and maligned (spanning thousands of years), he creates beauty where once there was betrayal, and intrigue where ignorance once thrived. From the familiar to the obscure, Galeano masterfully recollects and rescues from amnesiac disregard those for whom history has never made room. Children of the Days is but the latest steadfast entry in Galeano's efforts to resist the erosive effects of time, revisionism, and selective memory. Obsessed with remembering lest the rest of us forget (and perhaps to help restore the enduring promise of the future), Galeano makes an offering of his art so that we may yet be reminded of the inherent brilliance, dignity, and wonder of a life consumed not by belligerence, fanaticism, and the shallow pursuit of wealth but one that is instead receptive to the voices of others and the world at large.

Children of the Days was rendered from Spanish by Mark Fried, Galeano's longtime English translator.
Recommended by Jeremy, Powells.com

Your price: $26.99
New - Hardcover

add to wish list



Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Coming Soon!
Browse more picks by Kim S.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
by Anthony Marra
Staff Pick
Marra's debut novel is fantastic. His beautifully written story so eloquently expresses the intricacies of human behavior involving love and sacrifice during a brutal war. It's hands down my favorite book of the year and one you must read!
Recommended by Kim S., Powells.com

List Price $26.00
Available May 7, 2013
Your price: $18.20
Sale - Hardcover

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Art
Browse more picks by Morgan R.

Walton Ford: Pancha Tantra
Walton Ford: Pancha Tantra
by Bill Buford
Staff Pick
Awesome. Think John James Audubon prints in a more twisted and dark light. The title Pancha Tantra refers to an ancient Indian animal folktale book thought to be a precursor to Aesop's Fables. This has lots of sly wit and offhand comments interwoven with the artwork.
Recommended by Morgan R., Powells.com

Your price: $69.95
Used - Hardcover

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Browse more picks by Hobie

Dominion
Dominion
Staff Pick
I love this game. I have been a gamer my entire life and I highly recommend Dominion. It has a good combination of things going for it: It's easy to play. Every time you play, it plays differently (thus preventing any "cheap" strategies). It has fairly straightforward but deep rules. It's fun with two players and more. It's competitive but not head-to-head (no seriously hurt feelings). It doesn't require a huge gaming table. It has several expansions that make the game more complex and more fun. It doesn't take 9.5 hours to complete a round.

I would recommend it to both serious gamers and casual players.
Recommended by Hobie, Powells.com

Your price: $44.95
Gifts - Miscellaneous

add to wish list



Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Browse more picks by Marti

Munchkin Deluxe
Munchkin Deluxe
by Steve Jackson Games
Staff Pick
Munchkin Deluxe is fun with just two players, but once you get more than that, it's outrageous! This is the game where you find out who your true friends are or who would sic an even bigger monster upon you when you're at your lowest, sharing the loot with a fellow player.

With a board, game pieces, and cards, this is the ultimate MMORPG game to play without turning on the computer. And with so many expansion packs, the game can be played for hours on end.
Recommended by Marti, Powells.com

Your price: $29.99
Gifts - Miscellaneous

add to wish list



Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Browse more picks by Eric G.

7 Wonders Game
7 Wonders Game
by Asmodee Editions
Staff Pick
Four or more players gather together to try and build one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Each player picks a different civilization and wins through strategies like military might or economic trading. There are a lot of different ways to win this game, and the expansions that are available now add even more depth to the game. This is one of my favorite games to introduce to people who are done with settling Catan and ready to move into a more complex game.
Recommended by Eric G., Powells.com

Your price: $49.99
Gifts - Miscellaneous

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Children's
Browse more picks by The Dot

The Summer Prince
The Summer Prince
by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Staff Pick
In a futuristic Brazilian city where dancing and danger are often the same thing, a glowing protagonist is tangled up in art, rebellion, and charming young men with tragic fates. The near-instant total immersion of this book left me dazzled by Johnson's storytelling.
Recommended by The Dot, Powells.com

List Price $17.99
Your price: $12.59
Sale - Hardcover

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Children's
Browse more picks by Emily A.

Little Bear (I Can Read Books: Level 1)
Little Bear (I Can Read Books: Level 1)
by Else Minarik
Staff Pick
Most of my reading these days is done by request, and Little Bear is always in heavy rotation.

What can't that Little Bear do? He makes soup! He's a snow-day nudist! He goes to the "moon"! He convinces his mother to recap the previous three stories for him!
Recommended by Emily A., Powells.com

Your price: $2.95
Used - Trade Paper

add to wish list



Sale Books
Browse more titles in Staff Picks-Sale Books

Swamplandia!
Swamplandia!
by Karen Russell
Staff Pick
Russell's debut novel is in a literary class of its own. Swamplandia! is a mystical, fascinating coming-of-age story told from the perspective of the charming 13-year-old Ava. A shabby tourist attraction in Florida and unpredictable family members flavor... (read more)

List Price $26.00
Your price: $9.98
Sale - Hardcover

add to wish list


Used Books
Browse more titles in Staff Picks-Used Books

State of Wonder (P.S.)
State of Wonder (P.S.)
by Ann Patchett
Staff Pick
State of Wonder is Ann Patchett's best book yet (yes, even better than Bel Canto). Brimming with mystery, philosophy, intrigue, ethical questions, the flora and fauna of the Amazon jungle, and absolutely beautiful prose, Patchett's new novel should be at... (read more)

List Price $15.99
Your price: $7.95
Used - Trade Paper

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Browse more picks by Kelly S.

Settlers of Catan (4th Edition)
Settlers of Catan (4th Edition)
by Mayfair Games
Staff Pick
The land is Catan. To win, you must assert your agricultural dominance through trade and luck to create a combination of: the longest road, the largest army, the building of settlements, and development cards. The first player to 10 points claims victory. Trade with other players, but beware: they are out for the same glory that you are. This game is fun for the whole family, but I caution you: approach your victory slowly, lest you be embargoed by your fellow settlers!
Recommended by Kelly S., Powells.com

Your price: $42.00
Gifts - Miscellaneous

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Religion Comparative
Browse more picks by Kara

Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
by Elizabeth Lesser
Staff Pick
This is the most useful book I have ever read that pertains to the subject of dealing with grief. It helps. Really.
Recommended by Kara, Powells.com

List Price $16.00
Your price: $10.50
Used - Trade Paper

add to wish list


Staff Pick
Browse more picks in Literature
Browse more picks by Kristi L

Dreams and Shadows
Dreams and Shadows
by C. Robert Cargill
Staff Pick
Beautiful! Dreams and Shadows starts with a tight little horror story, follows with a dreamy fairy tale, and ends with a gritty urban fantasy. It's a multi-genre meditation on the power of love, revenge, and innocent wishes with great big consequences. I loved it.
Recommended by Kristi L, Powells.com

List Price $24.99
Your price: $16.50
Used - Hardcover

add to wish list


Get Staff Picks...

News, bestseller lists, special Powell's offers, and more in your inbox.

More info about our Subject Newsletters

Staff Picks by Subject

spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...




Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.