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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
diane Trafton has commented on (17) products
Dry Grass of August
by
Anna Jean Mayhew
diane Trafton
, June 28, 2013
It is circa early 50s, a time when racial prejudices were both overt and secreted away in citizen's minds and hearts. The place is the South, where history tells us horrendous events took place. The tale is told through the eyes of Jubie an innocent young girl who has known and loved Mary, the family's cook, housekeeper and child care provider for all the years she can remember. Throughout the story, Jubie gains a clearer understanding of the prejudicial environment of the times, and it soon becomes very personal with a tragic event that takes place. My heart was touched by this book and tears brought to my eyes on several occasions. If you liked reading The Help or The Secret Life of Bees, you will appreciate this story.!
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Flight Behavior
by
Barbara Kingsolver
diane Trafton
, June 20, 2013
Being a fan of Kingsolver's, in particular Prodigal Summer, I had mixed feelings about this book. At first I did not understand where it was going. It wasn't until almost halfway through that I realized this book was making a statement regarding global warming and the ramifications of such. Like Prodigal Summer, a beautiful book on saving our environment, this book creates it's own "case" for global warming. I wish that Kingsolver would have made her journey more clear earlier in the book and I would have been more engaged. A lot of detail is given on butterflies, their behaviors, flight patterns, and requirements for health of the species, material that became so detailed I found myself skimming over these parts. The ending, I thought, was rather abrupt, almost like it was tied on just to complete the story
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Writing On My Forehead
by
Nafisa Haji
diane Trafton
, April 27, 2013
A look into Indo-Pakistani culture, family traditions and Muslim American life. Athough fiction, this book reads like a biography but gives the reader a glimpse and a beginning understanding and empathy for the majority of Muslims living in our world today. A captivating story!
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Lost Memory of Skin
by
Russell Banks
diane Trafton
, April 13, 2013
"Lost Memory of Skin" has touched my heart and I will remember it for years to come. These characters (pedophiles) that are so abhorrent in our society miraculously become real people and we see the resilience of the human spirit, and the plight for existence. We see our broken criminal justice system and we leap into the margins of this dark society feeling haunted and unsettled. It left me very shaken!
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On Beauty
by
Zadie Smith
diane Trafton
, February 09, 2013
New York Times best seller, winner of the Orange Prize for fiction, and short listed for the Man Booker Prize, "On Beauty" has something for every persuasion. Touching on personal beliefs vs. political convection, racial issues, old vs. young, and liberal vs. conservative, the satiric story line incorporates it all! What a great book for spirited discussions! This is a jewel of a book, brilliant!
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Rainwater (Large Print) (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers)
by
Sandra Brown
diane Trafton
, January 21, 2013
"Rainwater", what an appropriate title as well as man's name, for this book that takes place in the early 1930's, dustbowl. Ella, a single woman, runs a boardinghouse in the home of her youth, to support herself and her special needs child. Times are challenging and children with special needs misunderstood and, along with the presence of racial unrest, daily life presents great challenges. This story captured my heart and will remain with me for a long time. I recommend it!
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Dark Places
by
Gillian Flynn
diane Trafton
, December 31, 2012
What a gripping thriller Gillian Flynn has written! As engaging as "Gone Girl" and far more chilling. The characters' behaviors reflect the best and worst of society......those who value human life and those who do not. This novel is masterfully created from the opening pages and high pitched and engaging to the very last.
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House At Riverton
by
Kate Morton
diane Trafton
, December 28, 2012
The unforgettable characters in this book will long be remembered by me. Flashbacks to 1920's England and an aristocratic family, are told through the eyes of ninety eight year old Grace. During her last years in a US nursing home, she opens up a world of secrets and mystery only to be revealed in the very last pages of the book. This a memorable story which shows the reader the deep division in classes in the 1920's. As with several of Kate Morton's books, I found the first quarter of the book to be a bit slow moving but well worth the read, as action, interest and mystery soon appear and captivates.
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Perfect Victim the True Story of the Girl in the Box
by
Christine Mcguire
diane Trafton
, December 06, 2012
Christine Mcguire helps retell the true story if Colleen Stan's kidnapping, captivity and torture. As the prosecuting attorney, she shifts from the actual trial of Cameron Hooker and his wife to the evil doings that took place at the Hooker residence in the 1970's. Colleen, a young woman of twenty endures seven years locked in a wooden box under her captor's waterbed. She is submitted to mind control and constant sexual perversions. The horror of this true story is further exacerbated by the seemingly normal working class Hooker family. This is not a story for the faint of heart. It is unbelievable but true!
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Keeping Faith
by
Jodi Picoult
diane Trafton
, November 25, 2012
A marriage falling apart, and an extraordinary child, creates a story both a thought provoking and controversial. The child, aptly named "Faith", begins to hear divine voices and develops stigmata, even though never exposed to any organized religion. These strange events thrust the struggling characters into a media frenzy and a very messy custody battle. Typical of Jodi Picoult, the topic is compelling and gripping. This is one of Picoult's best!
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Dangerous Fortune
by
Ken Follett
diane Trafton
, November 19, 2012
Ken Follett caught my attention with his historical fiction books (World Without End, etc), so I thought I'd give him a try with a suspence novel that spans three decades beginning in Victorian England. I am so glad I did! What an engrossing story! The story begins at an affluent school for boys where a tragedy introduces the reader to the influential, political, and corrupt lifestyle of the wealthy merchant bankers, the Pilasters. Woven throughout we read about all strata of English society and their interrelationships. This is an engrossing story of love, hatred, treachery and the ebb and flow of personal fortune. It will mesmerize you!
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Forgotten Garden
by
Kate Morton
diane Trafton
, November 11, 2012
The Forgotten Garden weaves a wondrous spell, sending the reader back and forth in time, to experience past generations and the mysteries they bring into the present. Part mystery, a bit of history, a bit of fantasy, makes this hefty book well worth the reader's time. Captivating!
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Bakers Daughter
by
Sarah Mccoy
diane Trafton
, October 23, 2012
History and it's profound influence on family, friendships, and loyalties is told here through a German family caught up in trying to live a normal life in horrific times. One cannot keep from feeling a deep sadness for those caught up in a struggle for self preservation and for those unjustly excluded. This book touches the human heart and guides us to examine the choices we make even in today's world. You won't forget this tale!
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Gone Girl
by
Gillian Flynn
diane Trafton
, September 13, 2012
Starting off a bit slow, but gaining speed quickly, this mystery/thriller has the twists and turns that keep a reader glued to the very last page. The main character is a complicated, multi faceted woman who creates havoc in the lives close to her. This suspenseful, inventive, even chilling novel portrays a good relationship gone horribly and frighteningly bad. Gone Girl is a book you won't soon forget.
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Chaperone
by
Laura Moriarty
diane Trafton
, September 04, 2012
The Chaperone, a historical fiction book, brings the reader into NYC just prior to the great depression of 1929. Midwesterner Louise Brooks, is an irreverent fifteen year old who wants to make a big name for herself in the NY theater. Somewhat indifferent to her daughter's safety and well being, her affluent mother has hired Cora as a chaperone for her daughter's odyssey. Growing up in NYC as an orphan in a Catholic orphanage, Cora, a woman in her mid thirties, is on her own profoundly personal journey to find herself by seeking out her birth mother whom she has never met. Through the fast-turning pages, the reader has an inviting opportunity to find, through the seemingly impossible interaction of these two strong characters of different generations and life perspectives, possibly something new about themselves.
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Mudbound
by
Hillary Jordan
diane Trafton
, August 01, 2012
Mudbound, the first novel written by Hillary Jordan is the powerful tale of lives lived in the 1940s South, under the Jim Crow laws. This is a novel that brought silent tears to my eyes and the question "Is this a true story?" No, it is not non fiction, but the truth it holds is commanding. What a tragic but important piece of our American history to remember! This portrait of two families, one white, one black caught up in the blind hatred of prejudice is a real page turner and creates, in the reader's heart and mind, a profound experience.
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Miss Julia Takes Over
by
Ann B Ross
diane Trafton
, February 23, 2009
The "Miss Julia" books seem to be a cross between "Number One Ladies Detective Agency" series and the "Mitford" series. Southern charm, small town life, and a bit of mystery pervade Ann Ross' series. What a relaxing and engaging experience filled with heart warming events and laughter. Don't miss Miss Julia!
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