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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
kyenne has commented on (16) products
Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home A Memoir
by
Natalie Goldberg
kyenne
, June 15, 2018
We pick up books for all sorts of reasons (at least I do): love the author, find the title interesting, the reviews were good, and of course, captivating covers. I took Natalie Goldberg's latest work home because I like her writing, loved the cover, and it felt good in my hands. Until I started reading though, I had no idea she'd had cancer. In the past few years, I've read my share and more of memoirs and reflections on mortality - Atul Gawunde's "Being Mortal" and "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi come to mind. Goldberg's memoir is similar in the quality of writing and challenging content, and sharper, more direct and unadorned. I couldn't put it down, and will go back and re-read it later this year to see 'how she did it'. The clarity of her writing is like the sharp cold air in winter - austere and life affirming at the same time. She doesn't spend her precious time with any justifications or explanation: this is what happened, this is what I saw and felt. these are the choices I made. The generosity and kindness of many friends, lovers and students are noted with simple gratitude and grace. This book is a gift. Read it.
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A Separation
by
Katie Kitamura
kyenne
, April 03, 2017
Unlike many of the reviews I’ve seen, this has been a slow read for me: chapter a night before bed, where the characters people my dreams. In other words, a story that makes its ways into your unconscious. The prose is lean, powerful and sure, and the landscape and story are so clearly delineated that the reader can hear and see and even smell the setting (burned vegetation, bright sun, the sea). What we tell ourselves, and the deeper truths we keep from knowing all unfold in this novel of intimacy and distance, uncertainty and revelation, set in Greece. If you wonder about fidelity and love, what keeps us together and what separates us, read this book.
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Full How I Learned to Satisfy My Insatiable Hunger & Feed My Soul
by
Kimber Simpkins
kyenne
, October 25, 2015
What I love most about this book is that it's not prescriptive: Kimber Simpkins doesn't tell you what to do. So many books about body image and eating rely on an intellectual and analytical approach, and while understandable, this seems to underline a basic detachment from being in one's body... which is a huge struggle for many of us. Instead, Kimber offers up her experience - how she felt, what she did and what worked. It's an experiential journey and for me, very healing in the reading. There were times when I wanted to scream "Enough. Enough about being hungry all the time." And then it hit me full force that THIS was how painful and distracting her day-to-day experience was, and what drove her to find some way of healing. It is the broken places that let the light in, after all. Her kindness in finally being able to befriend herself is beautiful and inspiring to read, and I was wiping more away more than a few tears by the end. Her honesty and humor are very refreshing, as is her humility, and her story are a gift to anyone struggling with eating and being 'enough'. I put it down wanting to read more, and believing her path now illuminates my own.
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Hunger, Hope and Healing: A Yoga Approach to Reclaiming Your Relationship to Your Body and Food
by
Sarahjoy Marsh
kyenne
, August 26, 2015
When I initially came across this book, I thought "Oh no, another book (program, DVD, etc.) that tells me how dysfunctional my behavior is, and asks me to sign on for the author's version of "how I will help you fix yourself, providing you are willing to do what I tell you." It's not that book. It's a book that asks you what it means to hunger, and then helps you feed your truest self. Sarahjoy Marsh writes to empower, not only instruct. I love how she weaves together a way to healing that encompasses every aspect of our lives. This is a journey of recovery: how to restore and integrate body mind and spirit. There is something for every aspect of healing: the practice and philosophy of yoga (especially breathing practice); a grounding in neuroscience to guide those of us who struggle with anxiety; and a personal story of her own work to get to the root of the her struggles with disordered eating and body image. As a result I'm not waiting until I have the perfect body to do yoga, I recognize that I have a perfect body now and yoga is way to experience that.
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Funny Girl
by
Nick Hornby
kyenne
, February 28, 2015
This isn't easy to write, and as a die-hard fan of Mr. Hornby's, I was disappointed this time around. Since "High Fidelity", I've been smitten with his writing. I've kept pace through the years, although the last novel I read was "Juliet, Naked" which I liked tremendously (the story was different, a bit edgier, and good enough for me to find a second-hand copy to keep). Ditto his non-fiction, from "Fever Pitch" through last' year's collection of "Believer" columns. In other words, I'm predisposed to both want to read this novel, and to enjoy it. Why didn't I care for it? Perhaps it has something to do with just having finished an amazing novel (Amy Rowland's "The Transcriptionist") and Hornby's heroine Barbara / Sophie was two-dimensional, as were her relationships and quite frankly, her career. The writers, Tony and Bill were better fleshed out, as was Dennis, the producer and finally, the story was as lame as some of the television scripts referenced in the plot. I didn't care about any of it, although I finished it quickly. Perhaps that is how it was written: an outline of some good ideas, a great setting in sixties London, and not enough development. Maybe it's best read as a summer beach book...
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Twelve Recipes
by
Cal Peternell
kyenne
, December 12, 2014
If I'd had this cookbook half a lifetime ago, I'd be twice the cook I am today. Or something like that. This is a great guide for beginners and a delight to read. Better yet, the thoughtful presentation creates and encourages the confidence to get started and the success to continue. With great pictures and clear instructions, it's basic in the best way and never boring.
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No Cheating No Dying I Had a Good Marriage Then I Tried to Make It Better
by
Elizabeth Weil
kyenne
, October 23, 2014
I'm not big on "self-help" books. I also think good writing is all about "show" don't "tell". With that in mind, this book was an unexpected delight and worth reading for the humor, good will, and honesty of the author. I looked forward to picking up the book each evening, and how what I read engaged me, both as a story, and an opportunity to consider and reflect on how I enter into relationships and engage with other people. Shunryu Suzuki told his students that "Each of you is perfect the way you are ... and you can use a little improvement." This book relects that wisdom. If you liked "Poser" by Claire Dederer (which I did, despite not doing yoga), you'll enjoy this as well.
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Delancey A Man a Woman a Restaurant a Marriage
by
Molly Wizenberg
kyenne
, September 20, 2014
I read "A Homemade Life" last year, so I was happy to check out "Delancey". It's a lovely, wonderful book that kept me company each night before I fell asleep for a couple of weeks The author creates an inviting intimacy, the kind of 'pull up a chair and eat in the kitchen' attitude that Molly and her husband sought to create in their Seattle restaurant. It works. I felt nourished and surrounded by people I would want to hang out with, their quirks and struggles intact. The recipes that close out many chapters are deceptively simple to make, and enticing to eat. And I laughed out loud. The greatest compliment I can offer is it reminds me of Laurie Colwin's "Home Cooking" - a much-stained copy holds a place of honor in my kitchen. For anyone reading this who listens to "Sound Opinions", this is a "buy" - I read it from the library and can't wait to purchase the paperback.
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This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
by
Patchett, Ann
kyenne
, June 15, 2014
If you like essays, read this book. I love essays the way other people love short stories (and likely for the same reason), and the more I read, the choosier I get. This is a great collection. Whether she's writing about starting an independent bookstore (yay) in Nashville, or her dog, or yes, her marriage, I can't wait to turn the page, and I don't want the story to end. My favorite piece is about writing, and while she's speaking to her livelihood, the thoughtfulness and advice apply to life in general. When I finally put the book down, I marveled most at how very very good her writing is, and how easy she makes it look.
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I See You Made an Effort Compliments Indignities & Survival Stories from the Edge of 50
by
Annabelle Gurwitch
kyenne
, April 20, 2014
No effort required at all. Delightful, funny and true. The pages seemed to turn themselves, I kept laughing (and occasionally groaning in recognition) and I didn't stop until I was done!
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Thirty Girls
by
Susan Minot
kyenne
, April 19, 2014
There are some things I am convinced that I don't want to read about. The Lord's Resistance Army is one of those things. And yet I was transfixed by this novel from the moment I picked it up. I read it all weekend, both to "find out what happens" and because the language matched the landscape. I couldn't put it down, or leave the characters until the road ran out beneath my feet. The quiet steady thrum of the language captured my imagination, allowed me to feel and smell and picture the story without overwhelming me with the gruesomeness of what occurred. It's a story that will stay with me a long time.
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May We Be Forgiven
by
A M Homes
kyenne
, January 02, 2013
This was the oddest novel I read this year. Stylistically, it engaged me immediately and kept me reading despite a couple of occasions where I put it down for a few days. To be honest, it wasn't the absolute best writing I came across in 2012; it was the amazing combination of characters, plot and perspective that made me laugh and kept me curious to find out what was going to happen next. Any novel where the protagonist is a Nixon scholar has to have a sense of humor and yest as outlandish as the story was at times, it was never unbelievable. What I loved best was the author's compassion for her characters,for families in their many permutations, and for all the ways we struggle to be human.
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Ringolevio: A Life Played for Keeps
by
Emmett Grogan
kyenne
, July 23, 2012
I was still in high school when this book was published and I first read it in 1972 (which might explain most, if not everything). Now a lifetime older, yet every time I come across my worn original paperback copy, it's with a smile as well as a shake of the head. What a crock, and oh, what a time he had (assuming even half of it is true). Emmett Grogan was the rock star of anarchists, and ignited dreams of revolution in my head as I read how he ran guns for the IRA, was a jewel thief and heroin addict, and then started the Diggers in San Francisco, all before the '60's crashed and burned. Read it and understand why despite all the bullshit and disappointment, the Sixties were radical, magical and fun.
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Sense of an Ending
by
Julian Barnes
kyenne
, January 19, 2012
An amazing tour de force. Beautifully written, tightly plotted and the best meditation on time, memory and aging I've read.
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(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
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Shades of Milk & Honey Glamourist History Book 1
by
Mary Robinette Kowal
kyenne
, September 01, 2011
Why I liked it: great style, definitely an Austen contender. Original twist (enough with the zombies, werewolves and general undead) and a ripping good read.
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By Nightfall
by
Michael Cunningham
kyenne
, January 01, 2011
I chose this as the best book of the year because the language was so beautiful, the story and character development so intuitive and unforced, and because the ending wasn't what I expected - I had no expectations. At the end, I felt as I was left with the characters to discover what would unfold next.
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(2 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
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