Cart
|
|
my account
|
wish list
|
help
|
800-878-7323
Hello, |
Login
MENU
Browse
New Arrivals
Bestsellers
Featured Preorders
Award Winners
Audio Books
See All Subjects
Used
Staff Picks
Staff Picks
Picks of the Month
Bookseller Displays
50 Books for 50 Years
25 Best 21st Century Sci-Fi & Fantasy
25 PNW Books to Read Before You Die
25 Books From the 21st Century
25 Memoirs to Read Before You Die
25 Global Books to Read Before You Die
25 Women to Read Before You Die
25 Books to Read Before You Die
Gifts
Gift Cards & eGift Cards
Powell's Souvenirs
Journals and Notebooks
socks
Games
Sell Books
Blog
Events
Find A Store
Don't Miss
Big Mood Sale
Teen Dream Sale
Portland Like a Pro Sale
Powell's Author Events
Oregon Battle of the Books
Audio Books
Get the Powell's newsletter
Visit Our Stores
Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
(0 comment)
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...
Read More
»
Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
(0 comment)
Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
(0 comment)
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
Customer Comments
teelgee has commented on (17) products
Hearts of Horses
by
Molly Gloss
teelgee
, January 26, 2010
I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. I’m not fond of Westerns and I’ve never been big on horse stories. But I do love me some strong women characters, and this book is full of them. Plus, the story held my interest throughout and the writing is superb. I’ve read two other Molly Gloss books: Wild Life and Jump-Off Creek (both also with strong women characters). This is my favorite.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(4 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Middlesex
by
Jeffrey Eugenides
teelgee
, January 21, 2010
This is an unforgettable book - one of my all-time favorites. Well researched, fantastic character development, fascinating plot. Eugenides' writing is stellar.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Snow Geese A Story Of Home
by
William Fiennes
teelgee
, October 30, 2009
I wanted to love this nonfiction book. A couple of my book buddies raved about it. The writing was good. The story was interesting - Fiennes, a Brit, becomes fascinated by snow geese and follows them on their migration from Texas to the northern wilds of Canada. This read more like a novel - which, for this book, did not work for me. Fiennes seemed almost obsessed with the clothes of the people he encountered on his journey - lengthy descriptions of shirts and sweatshirts and hats and coats, which for the most part added nothing to the story. He either has a knack for meeting unusual people or he embellished some of the characters. Everyone was folksy and funny and memorable. I would rather have read more about the geese and less about the travels and the traveling companions. I'd be interested to read his book of fiction.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Stitches A Memoir
by
David Small
teelgee
, October 30, 2009
Wow, I love this genre! This is an outstanding book, the illustrations are brilliant in the moods and information they convey. The story is sad; David's childhood was full of trauma and family secrets. The ending, obviously, came out OK since he's an award winning illustrator-author. Highly recommended.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(2 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Waking
by
Matthew Sanford
teelgee
, October 22, 2009
I heard Matt Sanford on an NPR program about a year ago and his story touched and fascinated me. In 1978, at age 13, he was in a terrible auto accident that killed his father and sister and left Matt a paraplegic. In this memoir he tells of years of pain, anguish and coming to terms with his paralysis and the grief of losing his father and sister. Matt spends a number of years in a gray world, disconnected emotionally and spiritually from his body. At some point he becomes aware that his healing story will not involve walking or becoming like one of the super hero paraplegics paraded in front of him for inspiration. Eventually Matthew is introduced to yoga and experiences what he calls an "energetic sensation within my mind-body relationship." He pursues yoga intensely - though it is not a linear progression; he experiences many setbacks. Eventually, Matt goes on to teach yoga to both walking people and those with disabilities. I was drawn to Matt's story partly because of my own experience with yoga and with progressive physical limitations. It is a good reminder to all of us to stay conscious of our bodies, not to take them for granted; and that we can change the healing stories that practitioners tell us and that we tell ourselves. Beautifully written; highly recommended.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Telex from Cuba
by
Rachel Kushner
teelgee
, October 06, 2009
I read this for my book group, else I probably wouldn't have finished it. The setting is Cuba - a sugar plantation and a nickel mine, both run by Americans - in the 1950s (with a fair amount of jumping around to other time periods). I enjoy a book that is narrated from several different points of view when it's done well. This one was not. It was clunky and confusing, went from first person to third person and back. The story would have flowed much better if the author had stuck to one third person narrator. I enjoy historical fiction when it's done well. This one was not. I'm not real familiar with the revolution in Cuba. But my sense is that Kushner took a lot of liberties with the historical characters - Fidel and Raul Castro in particular - and she threw in cameos of Hemingway and Sartre, among others, that served no purpose to the story. I love metaphors when they're done well. Some of Kushner's metaphors made me smile or nod, but many made me groan. From the same page, here are two examples: "Paris resituated to the tropics, with its humidity, deluges, and brine, was like a transplanted organ a body had begun to reject." *smile* "...a layer of rhetorical dust piling on the cryptic words like lint from a vacuum cleaner bag." *wha? groan* One thing Kushner did well was to show how American imperialism has affected countries like Cuba and Haiti. I hated most of the characters, their pomposity and privilege, their sense of entitlement and their racism. And the ruination of such exquisite land for a profit by the big corporations that take and take and take and give back so little. And we wonder why Cubans, Mexicans, et al want to leave their countries and come to America? For the most part, we've left them with little or nothing.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(3 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Home Safe
by
Elizabeth Berg
teelgee
, September 30, 2009
I was leaning toward a 3 rating for this newest of Berg's books - it felt predictable and a bit ho hum. But it really picked up for me toward the end and turned out to be not so predictable after all. The story centers on 59 year old Helen, a novelist who's been recently widowed. She hasn't been able to write since her husband's death; it becomes apparent that she was dependent on him for many things and she must find her way through the maze of finances, home repair and navigating around her city of Chicago. She comes to depend on her 27 year old daughter Tessa a bit too much and is also forced to let go of trying to control Tessa's life. There are many nice moments and bits of prose in this novel. I especially liked the writings of the adult students she taught (an experiment in diversity). Berg was able to come up with consistent voices for each of the students, and these scenes showed glimpses of astonishing writing by people who wouldn't consider themselves writers or be considered writers by others.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
The Earth Hums in B Flat
by
Mari Strachan
teelgee
, September 23, 2009
I seem to be drawn to books narrated by adolescent girls lately. Perhaps it's because there's something so true and honest about them and that they're full of questions, trying to find their way into the complicated and confusing world of adults. Gwenni Morgan tells the story of her family and that of some of the other residents in her small Welsh village. Her family is coming apart at the seams throughout this journey. Gwenni makes some startling discoveries about them and about other townsfolk as she plays detective while trying to find a missing man, the father of two young girls she sometimes babysits. There is a touch of magical realism to the novel; Gwenni believes she can fly in her dreams and has some premonitions. She strives to fly while she's awake. Her older sister thinks she's loony and her mother fears that others will think her odd. Her father loves unconditionally. This is a beautifully told story of family, love, coming of age and honesty.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Garden Spells
by
Sarah Addison Allen
teelgee
, August 20, 2009
A book that pretends to be magical realism but is really just trite, poorly written romance. Predictable, cliche, irritating.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Girls
by
Lori Lansens
teelgee
, August 20, 2009
Rose and Ruby are identical twin sisters. They've never seen each other's faces, except in mirrors. They are conjoined twins, joined at the skull; separation is impossible without both of them dying. This book grabbed me from the first paragraph. As the story unfolds, the girls are approaching their 30th birthday. Rose is writing her autobiography, which of course, must include Ruby's story too. Reluctantly, Ruby begins to add to the book; neither of them read what the other has written. Rose tells the story of their birth - it happens during a rare tornado in southern Ontario; their birth mother abandons them and they are adopted by the nurse who delivers them. Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash give them a loving home and a strong sense of self. Lovey defends them fiercely -- and will not tolerate self pity. Rose and Ruby's relationship is complex and touching and sad and lovely. They literally don't see the same things and their stories don't always jive. Their personalities are quite different, and they struggle with the same issues as most children, teens and young adults. One reviewer thought this book was morbid. I thought it was stunning; Lansen did a remarkable job of staying true to each character's voice and of addressing the unique challenges of Rose and Ruby and still portraying them as so normal in their responses and emotions, as they should be. Another reviewer thought that Lansens had no right to tell this story -- because, presumably, she isn't a conjoined twin--?? I couldn't disagree more. She tells it with great compassion, tenderness, humor and respect. Highest recommendation.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
At Risk
by
Cornwell, Patricia
teelgee
, August 20, 2009
I read this for a book group. I admit, I started this book with an attitude. It's not a genre I care for. I know there are some good books in the detective genre, but this is not one of them. Lazy writing, bad dialogue, no characterization to speak of. The only good thing about it is it's short and I only gave up a couple of hours of my reading time for it. Not recommended, even to those who like detective novels.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(0 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Wilderness
by
Samantha Harvey
teelgee
, August 20, 2009
Wow. What an amazing book. The story of Jacob - Jake - who has Alzheimer's. This novel is written in a spiral -- circling around events of Jake's life as he remembers them, then circling back with additions or subtractions to the events; echoes, mirrors, parallels.... In the wrong hands this book could have been a mess, but Harvey writes it exquisitely, with great care and skill. Highly recommended.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
by
Katherine Howe
teelgee
, August 20, 2009
I thought I would love this book; it had all the right ingredients: historical fiction, a story about witchcraft - the Salem trials, healers, "cunning" women - with a bit of mystery thrown in. But it ended up being a cross between Harry Potter, The DaVinci Code and Garden Spells (a book I detested). Howe spent way too much time in the 1991 story of Connie and Sam -- with a most predictable budding romance from the moment Sam rappels from the church ceiling. I prefer my historical fiction to remain in the past. Howe was inconsistent with the overdone Boston accent; it was clunky, hard to read and didn't ring true. Plus, I didn't really care for the main character, Connie. None of the characters were fleshed out as much as they could have been; they were all overdone caricatures of academics and hippies. Howe's afterword was very interesting. She cites Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's work, A Midwife's Tale as an inspiration for parts of this book. I think Howe would do well to follow in Ulrich's footsteps and stick to research and nonfiction. She's a talented writer, but this book just fell flat for me.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Invention of Everything Else
by
Samantha Hunt
teelgee
, August 20, 2009
Fantastic writing and storytelling. Very creative. Historical fiction/fantasy about Nikola Tesla, a scientist and inventor whose contributions to electrical and magnetic discoveries are vastly underrated. Hunt's writing is accessible and fascinating, both historically and creatively. It was a fun book to read. Highly recommend.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Day The Falls Stood Still
by
Cathy Mari Buchanan
teelgee
, August 20, 2009
This is a very well-written book about faith, love, mysticism, following your heart and -- Niagara Falls. Fascinating history of the beginnings of hydroelectric power at the Falls and the environmental impact of dams being noted even then (1915-1923). Bess Heath narrates her story. She is a willful 17 year old when she meets Tom Cole, grandson of the legendary Fergus Cole who had a mystical relationship with the river and managed to rescue numerous people during his life there. Tom seems to have acquired Fergus's talents. Tom realizes the negative impact the power plants are having on the river and the plants and animals that live there; he is compromised when he's offered a job with the "Hydro" for wages he's only dreamed of. This story has the components of good historical fiction, a good love story and the characters' examinations of faith and integrity told through good straightforward writing. Highly recommend.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Little Stranger
by
Sarah Waters
teelgee
, May 24, 2009
This was touted as a ghost story with a haunted house to rival Shirley Jackson's The Haunting. So of course with a setup like that, I was prepared to have my socks knocked off. It really turns out to be a study in human behavior; much of it bumps along about a burgeoning romance and, frankly, not a lot happens. In that way I was disappointed. But Waters is a tremendous writer and it held my interest - though not as much as her other books, all of which I've read and adored and which were much edgier than this one. I would have enjoyed it more if my darn expectations wouldn't have gotten in the way!
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Road Home
by
Rose Tremain
teelgee
, January 13, 2009
Excellent story of immigrants finding the way through the maze of employment, housing, food. In this case, the main character is from Eastern Europe immigrating to London. Great character development, heartwarming story. Tremain is a wonderful writer and this book is deserving of its Orange Prize for Fiction.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment