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
Amy Sawatzky has commented on (12) products
Last Policeman
by
Ben H Winters
Amy Sawatzky
, August 05, 2015
In some ways a police procedural but in other ways a vehicle for philosophy on the human condition. The humor is in the observations of extreme understatement and absurdity. The premise: a massive meteor has 100% likelihood of hitting the earth in 6months time and life on earth is expected to end as a result. Americans are responding accordingly; some are running off to finish bucket lists, others are in denial, many are ending their lives early. A conscientious detective is assigned an apparent suicide and decides to investigate it as a possible homicide despite evidence to the contrary and his colleagues' ambivalence. Perhaps Detective Palace is deluding himself that a crime has occurred and that his actions still have meaning despite the rest of the world giving up. If that is true, then we should judge him that working his job is simply going through the motions and a waste of the precious time left. And we are left to wonder, if the world-ending metaphor wasn’t present, are the conclusions drawn from it still apt? If that sounds heavy, you should know that there is plenty of levity to balance out the philosophical musings as when trying to get information from a subject: "He doesn’t remember. I stare at him, standing there, still smirking. It’s such a fine line with some people, whether they’re playing dumb or being dumb." The American society described is actually a pretty logical one; cost controls put in place to prevent massive inflation, a thriving blackmarket, a run on guns, an influx of members to new and old religions, insurance companies shuttering their doors, poor cell and internet service due to lack of upkeep. It’s not the wild west of other examples in the apocalyptic genre which makes it believable and underscores the ‘do we behave differently?’ question. Highly recommended. Its actually a series and I’m torn whether to continue on or pretend that this was a stand-alone because it hit such a perfect note.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
All Of It
by
Jeannette Haien
Amy Sawatzky
, August 05, 2015
3.5+ stars. Read due to a passionate endorsement from Ann Patchett, whom I admire. This is a small, simple-seeming novella about a confession and the impact of the conversation on the receiving priest. Though the confession lies at the heart of the tale, the 'reveal' is actually barely touched on and doesn't really ripple through the tale or the reader, though it is keenly felt by the priest. Really, this is a vehicle to describe - in gorgeous prose - first independence, isolation, love of the land and yearning. So while the plot might lose some points with me, the turns of phrase and the empathy elicited caused me to enjoy the book deeply. The confessor is Enda, a 60-something, simply-speaking parishioner who struggles to read and had no family other than her recently departed husband Kevin. She is able to express their experiences as children so beautifully though one can't help but admire her as when describing Kevin's reaction to his first truly-free view from a hillock: "...he sat mute, in a paralysis of involvement , as might a man who hears a call from the dead and desires passionately to answer but cannot, being caught unready, and too amazed, and too glad for belief." Meanwhile the audience, Father Declan, who stands in for the reader, falls into a sort of spell of breath-held wonder at the scenes Enda describes and the range of emotions she reflects upon that still radiate from her person. For in the few days that the scenes unfold, death is all around - at the actual deathbed, the wake, the funeral - and Enda is bursting with life. Everything else pales.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Raven Cycle 03 Blue Lily Lily Blue
by
Maggie Stiefvater
Amy Sawatzky
, August 05, 2015
Finally (book 3) a near perfect story - the relationships move past small hurts and jealousies to true, tested but unshakable friendships. The female character while 'obsessed' with the Raven Boys serves as more than their observer and actually has a lush family and home life of her own to track. The writing is beautiful and magical as when describing Ronan's (non-magical) church: "But the church didn’t feel empty. It was claustrophobic with the scent of incense, vases of foreign lilies, reams of white cloth, the broken gaze of a sorrowing Christ. It bled with stories Adam didn’t know, rituals he would never do, connections he would never share. It was dense with a humming sort of history that made him feel light-headed." And the consequences of the local and personal magic are deeply felt and leave scars on the primary characters and the reader.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Acceptance (Southern Reach Trilogy #3)
by
Jeff Vandermeer
Amy Sawatzky
, November 11, 2014
Thank you Mr. Vandermeer for rewarding my struggle (patience? displacement? pain and suffering?) through Authority to wrap me up in Acceptance. Perhaps there's a reason the final third of the trilogy is named for the final stage of grief -- this was as visceral as the first two weird, beautiful, frustrating books and yet did draw me to submit by the end to the mystery and wonder that is Area X. The three stories are hard to describe to someone not entangled in their pages, but bottom line - the characters (victims) of the first two books, even those tangentially introduced, are handled with love and care to completion. Though they might not have chosen the same end to their stories, we the embattled readers may at least accept that those finales were somehow right.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Stumptown Volume 01
by
Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth
Amy Sawatzky
, August 16, 2014
I loved Rucka's "Whiteout" graphic novels so it was great to discover another crime story of his set in my hometown of Portland which Rucka faithfully puts on display (though perhaps emphasizing the more seedy side) my only criticism might be that the diversity of the stories' characters is a little wishful thinking for Portland. note that as with Whiteout, the book would be nothing without his illustrator (in this case Matthew Southworth, in Whiteout's case, Steve Lieber - the things that man could do with white space!)
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Goodbye for Now
by
Laurie Frankel
Amy Sawatzky
, June 24, 2013
I desperately want to figure out where I got the recommendation for this book so I can thank the person or institution that randomly put it on my 'to read' list. I rarely rate books 5 out of 5 stars but I sat down in an afternoon to start reading this book and I barely moved from the same spot well into the night until I finished it and started evangelizing about how "it is SO good!" the premise sounds weird but really isn't: a computer genius Sam, tries to do whatever he can to help his girlfriend Meredith through the grieving process after her beloved grandmother dies. But really that's not what it's about. It's about what loving relationships look like (in all their unique forms) and how everyone deals differently with the loss of that relationship and no one is prepared to do so, nor are their friends and family prepared to help them through their own process. It's about how love exists past the lives of the people doing the loving and how beautiful and hopeful and semi-tragic that may feel. For a book about a solution to the grieving process, it was so full of love and life and funny moments as to leave the reader intrigued but unburdened at the end - but expect the hardiest of souls to be at least a little teary-eyed. And for the geeks out there, it's a little "Ghost in the Machine" for you as well.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Beautiful Ruins
by
Jess Walter
Amy Sawatzky
, June 24, 2013
I took for-ev-er to get past the first chapter. Perhaps because it was already full of longing and a moment stretched out in time that will come to influence the rest of the events throughout the book. And I didn't feel up for longing or waiting for the story to really start. But once I made it past this chapter, I reveled in just those moments that meant so much in hindsight but were so fleeting in consideration at the time. And I realized my mistake in waiting 'for my movie to start' as the first character introduced describes about her own life. This was a beautiful, messy, sad, funny, happy, glorious story with an almost indescribable plot - but its worth it, so worth it. And if you feel you have nothing to do with the young poor Italian student whose father has recently passed or the 'dying' beautiful American actress who crosses his path in a time most of us can't remember, just wait - you will identify with them soon, as you might with nearly every other character who crosses your and their paths along this tale. What is it about? love of course, and doing the right thing, and getting over oneself, and missed opportunities, and opportunities missed while we were bemoaning other missed opportunities, and storytelling, and culture, and much more. But mostly about "the heart wants what it wants."
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Fault in Our Stars
by
John Green
Amy Sawatzky
, March 22, 2013
SO. DAMN. GOOD. I avoided this book despite the laurels and raves its received because simply, it is a story about a plucky teenager with terminal cancer. So one knows however clever and funny the tale, the reader will pay for it in anguish later. And yet.... this was a pleasure and a privilege to read, even when reaching the 'sucky' part. The truth is that Hazel and her friends are brilliant, breathing characters who made me laugh (A LOT)and who made the painful truth of their situations worth the while without being stereotypes of martyrdom. And the young love story is a reason for anyone to cheer. Even though I did cry (A LOT), I would read this again in a heartbeat.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Passage A Novel
by
Justin Cronin
Amy Sawatzky
, January 30, 2013
I borrowed this from the library because I'd read both raves and 'meh' reviews and was a little wary of 'another vampire' book but I was truly wowwed - this was a smart, fascinating read that kept getting better despite its length. Now I can't wait long enough for the library's copy of "The Twelve" to find out what happens next so I'm finally buying copies for myself. Of the three main acts, the 2nd act in First Settlement lagged a bit by the end though it did set up character backgrounds well. A well-imagined world, far closer to sci-fi than fantasy, with believable and varied characters. For anyone who enjoyed "World War Z" for its' socio-political-economical surmising, this is sure to be loved.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Saga: Volume 1
by
Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Amy Sawatzky
, January 14, 2013
Another seriously human but amazingly fantastical contribution to the graphic novel genre from Brian K Vaughan (I love "Y: The Last Man"). This book is for grownups and reads like a movie Joss Whedon and Tarantino might have teamed up for. The characters are well written, even for the short intros we've been allowed and the culture/politics/family relationships are many-layered. I look very much forward to the next installation!
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Bel Canto
by
Patchett, Ann
Amy Sawatzky
, January 03, 2013
of a mix of books read in 2012, this was by far my favorite - beautifully hopeful, heartwrenching and nearly magical. The tale of earnest guerrilas in a failed kidnapping-turned hostage scenario who bond with their multi-national captives (and vice versa) was lovely. I was haunted by the "what-if's" in the end for the tragedy of the inevitable finally breaking in to the eden created by kidnappers and hostages.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
True Grit
by
Charles Portis
Amy Sawatzky
, August 28, 2012
haven't seen the movie (either one) but picked up the book from Powell's recommended/sale table and ended up loving it. Mattie Ross is an amazing female character, especially for the time the tale was written, who reminds me of a young Katherine Hepburn. I loved the authenticity of her religious commentary such as how people struggle to believe in Election "but read James…and Acts… if it was good enough for Paul and James, it's good enough for me." I can see why this was made into a movie despite the action scenes being truly few and far between - it's much more about character development than plot points which lends to the tale's charm.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment