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
Mels Musings has commented on (10) products
Great Lenore
by
Jm Tohline
Mels Musings
, January 22, 2012
I read this book "in one exhilarating sitting", as Mr. Tohline says. The writing is charming and reminiscent of an earlier age, perhaps the twenties. The characters are well-drawn and likeable (for the most part.) And the mystery of Lenore carries you through the book to arrive at the shocking ending. It's a glimpse into the affluent life of Nantucket high society, all the quirks, the dreams and the lifestyle. The plot will have you guessing, and the mystery will drive you through the book without coming up for air. I highly recommend this short novel. I know I'll keep it and read it again.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
A Certain Slant of Light
by
Cynthia Thayer
Mels Musings
, November 19, 2011
This wonderful book truly shows life in rural Maine, revealing both the drudgery and the joy of fully living off the land. One feels present in the tiny cabin from which the main character, Peter, sets forth daily to perform his endless chores. The complex familial relationships are as compelling as the eventual unfolding of the tragic story. We are allowed into Peter's mind, and the secrets it holds, in only small flashes, so the story reveals itself in a halting, flickering manner, the only way Peter can allow himself to think about his family and their terrible ending. The other character, Elaine, who literally stumbles into his lonely world, is an enigma as well. Pregnant and deeply troubled, she keeps her own secrets hidden until their revelation is inevitable. Cynthia Thayer has a special gift for poetic description. Her passages concerning Peter's bagpipes and his deep relationship with them, for example, bring an unexpected beauty to the otherwise prosaic instrument and infuse it with such a powerful presence that the reader may even hear the music and long for it to continue. A Certain Slant of Light illuminates two strong, damaged people and the building of their relationship in an honest and very readable way.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Book Of Negroes
by
Lawrence Hill
Mels Musings
, October 08, 2011
Aminita will be a character burned onto your heart forever. The main character of "The Book of Negroes" (published in the U.S. as "Someone Knows My Name") is a strong, heroic woman. Her history will touch you and leave you changed. The title is based on a little-known document, the book of negroes, which recorded the names and descriptions of 3,000 African-American slaves who escaped to the British lines during the American Revolution and were evacuated by British ships to points in Nova Scotia as freedmen. The story itself revolves around Aminita, from her childhood in an African village to her status as a revered but misunderstood symbol of abolition. The book is unstoppable reading, simply hard to put down. You travel step-by-step with Aminita, and the journey is harrowing, joyful and ultimately worthwhile. Here is an excerpt, a small sample of Mr. Hill's evocative writing. 'Let me begin with a caveat to any and all who find these pages. Do not trust large bodies of water, and do not cross them. If you, Dear Reader, have an African hue and find yourself led toward water with vanishing shores, seize your freedom by any means necessary. And cultivate distrust of the colour pink. Pink is taken as the colour of innocence, the colour of childhood, but as it spills across the water in the light of the dying sun, do not fall into its pretty path. There, right underneath, lies a bottomless graveyard of children, mothers and men. I shudder to imagine all the Africans rocking in the deep. Every time I have sailed the seas, I have had the sense of gliding over the unburied. Some people call the sunset a creation of extraordinary beauty, and proof of God's existence. But what benevolent force would bewitch the human spirit by choosing pink to light the path of a slave vessel?'
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Salvage the Bones
by
Jesmyn Ward
Mels Musings
, September 12, 2011
One of the best books I've read recently this story takes place before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. It opens with the birth of China the pitbull's puppies and, through the eyes of Esch, the 12-year-old daughter of the family, it spins a story of love, poverty, trust and hardship. Esch's family consists of all men. Her brother Skeetah, who owns, tends and nearly worships China, Randall, the oldest, a budding basketball star who takes care of the family when the father is too drunk to do so, and Junior is the smallest of the boys, by turns confused and hurt by life. China herself,is a main character and the money her puppies could bring would fulfill a dream for at least one family member. The lead-up to the hurricane is desultory, she is a vague threat that no one seems to take too seriously. When she hits, she is terrifying and we're swept along in the fear and horror of her rage. Afterward, we wander the coast with her characters, awed and confused by the scale of the destruction. "There is a house sitting in the middle of the road, facing us, like it guards the secrets we will find farther in." The prose is fluid and lovely even poetic at times. Read this book- a remarkable, well-written and touching story.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Before Ever After
by
Samantha Sotto
Mels Musings
, September 09, 2011
What a great book! It's a love story, an historical novel, a mythology and a detective story all in one. The characters are intriguing and well-drawn, the story moves along at a rapid pace, and you are kept on the edge of your seat right up to the end.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Dominance
by
Will Lavender
Mels Musings
, August 08, 2011
What a ride! The tale takes place in the past and the present, slipping from one plot line to the other easily. There are many similarities in the stories, and both focus on the intelligent Alex and the sinister but even more intelligent Richard Aldiss, her mentor and teacher. In the past she takes his night class and works on a puzzle to exonerate her professor of the murder charges that keep him in prison. The night class is taught by Richard from prison, making those scenes very tense and mysterious. In the present her old classmates join her to mourn the death of one of their own and the mystery continues as the now free, but still creepy, Dr. Aldiss, insists that someone from the night class committed the murder. Well-written and fast-paced, it's an intelligent mystery. As the book goes on, the chapters get shorter and shorter, creating a sense of urgency as Alex is in danger in both the past and present. I would recommend the novel highly.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Kings of Colorado
by
David E Hilton
Mels Musings
, July 23, 2011
This is a terrific story of childhood friendship and hardship. Will Shepherd's dad is an abusive drunk. When Will is 13 he's had enough and stabs his father. That's where the book starts. Will gets sentenced to a reformatory on a ranch high in the Colorado Rockies. There's no escape and many reasons to want to. The author relays the difficulties and horrors the boys go through without getting overly graphic. A group of the boys become fast friends and their support of each other makes their lives a little bit easier. This book really grabs you, and moves along quickly. It's a good story, told well. I recommend it.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Fight Club MTI
by
Chuck Palahniuk
Mels Musings
, July 17, 2011
Chuck Palahniuk reminds me of Jerzy Kozinski and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. When you read his books, you are taken into disturbing worlds where things are turned upside down and you are upset, even appalled at times by his visions. I am a reader who loves the type of book that makes you think and question your perspective on the world, so I adored Fight Club. It centers around a man who hates his job, hates his life, and is beginning to reject and be angered by consumerism. His growing insomnia sends him to the doctor, who advises that he should go to a support group about testicular cancer, to see "what real suffering is". This is one plot line as he becomes deeply involved in these groups. Another plot line is about the actual fight club, how it comes about, the rules, and what it morphs into. Then the novel explodes with a plot twist that will have you reeling. A truly interesting psychological journey. I recommend this book highly.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Dreams of Joy
by
Lisa See
Mels Musings
, June 15, 2011
I only wish I'd started at the beginning of this series. The novel stands on its own, however, and is a wonderful tale of family love and motherly courage. It doesn't hurt that it's played out against the background of Mao's Great Leap Forward. Ms. See has clearly studied her history of this period, and it rings true. Her writing is so vivid that you feel you are in the small village as the people clang pots and pans day and night in an effort to keep all the sparrows in flight. She portrays the mother's dismay at the new Shanghai, and her poignant memories of a time when the city was vibrant and fun, in a very believable way. The mother remembers a time of youth and parties, love and excitement which makes the Shanghai she returns to all even bleaker. Read it, you won't be disappointed!
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(2 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Under the Dome
by
Stephen King
Mels Musings
, May 31, 2011
Stephen King fans will love this book. The size, over a thousand pages, won't daunt anyone who read "The Stand" or "It". It's King at his best; a Maine town full of interesting characters, both good and bad; a fight between evil and good; tales of corruption and insanity. The premise is simple- what happens if a small town is suddenly submerged under an impregnable dome? The slow realization of what it means as the townspeople struggle for supplies, power and ultimately for air, makes for a great read. The interaction of the characters is what makes it a great King book.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment