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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
Thomas Vest has commented on (10) products
One Hundred Nights of Hero
by
Isabel Greenberg
Thomas Vest
, April 04, 2017
A story about storytelling? Yes please and may I have some more. The power and tradition of oral storytelling depicted in a beautiful format makes for a fantastic read. Loved this book!
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The Life and Death of Sophie Stark
by
North, Anna
Thomas Vest
, August 18, 2015
Sophie Stark (the character) reminds me a bit of another flawed persona: Howard Roark. Roark, had exceptional talent to match his ego while Stark was maybe, just talented yet without ego- just the hard, sharp edges she could never figure out how to keep away from anyone who loved her. In The Life and Death of Sophie Stark, Anna North shows us the detachment with which Stark has lived her life, through the vignettes of those who were sucked into a near death spiral orbit- only to be ejected again back into the world- at a starting point which we never want to find ourselves: alone, raw, bleeding, longing- still loving what hurt us the most.
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Sweet Nothing
by
Richard Lange
Thomas Vest
, July 25, 2015
Once again, Richard Lange dazzles us with stories that straddle the seedier side of life: the broken, the lost, the down and out, those resurrected souls trying to keep their head above water- some making it, some just making do. Powerful and heartbreaking, Sweet Nothing, just like his first short story collection (Dead Boys), will be among the best books you will read this year.
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(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
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On the Move: A Life
by
Oliver Sacks
Thomas Vest
, July 21, 2015
A somewhat rambling memoir filled with a lifetime of effort, passion for knowledge and compassion for fellow man. Enjoyed this very much.
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Giovanni's Room
by
James Baldwin
Thomas Vest
, July 05, 2015
An agonizingly good story of a man struggling with the ideas of who he is and what he wants in life. In Giovanni's Room, Baldwin tells the tale of David, an American in 1950's Paris who finds himself revisiting past desires from his youth, with a newly found friend- Giovanni, an Italian barman. Over the course of this short novel, we watch David become complete and fall apart as he vacillates between his lover and a woman, to whom he has proposed marriage. This was wonderfully written and it is the first book of Baldwin's I've read, but certainly not the last.
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Wise Mans Fear The Kingkiller Chronicle Day Two
by
Patrick Rothfuss
Thomas Vest
, January 02, 2012
The greatest/dirtiest word in reviewing the fantasy genre is: Tolkien. Nearly impossible to live up to- yet, as a writer...you could only hope to skate by on the coattails that the Tolkien/Middle Earth genre afforded you. Patrick Rothfuss seems to have absorbed those Tolkien impossibilities, revered them, ignored them for what they are and then created one of the most amazing worlds you could ever want to teleport/time travel/wish yourself into. A Worldbuilder extraordinaire, Pat makes the actual fantasy that you are reading into reality. His first novel in the series (The Name of the Wind) was enough to blow your head off. In the follow up, you realize you are humbled by the fact that there is really no such thing as the sophomore slump in the Rothfuss house- and that Kvothe is the man you wish you could be. The Wise Man's Fear is the 2nd release of the Kingkiller Chronicles and it is BEYOND AMAZING. Read this NOW.
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Greater Journey Americans in Paris 1830 1900
by
David McCullough
Thomas Vest
, January 02, 2012
Rare is it that the non-fiction book you are reading leaves you wanting more. The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris is just that book. David McCullough is one of the (if not, THE #1 historian) best historical writers we have in the US. His additions to the American experience is what i love about history. You learn so much. You pratically have to force yourself to stop salivating for the next chapter in what you are reading. In "Americans in Paris", you find yourself wishing you could travel back in time to enjoy/re-live/imagine what Paris of the 19th century was like. One of the purest joys of reading I had in 2011.
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Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
by
David Mitchell
Thomas Vest
, January 17, 2011
Jacob is a Dutch clerk who hopes to earn his fortune with a trading company in order to marry a wealthy man’s daughter when he returns five years later. Upon landing in Japan in 1799, fate has other things in store for him. Young Jacob finds himself immediately embroiled in the politics of his outgoing/incoming superiors & he meets the lovely Orito, a local woman with whom contact is restricted. David Mitchell weaves an amazing story- historical fiction at its best.
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Mistress Of The Art Of Death
by
Ariana Franklin
Thomas Vest
, March 27, 2007
Franklin's "Mistress of the Art of Death" is like reading a CSI novel except it is set in the 12th century. An entertaining read that is difficult to put down after 20 pages and lucky for us, Dr. Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar will be back in a follow up book. Mistress of the Art of Death is a winner!
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Germ
by
Robert Liparulo
Thomas Vest
, January 02, 2007
A terrifying look at where the future of genetic/biowarfare might be headed with added skeptical conspiracy theory of where we may have already been as a human race. Similar in theme but much better than Crichton's "Next". Liparulo is an author to be on the look out for.
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(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
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