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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
Anthony in SF has commented on (4) products
Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets
by
Tyler Nordgren
Anthony in SF
, May 15, 2017
This short, lively, engaging book has me even more excited to see the upcoming total solar eclipse than I was before. Nordgren is a consummate storyteller. "Sun Moon Earth" weaves together Nordgren's own transformative personal experiences of past total solar eclipses, the history and mythology of eclipses, how natural philosophers and scientists have used eclipses to understand the universe and our place in it, what to expect during an eclipse, and how to prepare to observe one. While Nordgren is firmly in the scientific camp, he respects and appreciates the religious and spiritual responses people from different cultures throughout history have had to these otherworldly events. If you're making plans to see the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse -- the first visible from the continental United States since 1979 -- this book will help you get ready and enjoy the experience more deeply. And if you're not making plans yet, read this book and get motivated!
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The Martian
by
Andy Weir
Anthony in SF
, March 18, 2016
I just finished reading "The Martian", and I must live on a different planet from everybody else who has read and loved this book. The characters, including main character Mark Watney, the astronaut who is stranded on Mars, are all two-dimensional, without any depth or complexity. The plot is a monotonous cycle of catastrophes which Watney survives through improbable good luck and overcomes through pluck and ingenuity -- the novel as video game. The narrative point of view starts out as Watney's first-person log, and then after a few chapters shifts jarringly back and forth between Watney's log and the sort of bland third-person perspective typical of genre thrillers, with occasional forays into a God's-eye view during crucial moments. The most interesting aspect of the novel is author Andy Weir's detailed imagination of a credible NASA mission to Mars. But even as a story of engineering, it quickly becomes unbelievable. No human body would survive all the disasters Watney suffers, and he would not really be able to get off the planet and back to the mother ship Hermes in the way Weir constructs. The hard physical truth is that if you experience a series of disasters, any one of which should kill you, eventually one of them will kill you. People seem to read this novel as a testament to the indomitable human spirit. To me it is a horrifying catalog of some of the things that will go wrong if we are foolish enough to send humans to Mars. Mark Watney died on Sol 6.
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Monthly Sky Guide 8th Edition
by
Ian Ridpath
Anthony in SF
, November 18, 2011
This slender, inexpensive, lavishly illustrated volume is the best possible introduction for the beginning skywatcher. Ian Ridpath weaves together vivid descriptions of what you see in the sky with ancient mythology, the history of astronomy, and current scientific understanding. Will Tirion’s charts and illustrations are perfectly integrated with the text. Brief introductory chapters cover the basics of astronomy, how to get oriented and find your way around in the sky, and how to observe the planets and the moon, with detailed maps of the moon. Each monthly chapter includes a comprehensive all-sky map, a brief orientation to that month’s bright stars and prominent constellations, and in-depth discussion and atlas-quality charts of one or two important constellations. I refer to my now slightly dog-eared copy regularly for a couple of years now, and I've given away a half dozen as gifts.
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Starfinder Revised Edition
by
Carole Stott
Anthony in SF
, November 18, 2011
This is a lovely book and an excellent introduction to skywatching and astronomy for children and adults. The book is thoughtfully organized, beautifully laid out, and lavishly illustrated. The authors explain the material in simple language that is understandable to children but not condescending to adults. I have a copy myself and I'm buying another as a gift. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the night sky.
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