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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
JanB has commented on (14) products
We Are Okay
by
Nina Lacour
JanB
, November 25, 2017
I didn't get Marin at all in the beginning and couldn't understand why she did the things she did. But farther on in the book something clicked and I realized how much I understood her, and it was a bit scary, because if I was being honest it was because I saw so much of my younger self in her. Marin's cutting herself off from everyone and running away when she was in too much emotional pain felt familiar in a way, and I understood it. Did I think it was the wrong thing for her to do? Maybe. Maybe not. But it was all she could handle at the time, and so for her it was the only path she could take. I have to say though that everything about this book just pierced my heart. Seriously wounded me.
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Sycamore Row
by
John Grisham
JanB
, December 02, 2014
I've read every legal thriller that John Grisham has written. I was hooked after reading his first novel, A Time to Kill, the book that this one is the sequel to. He followed up with The Firm and The Pelican Brief, two more terrific entries into the legal thriller genre. After that, I wanted to read everything he wrote. I'll admit there have been a few that weren't exactly winners and some that almost stopped me from reading any more from this author. But I'm loyal and I stuck with him, and boy am I glad I did, because what a great read this one was. I really could not put it down. I really did try though. I wanted to finally go to bed and get some sleep, but stayed up until 2:30 am to finish it. My fuzzy head and bleary eyes the next morning were worth it though.
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Are You Experienced
by
Jordan Sonnenblick
JanB
, November 29, 2014
Rich’s parents are older than the parents of all his friends. They are also a whole lot stricter. They are very anti-drug and anti-alcohol and rule every aspect of his life. His dad is pretty much a hard ass and rides him constantly about everything. The only thing they have in common is playing the guitar. Rich knows that his uncle Michael died when he and his dad were both teenagers, but that’s all he knows. His dad never talks about his brother and shuts down completely whenever Rich tries to ask anything about him. Every year on the anniversary of Michael’s death he locks himself in his basement music room all night and plays his guitar. But somehow this year his father forgot to lock the closet that holds the guitars. Curious, Rich looks inside and finds Jimi Hendrix’s signed guitar. He knows he shouldn’t, but he can’t help himself. He takes out the guitar and plugs it into the amplifier. The next thing he knows, he’s lying on the ground with a group of people looking down on him. Oh, and it’s August of 1969 and he’s at Woodstock! And who are the people looking down at him? Oh, that would be his fifteen year old dad David, his eighteen year old uncle Michael, and Michael’s girlfriend Willow. During those three days at Woodstock Rich sees his dad in a whole new light. His fifteen year old dad is a happy, fun loving kid who, shock of all shocks, drinks alcohol, smokes dope, and yikes, makes out with a girl he just met! He and Rich (called Gabriel at Woodstock) hang out with two girls they just met, take off their clothes and swim naked in the pond (Rich wonders if they invented skinny-dipping when they did that), eat pot brownies, and spend hours standing in the rain and the mud with blankets around them, listening to the music. So what happened to his dad? How did he turn into such a strict, controlling dad who is always on Rich’s case about something? Why do they have such a lousy relationship with each other? Rich found out from his mom just before he went down to the basement music room that his uncle Mike died from a heroin overdose. She said that things started to go bad for him the weekend of Woodstock. Can Rich change the course of history for his dad and uncle, and possibly himself? Is that why he’s there? How can he fix things so his uncle doesn’t die? Can he keep him from using heroin? If his uncle doesn’t die, will he and his dad have a better relationship? Will his dad still marry his mom? If he doesn’t marry her then Rich most likely will not be born. Over those three days at Woodstock Rich’s uncle Mike clues him in on some painful family history that helps him understand his dad better and why he’s the way he is. Mike also lets slip a secret about himself and begs Rich not to tell David. Can Rich do that, or will telling him maybe change the way things worked out for them in the future? Rich does all he is able to do and tries as hard as he can to change the course of history and make things better for his family in the future.
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Prayers for Sale
by
Sandra Dallas
JanB
, December 15, 2013
This is the 6th book I’ve read by this author and it is definitely my favorite. The story takes place in 1936 with flashbacks to just after the Civil War. The location is Middle Swan, Colorado, a gold mining town high up in the mountains, where winters are long and conditions are harsh. 17 year old Nit and her husband Dick have just arrived and Nit is feeling lonesome for home and missing her family. She meets 86 year old Hennie, a 70 year resident of Middle Swan who takes her under her wing, introducing her everyone, becoming not only friend, but mother as well. Hennie has always been there to help those in need. I loved how nurturing she was and how she was such a good friend to everyone. She had such a kind and gentle way of giving to people the things they needed yet couldn’t afford. She gave them in a way that let them feel they were doing her a favor by taking the items and not accepting charity. A very sweet book with a very sweet ending. Highly recommended.
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Mistaken Identity
by
Lisa Scottoline
JanB
, November 12, 2012
This is one of my favorite Lisa Scottoline thrillers featuring lawyer Bennie Rosato. When Alice Connolly calls and asks Bennie to defend her on a murder charge, she never expects to find a client that looks exactly like her. Alice shocks Bennie by telling her "I'm your twin". Bennie knows she doesn't have a sister or a twin. She grew up as an only child of a single mother, one who never told her who her father was or mentioned anything about a sister. She can't ask her mother as she is now in a nursing home and doesn't communicate. Bennie reluctantly takes the case even though she doesn't like Alice at all and doesn't for one minute believe they are related. Through the course of the novel Bennie finds out secrets her mother kept, almost gets murdered when she digs for the truth about Alice's life, and works hard to save a client that she wishes she never met.
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Matched 01
by
Ally Condie
JanB
, November 08, 2012
This is an interesting and quick read about a utopian/dystopian society where the government, here called The Society, controls and decides every aspect of it's citizen's lives. Cancer, heart disease, and birth defects have all been eradicated. Because of natural selection people now live longer, healthier lives. Your job, where you live, and your ideal match for a mate are all chosen for you. Free will and choice no longer exist. What happens if you rebel, want to choose your own path, or question things you shouldn't be questioning? What if you are matched with your best friend who you love, but fall in love with someone else, an aberration who is not allowed to be matched?
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The Great Wide Sea
by
M.H. Herlong
JanB
, November 07, 2012
Although this isn't one of my favorite books for middle or young adult readers, I think a lot of kids would be interested in it, especially those who love stories with adventure and danger. Most of the story takes place on a sailboat. After their mother dies in an accident, their father deals with his grief by selling the house and all their possessions, forcing his three sons to leave their lives behind and move onto the sailboat for a year long trip through the islands that make up the Bahamas. I think it would have been a good idea to have a picture of the sailboat with all the parts labeled and a glossary of terms included in the back of the book. I found it hard to relate to some of the vocabulary when I didn’t understand so much of it. Words such as V berth, bow pulpit, forestay, splashway, and EPIRB made no sense to me. Being able to flip back to pictures or definitions would have been helpful to better visualize what was going on. It also takes away from the story if I have to constantly get on the internet to look something up while I’m in the middle of the story. It’s a good story on many levels. It is a story about coping after the loss of a loved one - in this case, mother and wife. It is a story about relationships and how they are tested when tragedy strikes. It’s a coming of age story and about learning to be a mature and responsible adult. It’s about brothers risking their lives to save each other and always being there. And it’s an adventure story with high drama, suspense, and excitement. It’s also educational with details about sailing and the Bahamas. Who knew there were hundreds of islands in the Bahamas? Not me. I think middle school students would love this book, especially boys. It would also make a great read aloud.
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Port Mortuary
by
Patricia Cornwell
JanB
, November 06, 2012
If you're looking for an engrossing and exciting Kay Scarpetta novel to dig into, keep looking, this one isn't it. Where Dr. Scarpetta was once a brilliant doctor who wasn't concerned with how others perceived her, she now obsesses constantly about everything she says and does and questions every decision she makes. She is a sad, paranoid, and barely recognizable Dr. Scarpetta. She has lost all her self-esteem and seems confused throughout most of the book. There is absolutely no passion between her and Benton, her FBI profiler husband. They relate to each other as one would a co-worker. I used to stay up past my bedtime to read a Scarpetta novel because I couldn't put it down. I could barely slog through this one and kept yawning and falling asleep after 4 or 5 pages. Conversations go on for endless page after page, repeating the same information over and over, but going nowhere. This will be my last Patricia Cornwell novel. There are too many other books out there much more deserving of my time.
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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by
Jamie Ford
JanB
, November 01, 2012
Whenever someone asks me what books I would recommend for them to read, this book is always at the top of the list. I can't think of a recent book that has touched me more than this one has. The story moves back and forth between the 1940's when Henry and Keiko first meet as the only non white students at school, and 1986 after Henry's wife has passed away. Henry and Keiko are best friends until she is sent away to an internment camp with her family. The beauty of this novel is in the richness of the relationships between Henry and Keiko, Henry and his father, and Henry and his adult son. The end of the book moved me so much that I was in tears, and for me that's the barometer I go by when judging a book. It doesn't matter if it's sad tears or tears of joy, if an author's words can affect me that deeply, then that's a great writer and a good book. This is one of the absolute best and should not be missed.
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State of Wonder
by
Ann Patchett
JanB
, November 01, 2012
I’ve always loved Ann Patchett’s novels and had heard great things about this one. I was expecting to be completely wowed by this book, especially since one review on the cover stated “this is her masterpiece”, and the back cover tells us it’s “a best book of the year”. I didn’t dislike it, I just wasn’t feeling the need to tell anyone “you have to read this book” after I finished. If I loved it and wanted to recommend it, I would definitely be telling others about it. Not this one though. I thought the concept for the book was good and it could have been a very rich and interesting story. None of the characters were likable and were all somewhat flat. I felt no emotional connection with the main character, Marina Singh, at all. The relationship she had with her boss did not seem the least bit believable or genuine. I did think her descriptions of the Amazon painted a wonderful and vivid sensory image of life in the jungle, You could almost hear the buzzing and ravenous mosquitoes, feel the oppressive heat, and the power of the storms. My skin was almost crawling reading about some of the bugs. I REALLY hate bugs! I learned that I enjoyed reading about the Amazon, but after reading this book I have absolutely no desire to ever go there!
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Olives Ocean
by
Kevin Henkes
JanB
, November 01, 2012
This is a beautiful coming of age novel most suitable for middle school readers. The day before Martha Boyle and her family are to leave for their annual summer visit to her grandmother's house on Cape Cod she receives a journal page from a former classmate's mother. The classmate, Olive, was killed on her bicycle a month before. Olive's journal entry speaks of her dreams for the future-to be a writer, see the ocean, and be friends with Martha Boyle, the nicest girl in her class. Olive was a new girl in school, someone without friends that no one took the time to know. Thoughts of Olive stay in Martha's mind as she spends her time at her grandmother's. This a character driven novel that focuses on Martha's growth and maturity over course of her visit. Martha experiences a deepening of her very special relationship with her grandmother, and her first love and first betrayal.
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Summer Rental
by
Mary Kay Andrews
JanB
, October 26, 2012
Along with Janet Evanovich, Mary Kay Andrews is my go to author for adult brain candy books; light, fun reads with likable characters and a little bit of romance and mystery. The author is a southerner with a wonderful sense of humor that she injects into all her characters. Locations are always some real or fictional southern town. The main character will have just gotten out out a bad relationship, been left by her no good husband, dumped for another woman, or possibly found her future husband with her best friend right before the wedding. The characters are fun and funny and I would love to hang out with most of them or have them in my circle of friends. I enjoy being in their world. Summer Rental has all of this and more. A quick and very enjoyable read.
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Inheritance of Loss
by
Kiran Desai
JanB
, October 26, 2012
I chose this book figuring it had to be good since it won the Man Booker prize and had reviews with glowing words of praise such as "extraordinary","sumptuously written", and "stunning". I was expecting a great read. Wow, what a let down. I could barely get through this book. I was alternately bored, confused, and disinterested, but kept plugging along hoping to finally understand why everyone loved it so much. I still don't know. I agree with one of the previous Powell's reviewers who wrote that "while the author was successful in pointing out the plight of native Indians at the hands of both Westerners and neighboring ethic groups, she fails miserably in making the reader care". I wholeheartedly agree. I didn't care at all what happened to any of the characters. There was no insight into why some of them behaved the way they did and their stories were just depressing. I've read plenty of books that are depressing that I would recommend. I was able to relate to the characters, felt empathy for them, and wanted to spend time with them along their journey. There was also growth, insights, and maybe enlightenment along the way. If there wasn't a happy ending at least there was some time of resolution by the end of the book. This book had none of that. I practically ran to the used bookstore to sell it as soon as I was finished, and I'm a person who keeps most of the books I read. I had no desire for this one to sit among the others in my bookcase.
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Out of My Mind
by
Draper, Sharon M.
JanB
, October 26, 2012
Moving and Insightful. This book will help you see differently abled children and adults with new eyes. Melody is a brilliant 11 year old girl with a photographic memory. She remembers everything she reads, hears, or sees. She is probably the smartest student in her school. Only problem is, no one knows this except her. Melody was diagnosed with cerebral palsy by doctors who don't believe she is capable of learning. She is confined to a wheelchair and cannot walk, speak, or do anything for herself. At school she spends her day in a classroom with other special needs children and teachers who recite the alphabet to her daily and have no clue what is going on inside her head. Stuck inside her head, Melody is literally "going out of her mind", not being able to communicate her needs or tell people to stop all the "baby" lessons. In 5th grade she begins attending a regular classroom for one period a day where she longs to join in the conversations and shout out all the answers to the teacher's questions.....all of which she knows. With the help of her supportive parents and a neighbor/caregiver, she is able to get a computerized talking device that allows her to speak for the first time. Melody doesn't hold back and some people are not prepared to hear what she has to say.
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