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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
Heidi Utz has commented on (2) products
Too Good to Be True A Memoir
by
Benjamin Anastas
Heidi Utz
, January 01, 2013
I read this book because the arc of my own story is similar to the author’s and I wanted to see how it affected him and what conclusions he drew from it. This memoir is set in the recent past, when publishing industry economics forced many of us verbal types to watch our jobs, career paths, bank accounts, lovers, and dreams fly out the window faster than a speeding bullet. In well-crafted prose that carefully avoids predictable platitudes, Anastas shows us a writer full of promise, educated at the best MFA program in the country, who authors well-reviewed volumes for esteemed publishers, then falls quite suddenly into a black hole. This is Job territory, where it’s all coming so fast and thick that it feels like a deeply personal, targeted attack: Marital strife and separation. Divorce. Abandonment. Unexpected fatherhood. Career failure. Poverty. Loss of self-confidence. And not knowing when, or if, it will ever end. Though much is lost on the outside, Anastas ultimately manages to gain the very insights into his family and past that give him a foothold toward exiting his pain. In a lovely final chapter, he begins to share his earned wisdom with his young son. He writes, “…The fog was thick and it kept roiling in, the darkness of the woods was looming all around you. I know that you will wander in someday. It’s inevitable in this life. There are shadows there to draw you deeper than you meant to go, voices that will leave you spellbound. I will not be there to stop you. I will not be there to call your name and make you turn back. There will be the woods, and there will be you. A boy with a flashlight.” And there is a flashlight here, though it’s not the big lantern-battery neon-yellow kind. It’s more the soft, gentle light thrown by someone who lives consciously and reflects on the page genuinely and wisely. For those who have been through the wringer-literary or otherwise - this book compels reading and reflection.
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Financial Lives of the Poets
by
Jess Walter
Heidi Utz
, January 01, 2013
This book is really the story of our uneasy times, something that should be easily related to by millions of Americans who have lost homes, jobs, spouses, and career paths over the last 5 years. Jess Walter is a hell of a writer. He portrays an endearing couple who are trying, at middle age, to figure out the landscape of this brave new world, where catastrophe looms much closer than it did just a decade ago, and even a small mistake can have disastrous consequences. Despite the gravity of the situation, the author's light touch makes it engaging and even compelling via his bone-dry humor, wryly drawn characters, and artful sentence pacing. I found myself laughing pretty much continuously throughout. Former journalists will especially relate to the protagonist's situation. Very much looking forward to reading Beautiful Ruins after thoroughly enjoying this one.
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