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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
clackamaslee has commented on (8) products
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long Term World Travel
by
Rolf Potts
clackamaslee
, April 24, 2014
This is a pretty simple book, designed for those who have never traveled but always felt the wanderlust itch in their feet. By "travel" I'm referring to long-term, low-budget travel. This is definitely not intended for the independently wealthy or those who don't know how to function without all of the conveniences of home. Nor is meant for the person who has a couple of weeks off of work and just wants to get out of town. There are many other books for those interested in that type of travel. Potts describes several different approaches to travel and refrains from passing judgment on any of them. He lays out the pros and cons of each style and lets you decide what's right for you. He provides some how-to, some what NOT to do, and dozens of resources. He is also continually adding to and updating the resources on his website. Somehow, he passes on all of this information without making the book feel like a typical travel book. I took six months off after college and traveled around the U.S. with my then-toddler son. Sustained travel can be difficult even in this country. When my son graduates high school, I plan to try long-term international travel. This book was a great jumping off point for me. I was surprisingly impressed and inspired.
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Long Walk
by
Stephen King, Stephen Bachman, Richard Bachman
clackamaslee
, April 03, 2014
This book is wonderfully exhausting. This is the original Hunger Game, or a cross between The Lottery and The Hunger Games, at least. The setting is spare, much like the square in The Lottery... just a road, the people on it, and the people watching... treating it like a game. You're selected by a drawing, but you have the opportunity to back out until it begins. Plenty of other 13-17 year old boys want to take your place. Only one can win, but The Prize is worth trying. And survival takes so much more than physical strength and desire to win. This might (MIGHT. I need to re-read The Running Man) be my favorite King book. I like the Bachman books because there is so much less paranormal bull-hooey in them. He focuses on the soul... on the psychological trauma we inflict on ourselves and each other. I'm not going to go into the premise of the book because I'm sure you already read the blurb and that's all that can really be said without spoilers. But I can say a few things about what I got out of it. You have to keep going. If you ever stop for more than a moment, the urge to not get up again can overpower you, so just. keep. going. People you meet along the way might drive you bananas, but they're on their own journey so you can only decide to either get to know them, or try to ignore them... you can't change where they are going without changing yourself. You'll make friends, but when the chips are down they are probably just trying to get by and looking out for themselves. Just keep going. We all die in the end but we can choose how far we get or at least how we go down. Maybe King didn't intend to convey that, but that's what I got out of it.
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Rule of the Bone
by
Russell Banks
clackamaslee
, September 19, 2013
I'm not sure whether I liked this book or hated it. Banks did a great job making Bone's narration sound authentic. But I got tired of hearing it. Bone's reactions to his upbringing was realistic. But since we don't find out about it until halfway in, the first half felt contrived and the situations Bone put himself in felt forced. That Bone was able to get on an international flight without a passport was ridiculous, though since it was 1995, it was slightly (VERY slightly) more plausible than it would be today. Working in adolescent addictions I'm torn as to whether this book would be good for the population I work with. On the one hand it would be good to see a book in which pot is actually treated like an addictive drug. In fact, Bone uses many of the same arguments and rationalizations that the work kids use. It's also good that this is a younger teen, since so many books that deal with these issues have older main characters that younger teens with the same issues get left out. Bone's inability to talk honestly with his mom (or anyone, for that matter) about abuses or her neglect is spot on. The dream of finding the absent parent is also. So there is a lot that the kids at work could relate to in this.... and maybe through Bone they could address some of their own thinking errors. But man oh man the TRIGGERS. The drug use, the abuse, the neglect, the running away, the ganja Rasta culture... and the fact that while Bone does start to make better choices, he is still led by the advice of a drug dealer and never starts looking for answers within himself. At the end of the book he is still looking for a magical wand (change of scenery) to make his life better. His character doesn't grow much.
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Bodily Harm The Breakthrough Treatment
by
Karen Conterio
clackamaslee
, September 19, 2013
I couldn't tell who the authors intended to read this book. There's some good information here, though if mental health practitioners were the target audience they probably already know the stats/success/relapse potential of self-harm. There is nothing new here for them. In all, this book read like an advertisement for the authors' system. The authors only worked with people who were willingly getting treatment, who were therefore likelier to succeed already. There was no good advice on how to help clients see that this is an unhealthy coping skill or how to help them replace it with a more productive skill. The writing was dry and didn't feel accessible to clients, if they were the target audience.
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Dark Life 01
by
Kat Falls
clackamaslee
, February 07, 2013
This book seemed geared for the middle school audience, but I still enjoyed it. It was a fun, quick read on a rainy day. The world that Falls created is intriguing... I kind of want to start a homestead of my own. Kids are pretty universally interested in marine life, even if they don't particularly enjoy the water. I'm pretty sure that the descriptions of the underwater farms and other parts of The Deep will fascinate younger readers. The story was predictable in parts, but then again, I'm not the target audience. The only character that didn't read flat to me was the main boy, Ty. But that is not unusual for first person narratives, and is appropriate for the level it was written for. All in all, this book is worth reading for ages ten to mid-teen. There's nothing here inappropriate for younger readers, and the writing style and vocabulary are simple. I expect to read the sequel.
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Seabiscuit An American Legend
by
Laura Hillenbrand
clackamaslee
, February 07, 2013
Wow. It is slow to start but picks up fast and WHAT an inspiring story! Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand is nonfiction that reads like a novel and it isn't just about the horse. Hillenbrand places the events in the world of the time so that the reader understands just how important this horse was to people during the Great Depression. She also paints a vivid picture of the PEOPLE who gave Seabiscuit a chance. She showed the reader just how much they risked personally by taking a chance which emotionally that HAD to take in order to truly find themselves or regain their status as men. Seriously, read this book.
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Rules Of Survival
by
Nancy Werlin
clackamaslee
, February 07, 2013
Oi... This was not a pleasant book. But it was very good. It is written in first person and takes the form of a letter that the narrator is writing for his youngest sister so that she can later understand the level of abuse they all suffered at the hands of their mother. Werlin described the incidents as they really would have been seen and interpreted by a boy of 13-14. Anyone who has been through childhood abuse will identify with Matthew and the walking on eggshells and constant gauging the mood of the abuser. They will understand his hope for a hero, and his fear of his hope. Readers will feel his frustration at the way adults don't really listen or take seriously the abuse until it's almost too late. Hopefully they'll understand why so many abused and neglected kids, particularly those with siblings to look after, don't tell anyone.... and don't just leave.
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Les Miserables New Unabridged Translation
by
Victor Hugo
clackamaslee
, January 10, 2013
Congratulations for considering the arduous undertaking of reading this tome! While Hugo's digressions into the battles of the day, the design of the sewers, and the backstories of characters who meet the primaries only in passing might occasionally bog you down, you'll find it time well spent. After all, this story is about "The wretched poor" not just the convict and the criminal. There are many more people to get to know. You won't be sorry! If you are looking for an unabridged English translation of what is one of the most inspiring works of fiction of all time, this is the one you want. The original translator was faithful to Hugo's prose. Then HIS translation was updated for readability while retaining the spirit of Hugo's poetry. There is a more recent translation of the unabridged work that tries to update Hugo fir accessibility. In my opinion (having read both, and several abridged editions, as this is my very favorite book) the more recent translation tries too hard to be modern. The woman who translated it uses far to much slang that is disturbingly anachronistic for the setting. This isn't a glamor magazine, it's classic literature. Translators need to keep that in mind. This is the translation that is understandable to English speakers without insulting the French. It is understandable to youth without offending the aged.
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