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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
Sarah Gilbert has commented on (7) products
Broken Homes & Gardens
by
Rebecca Kelley
Sarah Gilbert
, March 30, 2015
Read My rating: 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars[ 5 of 5 stars ] Broken Homes & Gardens by Rebecca Kelley (Goodreads Author) 4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 · rating details · 23 ratings · 21 reviews A girl, a guy, a broken-down house. Not exactly on-again, off-again, Malcolm and Joanna are in-again, out-again: in love, out of each other’s arms, in an awkward co-living arrangement, out of the country. Their unconventional relationship is the only way, Joanna says, to protect herself from the specter of commitment, which inevitably leads to heartbreak. "When Harry Met S ...more Paperback, 280 pages Expected publication: April 28th 2015 by Blank Slate Press ISBN 0991305884 (ISBN13: 9780991305889) setting Portland, Oregon (United States) other editions None found all editions | add a new edition | combine ...less detail edit details Get a copy: Amazon Stores �-� Libraries edit My Review Mar 13, 2015 rating 5 of 5 stars bookshelves modern-love-tales, read, this-portlandic-life, writers-i-know edit shelves status Read from March 13 to 29, 2015 format Paperback (edit) updates view all 4 status updates review Rebecca Kelley writes characters who are exactly as flawed and worthy of love as we are, and the cities that her characters inhabit are as flawed and worthy of love -- and passion! -- as are the people. The cities, in short, are characters too; Reno with its open pluckiness, its plain and verdant longing; Portland with its earnestness, its dripping moss-and-fern-covered trees, its stubborn belief in the possibility of pioneering in your own back yard. Yes, there is passion here, passion for place and for sex and for love that won't ever hurt anyone. Joanna is brilliant in her possession of that moral sense women develop in their late twenties after they've seen enough relationships fail; that surely the problem is solvable through sense and independence. In some ways I see, in Kelley's work, a thoroughly modern Jane Austen; this is Sense and Sensibility, Portland style. Austen's protagonists, too, believe they can save themselves from heartache if only they can enter into all affairs of love leading with their intellect and strength of character. Joanna has decided she can maintain control over her life -- the control she saw her mother lose more than a few times -- by setting ground rules, by never believing in a love that can last forever. By agreeing upfront to end a relationship the moment right before it "gets messy." She, Joanna, will never fall prey to that moviescreen moment, the one in which the protagonist locks herself away in her apartment to subsist on ice cream and tears for weeks! Joanna, with her introspective walks, her belief in problem solving, can always fix anything. That is, at least, what she believes. The more emotionally confusing the situation, the more Joanna seeks to control herself; when things get intensely confusing, Joanna gets creative. Malcolm presents a problem; he's a love interest she never, ever wants to lose. Given her pragmatic approach to love; the intention to end things before anyone gets hurt; Joanna's only solution is to keep Malcolm her "friend." Friends, after all, never get divorced, never cheat on you. Friends you can safely love forever. Joanna's passionate life's work, to keep herself safe from damaging heartbreak, fills this book with its delicious friendships and couplings, excursions into online dating, home improvement, vegetable gardening, and lots and lots of adventurous sex. Kelley handles the passion deftly, the way I imagine Austen would write sex scenes were she our contemporary; with intensity, truth, matter-of-factness, and humor. Sometimes she takes our breath away, sometimes she has us shaking our heads in agreement (her description of Joanna's sex with her boyfriend Nate had me laughing in familiarity; for the record, sweet love, this is long ago familiarity). What Kelley does most is give us a romantic heroine for our times, one who defines the conventional love-and-marriage not as the safe haven at the end of a romantic journey, but as a dangerous journey itself, one for which not everyone is suited. Her protagonists believe in love; but believe it's messy and fraught with peril and are only willing to trust others as far as they trust themselves. That's not very far, so when her protagonists DO take a leap, we can't help but leap with them.
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Food in Jars
by
Marisa McClellan
Sarah Gilbert
, June 19, 2012
That I should like Marisa's book is hardly a surprise, as I love her blog's mix of stories, basic preservation tips, jam and pickle recipes, and information on all sorts of foods she puts in jars. But I was still thrilled and surprised to see both the ordinary and delicious recipes and information -- like strawberry vanilla jam, and sweet and sour pickled onions -- with the unusual and inspirational recipes, like cantaloupe jam with vanilla, rosemary salt, cultured butter, and a quintet of granola recipes. I'll be finding tips, reference-style preserving information, and inspiration from this book for years (and it's absolutely going to be a gift for friends just beginning to explore Food in Jars).
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Wild
by
Cheryl Strayed
Sarah Gilbert
, March 18, 2012
Stories of healing rarely come off with intelligence and authenticity; the lowest of lows seldom come across, in the author's own voice, as much more than the complaint of foolishness. "Well, stop doing it!!" you want to say. And as the author scrabbles on hands and knees up the mountain of redemption, it frequently seems pathetic, obvious, the wounds clearly avoidable and not worth the detailed, gory description. Cheryl's dirty, rocky, bloody journey is literal; her scrapes and bruises and aching muscles are physical as well as figurative. It is a huge task to pull this off in a way that does not seem pat or beat-it-into-my-head-already obvious. She does the hardest thing -- integrating her physical journey with the difficulty that preceded it, her mother's sudden death from cancer, her subsequent infidelity and divorce and drug use, her own loss of faith -- in a way that was readable and emotional and wise. It also makes the reader, unexpectedly, yearn for a trip such as this. If there is not a doubling in Pacific Coast Trail attempts in 2013, I'll be amazed. If I'm not among them sometime in the next five years, I'll be even more dumbstruck. This book rings true to so many audiences, sings with relevance for those with such disparate struggles, I predict it will be the next big thing in spiritual journey-memoirs. For once, I think such a big thing is deserved.
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The City of Ember (City of Ember #1)
by
Jeanne Duprau
Sarah Gilbert
, November 17, 2010
A fast read and one that keeps the ugliness -- and the beauty and ingenuity -- of humanity close to the surface. It's certainly not a classic; four stars is for a young reader, who will devour this as a kind of intro-to science fiction, modern in tone and global conflicts. it's enough of a nailbiter to keep anyone reading through to the end; the puzzle aspect will interest readers who are into that sort of thing (I am) and enough what-ifs to keep adults engaged.
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Rapunzels Revenge
by
Shannon Hale
Sarah Gilbert
, November 10, 2010
I didn't expect to be quite so charmed and amused by a graphic novel; I didn't expect to be so smitten with a hardy girl hero (no heroine, this Rapunzel); I didn't expect to stay up past my boys' bedtime finishing the whole thing. While it's a little incongruous for a dedicated black-and-white novel reader to switch to the graphic novel format, it wasn't hard to slip into the world for an hour or so, not manga, but with all the kick-butt action and big-eyed sweetness its fans expect. I loved the way Rapunzel took the reins (literal, figurative) of the tale and led the whole thing, start to finish, laughing off her sidekick/love interest's offer of chivalry even at the point where a Disney character would have swooned (you know, past the hairdo-and-ballgown stage). there was no wiggling or waggling or lip service to traditional fairy tale roles. Rapunzel is badass start to finish, and I love that (especially as a role model for my eight-year-old boy).
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Alvin Ho 01 Allergic to Girls School & Other Scary Things
by
Lenore Look
Sarah Gilbert
, November 10, 2010
This book was a romp, silly and profound, laugh-out-loud funny and thoroughly wrought with the kind of belly-deep empathic truth parents of kids with emotional and behavioral disorders long for. Alvin is adorable in his fears, and though they seem hyberbolic at first glance, as you read further, you find that they're all utterly relatable. His friends, his fantastic family, his leaps of logic are all quintessentially American-of-the-now, and yet, endearingly reflective of his Chinese immigrant heritage. To a kid, he's not a Chinese American, he's another kid: one who is loved and lovable and whose story is worth reading.
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Momfulness Mothering with Mindfulness Compassion & Grace
by
Denise Roy
Sarah Gilbert
, April 21, 2010
Lively and heartfelt, this book provides a chance for mothers to reconnect with the spirituality of their role in their children's lives in the midst of the tasks that seem mundane; and gives practical, simple exercises, mantras and prayers to help you invest more fully in your life, to be more present and see more clearly the beauty of motherhood. The exercises are in little enough nuggets that you can tuck reading into your schedule, no matter how hectic or harried, and help slow yourself down *just enough* to get through.
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