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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
Jennie C has commented on (4) products
Magicians Book 1
by
Lev Grossman
Jennie C
, November 26, 2014
This is easily the worst book I've read all year, and I read a lot of books. I almost didn't finish it, but I kept waiting for it to suddenly turn into the wonderful book that reviewers and critics have claimed it to be. JK Rowling and the estate of CS Lewis should be suing for plagiarism - except this interpretation of the two works is so completely flat and unappealing in every way that no decent author would want to admit to being its inspiration. If someone held a gun to my head I might consider reading the other two books in the trilogy - emphasis on the "MIGHT."
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Slow Regard of Silent Things: A Kingkiller Chronicle Novella
by
Patrick Rothfuss
Jennie C
, October 30, 2014
This book is kind of a funny little thing - there's no real plot; it's told in the third person but also reminiscent of stream of consciousness; it's strikingly poetic but undeniably prose; it only has one (animate) character (but several inanimate individuals drawn with unparalleled depth and emotion); and said character is either completely mad or the sanest one of us all. And despite - because of - all that, it's also best book I've read all year. All several years, in fact. It has all the things I love about Pat's books - beautiful use of language, compelling characterizations, and a way of looking at the world that is both remarkably original and stunningly accurate. It took me two nights to read this book, not because it was long or difficult, but because I was enjoying it so much that I wanted to have more time to savor the voice, rich detail, and imagery - and when I did finish it, I found myself compelled to promptly flip back re-read my favorite passages. You do need to have read The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear to understand the world in which this story takes place and the place of the main character therein - but then, if you're a fan of epic fantasy (and all around great literature), you need to read those books, anyway.
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California
by
Edan Lepucki
Jennie C
, June 05, 2014
Any time Powell's and Colbert team up, it HAS to be good! For those wanting an ebook, if you absolutely MUST have it in that form (personally I still love a good hardcover now and then, too, plus part of the point is sending the message), at least go through the link on "Discover" pull-down at the top and order from Kobo, so that Powell's still gets some percentage!
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The Name of the Wind
by
Patrick Rothfuss
Jennie C
, January 01, 2010
Relatively early in my reading years, I made mistake. I didn't know it at the time, and in my defense I was only eight years old with no way of knowing what I was getting myself into. You see, I read Tolkien first. I was a few years older when I started to delve into more modern fantasy, and found that I truly couldn't enjoy it. Everything I read seemed derivative, with very little originality displayed by the authors. Over the years, I pretty much stopped reading modern adult fantasy, sticking instead to the pre-Tolkien/Lewis authors, the sci-fi end of the genre, and young adult books, whose authors for some reason seemed to display at least some of the imagination that their adult audience counterparts lacked. I considered that I had set the bar too high, in terms of both technical skill and story, by starting with the master, but by that time there was nothing I could do. And then I read Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind. I was astounded and enthralled. For the couple of days it took me to read it, I even found my two-hour bus commute from Aloha to Lake Oswego downright enjoyable. From the opening words to final paragraph, the book left nothing wanting, and my only complaint is that it was over too soon (but fear not: sequels are forthcoming). Far from being yet another second-rate rehash of Tolkien, I discovered an entirely new world full of magic, mystery, and nuance. Complex characters meet in a resonating plot that moves through the forests, roads, cities, and wildernesses of a place so vividly painted that I was almost surprised to look up and discover that I was still in Oregon. If I had to pick one aspect of The Name of the Wind that is most noteworthy, it would have to be the imagery. From university laboratories to rich characters to making magic, Rothfuss chooses every word with an artist's skill to show his readers a world that leaps out of the page in every detail. Colored flames spring from one page, while on another the music of Kvothe's lute sings out as if he were in the same room, all entwined in the imaginative, original plot that stitches every element together and keeps the reader engaged to the last page and beyond. I wonder, then, if my big mistake wasn't so bad after all: while it has kept me from spending much time in the fantasy aisle at the bookstore, it has also given me a perspective from which to enjoy this truly terrific novel all the more. All things considered, I'd rather have a handful of great books on my shelf than an entire room full of mediocre ones. And Rothfuss has assuredly earned his place on that shelf – right beside my Tolkien, as a matter of fact.
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