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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
Erika Szymanski has commented on (13) products
Home Comforts The Art & Science of Keeping House
by
Cheryl Mendelson
Erika Szymanski
, December 10, 2013
This is indeed a remarkably thorough, well-researched, and generally well-written compendium. Just beware: reading it will make you feel inadequate, and will probably prompt you to wonder how (and whether) the author manages to keep up with all of her own recommendations. This is not a book for the busy multi-hat homekeeper...unless you're willing to take it with more than the recommended daily allowance of salt grains.
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Voices of Silence Lives of the Trappists Today
by
Frank Bianco
Erika Szymanski
, September 01, 2011
If you want to laugh, cry, be inspired, and finish a lazy-Saturday read before Monday morning, read this. Regardless of your experience -- or lack thereof -- with monks, and no matter your faith -- or lack thereof -- something in these stories will speak to you.
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Washington Wines & Wineries 2nd Edition
by
Paul Gregutt
Erika Szymanski
, January 01, 2011
Well-named, the only reasonably comprehensive and solidly informative guide to Washington as wine-country and Washington wineries. Indispensible for anyone interested in the topic.
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Summer Of The Great Grandmother Book 2
by
Madeleine LEngle
Erika Szymanski
, November 14, 2010
An unparalleled (in my reading experience) discussion of death and dying, disguised in L'Engle's always-engrossing memoir story-telling style. This is the only book I've read that is gentle and hard-hitting, thought-provoking and easy to read, challenging but fun all at the same time.
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Frugal Gourmet On Our Immigrant Ancestor
by
Jeff Smith
Erika Szymanski
, July 19, 2010
This is one of those marvelous cookbooks that is as much story as recipe collection. In this case, the story is a collection of stories, a world tour of cuisines and cultures. "Frug" prefaces recipes from each "immigrant ancestor" with a few pages about their way of life and of eating, what drove them to become American immigrants, and how they have adapted to their new country. Even better, the recipes are reliably good and most of them are easily accessible for the average american cook. This has become one of my standby references for recipes and for cultural information alike.
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Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works
by
Erik Spiekermann
Erika Szymanski
, July 05, 2010
This is NOT just a book for graphic designers or advertising agents or people in marketing or business or any other "just" category that might come to your mind. Everyone works with type in some way -- even by reading it if not by creating or using it. This book will forever more change the way that you look at a page of text, make the next one you create much easier and more enjoyable to read, entertain you in the meantime, and say it all briefly enough to get you back to your favorite novel in no time.
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Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back... & How You Can, Too
by
Shauna James Ahern
Erika Szymanski
, June 12, 2010
This book is tremendously inspiring even for folks -- like myself -- who don't have to eat gluten-free. Whether you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity or neither of the above, this is a wonderful example of how life-changing blessings can emerge from adversity.
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Under Heaven
by
Guy Gavriel Kay
Erika Szymanski
, June 06, 2010
There are fantasy novels with enthralling plots, and there are (fewer) truly well-written fantasy novels, but rare it is to find a truly well-written fantasy novel with an enthralling plot. This is such a book: elegant, sustaining, intelligent, and fun.
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When Do Fish Sleep
by
David Feldman
Erika Szymanski
, June 06, 2010
This is the perfect bathroom book. Like Feldman's other "Imponderable" books, it answers a slew of those random questions that pop into your head while riding in elevators or making a salad or watching the fish tank in the dentist's office, but to which no one ever seems to have the answers. Feldman finds the answer, then relates it in an understandable and almost inevitably humorous fashion. Yes, learning can be fun!
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Passionate Vegetarian
by
Crescent Dragonwagon
Erika Szymanski
, June 03, 2010
Dragonwagon could have titled this book, "The Vegetarian Bible: New Translation," but she saved us the cliche. This really is a scriptural tome of everything vegetarian, from breakfasts to appetizers to plain and fancy dinners to desserts and even baking. In contrast to so many veggie cookbooks, her emphasis throughout is on using a minimum of dairy, eggs, and added fats. Every recipe I've tried is a hit, maybe because Dragonwagon gives copious but very readable introductions to each new concept. Hooray!
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Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread a Country Inn Cookbook
by
Crescent Dragonwagon
Erika Szymanski
, June 02, 2010
Which to praise first: the recipes, or the anecdotes and fantastic writing style? Both are outstanding! This is my turn-to cookbook for soups; many have become favorite, tried-and-true standbys. This is also my turn-to cookbook for good-old food comfort reading, with funny and informative and touching stories throughout. I almost feel as though I know Ms. Dragonwagon by now!
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E.M. Forster's a Passage to India
by
E. M. Forster and Martin Sherman
Erika Szymanski
, February 09, 2010
An eye-opening insight into the culture of British India from a Brit, true, but with an incredibly balanced vision of British colonization and the oh-so-peculiar culture that emerged there. From "bottled peas" to the eloquent speech of the main native Indian character, Forster's typically beautiful polished prose is saved from elitism by a tremendous snide sense of humor. Period, but definitely not dated.
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Before Green Gables: The Prequel to Anne of Green Gables
by
Budge Wilson
Erika Szymanski
, December 14, 2009
Shameless imitation, or the sincerest form of flattery? When I first picked up Before Green Gables , my initial repulsion by anyone other than L.M. Montgomery herself daring to write of beloved Anne Shirley was overwhelmed by lifelong adoration of the Green Gables saga. Was Butch Wilson’s prequel just one more attempt to enfranchise a popular character for her own profit? Soon, I was so engrossed by the narrative that I forgot having ever asked the question. Anyone who, like me, grew up idolizing “That Anne girl” is likely to have the same experience. Before Green Gables describes everything only hinted about Anne’s childhood in the original Green Gables tales. Wilson takes the crumbs Anne drops about her early days, mixes them with the butter of a plot, a little sugar to sweeten the story, and her own flavorings, and bakes them into a cake that tastes mighty similar to the main ingredient with a new warmth all its own. From recreating Walter and Bertha Shirley – Anne’s parents – to the train ride that finally carries Anne to her new life at Greens Gables, the reader follows the endearing orphan girl from one troubled foster home to the next. One can’t help but love the ever-unloved little girl as she reacts – sometimes with anger, almost always with fortitude – to the miserable daily life and occasional beatific joys that will shape her uncommon character. Admirably and unlike so many similar attempts, the prequel treads very close to Montgomery’s stories. Without double-checking every detail, I noticed only a very few points at which Anne’s newly-invented childhood might not match her recollections -- and Montgomery’s story – later in life. What’s more, Wilson matches Montgomery’s style, nearly creating the illusion that this could be a long-lost member of the originals. I did feel that Wilson occasionally compromised exact authenticity, making Anne’s early days a bit brighter for the sake of her own book. Before Green Gables is not a timeless literary masterpiece. If you are turned off by any smack of sappiness; if you would rather wash diapers than watch most made-for-TV movies, you probably won’t enjoy it. Anyone who isn’t familiar with Anne of Green Gables will likely find the prequel less appealing, too, though she or he might be inspired to search out and enjoy Montgomery’s work. All this said, Before Green Gables is likely to delight the tried-and-true Anne devotee, satisfying that itch that so often comes at the end of a beloved series of books: “Gosh, but I wish there was one more!”
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