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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
monica moniker has commented on (9) products
South of the Border, West of the Sun
by
Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel
monica moniker
, August 20, 2012
Having just finished reading this book, moments ago, I feel it was a very sad book. But in a comforting way. Sometimes the sadness of the human spirit can be comforting. I'm not sure how exactly that works, but that is how this book made me feel. Murakami does a masterful job of creating mystery in the supporting characters of the book. It is incredible how short the novel is, but how much life he covers in it. This book was very different from the others of his I've read, but in a way it was the most down to earth. The most "real." Even though, be the end (and throughout) the characters did seem a little fantastical anyway. A really beautiful, wise and sad book.
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A Wild Sheep Chase
by
Haruki Murakami, Alfred Birnbaum
monica moniker
, August 18, 2012
It took me longer to get hooked on this book than on any other Murakami I've read, but it was worth it to stick with it because it got SO GOOD. Classic Murakami strangeness that I just love, and really well built up to the end.
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Between the Bridge & the River
by
Craig Ferguson
monica moniker
, August 17, 2012
This book was all over the place in a good way. It was crazy with so many things going on but somehow they all tied back up together and worked in the end. Very much like Craig Ferguson himself, in a way. I particularly enjoyed the storyline following George in Paris. This was a raw and dangerous book, and I felt like I was sampling something I'd never really tried reading before and it was thrilling, actually. Definitely recommended.
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After the Quake
by
Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin
monica moniker
, August 16, 2012
I am a huge fan of Murakami and I love both his novels and short stories. This collection was beautiful and I thought that the link between them of the Kobe earthquake was perfectly emphasized. For most of the stories, it was barely mentioned at all, but lent a very subtle undertone to the piece. Murakami's characters continue to fascinate me in their sort of, ordinariness. It makes those times when their lives are touched by magic or imagination absolutely engaging. My two favorites of the stories were probably "All God's Children Can Dance" and "Honey Pie."
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Of Mice & Men
by
John Steinbeck
monica moniker
, August 15, 2012
The short novel is really a special thing. Sitting down and reading a story in a day, a story so full of drama and action and emotion, isn't something you can always do with a longer book. This classic is a perfect length and is heartbreaking to the last page. It reads like an image before you and breathes in an incredibly human way. Never having had to read it in a high school class or some other academic setting, I was free to emote along with the book, and not feel pressured to analyze it. However, it is so perfectly constructed that my mind automatically saw the richness in the writing and the analysis took its own course and made the piece even more enjoyable.
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American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
by
Craig Ferguson
monica moniker
, August 13, 2012
Over the past year, Craig Ferguson has become one of my most favorite people. I admire his outlook on life, his morals, his sense of humor, his intelligence and his ability to connect with people on an extremely personal level. Reading his autobiography gave me a chance to get to know how he came to be the man I so greatly admire today. The stories of his life clip along in this truly enjoyable autobiography and I was left feeling nestled in the palm of his hand (this sounds really creepy, but his words and lessons and stories made me feel so comfortable, even if they were not the happiest stories). I felt this way because the book is incredibly honest and straight-forward, in the same way that he is every weeknight on The Late Late Show. A great read about a great life.
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Sputnik Sweetheart
by
Haruki Murakami and Philip Gabriel
monica moniker
, January 10, 2012
This is a beautiful slice of Murakami. It is shorter than some of his other books, but a perfectly mysterious bit of magical realism. Even though there are some fantastical elements, the tale lends itself more to the real side of things. It was refreshing to have some interesting female characters in a Murakami novel outnumber the male ones. This was a timely book for me to read, and I very much enjoyed it.
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Kafka On The Shore
by
Haruki Murakami and Philip Gabriel
monica moniker
, January 09, 2012
This is one of my favorite books I've read in the last year. It's dreamy feel and clever storytelling make it an irresistible book. I could not put it down. The back and forth between the narratives of the two main characters creates a need in the reader to keep going, to get to the bottom of things. I cared both about the young boy, Kafka and the strange and special man, as well as for their various companions. And any book that includes a fascinating library is a worth read, in my eyes. A compelling book, and absolutely masterful in its philosophy.
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The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by
Haruki Murakami
monica moniker
, January 02, 2012
This book was recommended to me by a professor and dear friend at my college who knew my taste and interests well and told me I shouldn't waste time in picking up this book. It took me a while to get ahold of it and also took a while to finish because it is long, but I was completely in love with it, and therefore having it alongside my life for several months. It is even dearer to me now, as that professor recently passed away very suddenly and now, this book, will forever be linked to his memory. It is a fantastic story, weaving the lives of several characters together in the strangest and most bizarre fashion, but somehow is completely believable. It is striking, thoughtful, beautiful, sexy, interesting and enveloping and I knowI will read it over and over again in my lifetime. It was the first Murakami book I'd read, and now I own about 12 of his books and have been working my way through them. He is my new favorite author, and this was a wonderful introduction to his world and the type of story he can tell. Absolutely recommended.
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