Cart
|
|
my account
|
wish list
|
help
|
800-878-7323
Hello, |
Login
MENU
Browse
New Arrivals
Bestsellers
Featured Preorders
Award Winners
Audio Books
See All Subjects
Used
Staff Picks
Staff Picks
Picks of the Month
Bookseller Displays
50 Books for 50 Years
25 Best 21st Century Sci-Fi & Fantasy
25 PNW Books to Read Before You Die
25 Books From the 21st Century
25 Memoirs to Read Before You Die
25 Global Books to Read Before You Die
25 Women to Read Before You Die
25 Books to Read Before You Die
Gifts
Gift Cards & eGift Cards
Powell's Souvenirs
Journals and Notebooks
socks
Games
Sell Books
Blog
Events
Find A Store
Don't Miss
Spring Sale
Big Mood Sale
Teen Dream Sale
Powell's Author Events
Oregon Battle of the Books
Audio Books
Get the Powell's newsletter
Visit Our Stores
Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
(0 comment)
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...
Read More
»
Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
(0 comment)
Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
(0 comment)
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
Customer Comments
CarolynC has commented on (9) products
Elizabeth Is Missing
by
Emma Healey
CarolynC
, March 27, 2015
Really enjoyed this. I sat down to begin this book and found I'd read 50 pages before blinking. It's a fun and confusing read with lots of hints along the way that finally begin to make sense.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Spark Unseen
by
Sharon Cameron
CarolynC
, November 15, 2014
A Spark Unseen, is the sequel to The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron. This time we’re in Napoleon III’s Paris in the year 1854. Katherine has realized she must leave Stranwyne Keep, her Uncle Tilly’s estate in Devonshire, England to protect him and his amazing inventions. Fortunately her grandmother had a house with hidden rooms in Paris and Katherine wants to hide Uncle Tully there from the British and French governments and anyone else who may come looking. She is also determined to search for Lane who went to Paris at the conclusion of The Dark Unwinding and has since been reported dead. It is an exciting read and in plot and character, it is just as charming as the first novel. All of the surviving characters from the first novel return and we get to know the main ones and their background stories even better. It’s an easy book to keep reading and forget about everything else. There’s good reason to hope there we will have more of the delightful Stranwyne Keep in future sequels.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Iron Trial
by
Holly Black
CarolynC
, September 22, 2014
I am sure this series will be compared to Harry Potter and yes, there are similarities to that series as well as moments that made me remember the beginning of Hunger Games and Divergent. But The Iron Trial really has its own story and Callum Hunt does not turn out to be the next Harry Potter. The Iron Trial refers to the entrance exam into the Magisterium, a five-year school of magic: Iron, Copper, Bronze, Silver and Gold. First year students are in their Iron year. Callum does not want to attend the Magisterium and tries to fail. Still, he is selected and forced to go over the objections of only living parent, his father. Where The Iron Trial really excels I think is in its wonderful descriptions of the imaginative surroundings at the Magisterium. It’s exciting to picture the place and watch the characters discover its many delights. The Iron Trial drags a little, I think, when boring tedious tasks are assigned to be mastered by our group and it takes so long that this reader felt the tedium right along with the characters. I hope that as the series develops, so will the main characters. There is little Callum knows about himself, about who he is and so we are kept in the dark as well, for most of the book. I knew it is the first book in a five-book series and I liked the twists and turnabouts sprinkled throughout the plot. I particularly enjoyed the ending. It’s satisfying as a novel on its own as well as an inviting set up for the series. If you’re unsure whether or not you want to keep reading, I strongly suggest that you do. People and things are not as they appear.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
The Testament of Mary
by
Colm Toibin
CarolynC
, June 23, 2014
I loved listening to this work, read by Meryl Streep. I appreciated Toibin's take on Mary's grieving and the imaginative telling of her plight. Her voice is a soothing read of a text that is, at times, painful and difficult to think about. It's an intense, lyrical, and sorrowful reading. There are many touching lines expressing grief that may touch the reader in very personal ways. "I want time turned back. One more day before all this. I want to be able to imagine that all of this will not happen." A very memorable listen.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Pierced
by
Enger, Thomas
CarolynC
, May 22, 2014
Pierced is an exciting novel, chock-full of action and characters, all woven together into a complicated plot with lots of twists and turns. Translated from Norwegian, it is written in many short chapters, some as short as two pages. This style serves the story well, keeping events and plot turns coming quickly. The novel opens twenty two months after Henning Juul’s young son died in a fire (in Burned, the prequel) that Juul cannot fully remember. In Pierced, Hennng Juul lives one mystery while he tries to solve another. He is contacted by a convict who promises him information about that day if Juul will investigate his conviction which he claims was a set-up. The best part of the story, I thought, involved Thorlief Brenden, an innocent TV cameraman who finds himself caught up in events that don’t involve him and that he cannot understand. It is Brenden who pulled this reader into the action, trying to imaginine what she might do in similar circumstances, what she can do in various threatening situations. For much of the book, the fast-paced chapters swap back and forth between events involving Henning Juul and Thorlief Brenden. Pierced is Enger’s second novel in the Juul Henning series. I did not realize this as I was reading and didn’t feel that I needed to start with his first novel in the series, Burn. The ending does set things up for the next novel, although there is much that is resolved in Pierced. From the writer’s website, I learned he is planning to write a total of six novels for the series. So, if you like this one, Scarred, the third one is already available and three more are promised.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Dark Unwinding
by
Sharon Cameron
CarolynC
, April 27, 2014
The Dark Unwinding begins like this: “Warm sun and robin’s egg skies were inappropriate conditions for sending one’s uncle to a lunatic asylum.” Katherine Tulman is a seventeen-year-old orphan living in 1852 London with her Aunt Alice and cousin Robert, the heir of Uncle Tully’s entailed estate. Katherine clearly understands why her widowed Aunt Alice is sending her to Stranwyne, an isolated estate in the countryside. She is to assess her uncle’s mental stability and then recommend his commitment to an asylum so that the family inheritance can pass to Robert. What Katherine finds at Stranwyne is unexpected and full of surprises. One of the most charming aspects of this novel is the estate itself, with many quirks and peculiarities. Uncle Tully is another of the novel’s charms. He is a character I will not quickly forget. This is a very visual novel and a fun read. If you enjoy it as much as I did, you will be happy to know that there is a published sequel, A Spark Unseen.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Broken Strings
by
Nancy Means Wright
CarolynC
, March 02, 2014
What would you do if one of your friends died and the autopsy showed she had been poisoned? Fay Hubbard decides to investigate her friend’s murder. At the time of her death, the dead woman was in the middle of a puppeteer performance. Fay is a divorced goat farmer in her 50's. She is also foster mother to three young children. Most of the characters in Broken Strings are related by family, foster or adoptive. There are a lot of them and their relationships to each other can be complicated. You’ll want to keep track. One of the things I especially liked about the book was that their lives didn't necessarily focus around the murder. They were very busy people, just like real life. They had disorderly lives with issues and problems before the murder ever happened. Personally, I would have liked the ending to be clearer with more definitive resolutions. There were various theories, but in the end, none of them were actually confirmed. Still, it was a fun read, with interesting characters and I read the book quickly.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Officer & a Spy
by
Robert Harris
CarolynC
, February 14, 2014
You could say that this is the story of Alfred Dreyfus who was convicted for treason in Paris in 1895. But, oh, this historical thriller is much more than that. Even if you tend not to like historical fiction, you may very well like this book. It could be classified in several genres: a mystery, a thriller, espionage, conspiracy. My favorite quote: “If I pull back now… I’d be obliged to spend the rest of my life with the knowledge that when the moment came, I couldn’t rise to it. It would destroy me ��" I’d never be able to look at a painting or read a novel or listen to music again without a creeping sense of shame.” It’s a compelling read, written in a very engaging style with a lot of intensity and passion. It certainly made me think. My favorite kind of book.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
The Killing Woods
by
Christopher, Lucy
CarolynC
, December 28, 2013
It's a compelling YA mystery thriller read. Lots of twists and turns at the right pace to keep most readers interested. A dark story, with some elements that might not be appropriate for all teens. Engaging read, a page turner.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment