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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
Michael Miller has commented on (9) products
Italian Ways On & Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo
by
Tim Parks
Michael Miller
, October 21, 2014
Two trips to Italy and I love the country: the people, the smells, riding the rails. The writer captures all the past glory and past - and present - failure and madness that is the Italian railway system. His committment ride to far off places and end-of-the-line locales is admirable and confusing and fraught with delays, no trains, missed trains, and colorful anecdotes. Somehow, all the bureaucracy and shifting enforcements makes me even more enamored with the country.
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Beautiful Ruins
by
Jess Walter
Michael Miller
, January 02, 2013
Forget the craggy Italian backdrop. Or the flitting glimpse of Hollywood royalty. This novel captures a love unrequited with such honesty and heartache that, despite all the other great books I read this year, it stayed with me to such a delightful and painful degree.
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Beautiful Ruins
by
Jess Walter
Michael Miller
, August 06, 2012
Of course, some pining for another trip to Italy might be in-play here... The novel traces a heartwarming and heartbreaking path for its characters over 5 decades. And though Hollywood heavyweights Richard Burton (an active participant) and Elizabeth Taylor (by mention only) figure into the plot, it's the created patrons of Jess Walter's novel that take the stage and deliver a powerful, crushing, maddening story, all while leading to an emotional and just ending. I'm recommending this to everyone!
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Ready Player One
by
Cline, Ernest
Michael Miller
, January 09, 2012
I had a lot of books that blew me away this past year...but I daresay none of them were quite as (overall) fun and nostalgic as this one. All the 80's geek culture one could possible cram in to one book is here, and yet it felt very organic in how it was arranged. Nothing felt forced - and I cared about the characters and their journey throughout. Just an incredibly witty and hilarious take on what the resurrection of hope in a dystopic future might look like.
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Busy Monsters
by
William Giraldi
Michael Miller
, September 01, 2011
It's so hard to determine a favorite book, so I decided to go with a recent favorite book. I picked this up on a lark, having remembered reading about it on some site. And I have to say, it's refreshing to read a book that cares about language and character as much as "Busy Monsters" does, without sacrificing story and humor. At its core, this novel is about a man trying to win back his woman. How he goes about it, the cast of characters he meets, the zany adventures, the divergent suggestions...all these blend together to create an inane sort of Odyssey for the main character. What I really liked was the fact that the chapters are written as though the main character is posting them as his serially-published memoirs. And the fact the characters critique his writing from previous installments and a sort of nod-and-a-wink/4th wall breakdown that really adds another level of hilarity.
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Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
by
David Mitchell
Michael Miller
, January 03, 2011
For a novel so historically and technically sound as this one, the plot is jolting. David Mitchell propels the reader along at a nice clip, while still taking time to allow us to eavesdrop on gambling games, Japanese politics, merchant goings-on... The story is engrossing, and because so meticulously researched, the setting and activities/movements feel natural, welcoming. It's an immersive experience. And the central plot is gut-wrenching, inspiring; it's sad and redeeming. Highly recommended.
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by
Junot Diaz
Michael Miller
, January 04, 2010
For reasons very obvious to those who read this, never has a book stayed in my head quite as much as Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao". The blend of fantasy, culture, love-ache, and curses, left an indelible mark on me and made me reconsider what constitutes a great novel.
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Motel Life
by
Willy Vlautin
Michael Miller
, November 20, 2008
I found this novel to be so gritty, dirty, seedy, and yet - beneath all the grime - wonderfully sentimental. The brothers foster in each other a buoyancy that contradicts their "on the fringe" lives. It was such a sad story that was uplifting at the same time, something that speaks to a realistic set of characters struggling to achieve happiness despite the odds stacked against them.
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(10 of 16 readers found this comment helpful)
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Jitterbug Perfume
by
Tom Robbins
Michael Miller
, June 07, 2007
First time reading this author - very good mix of genuine emotion, wit, humor, sexuality. It spans thousands of years, thus technically qualifying it as an epic about...beets.
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(24 of 49 readers found this comment helpful)
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