Five Book Friday
by Powell's Staff, February 16, 2024 8:43 AM
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 I wanted to highlight the book that got the most love...
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Q&As
by Brontez Purnell, February 13, 2024 8:33 AM
Describe your latest book.
My latest book is Ten Bridges I've Burnt. It was originally called “Oath of Athenian Youth,” but it got changed cause only Anne Carson could get away with a book called “Oath of Athenian Youth” — and I'm just not Anne Carson (yet). It’s a memoir in verse but I'm playing with the idea that memoir is in fact — fiction...
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Lists
by Rachael P., February 8, 2024 8:39 AM
Ursula K. Le Guin is an Oregon icon and one of the best-known female science fiction writers. Most people interested in science fiction and fantasy have heard of her, but with such a large body of work, it can be difficult to figure out where to start! Here are my recommendations for layered, thought-provoking stories from Le Guin for many different interests...
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Q&As
by Suzie Miller, February 6, 2024 8:55 AM
Describe your latest book.
Prima Facie is my debut novel. The story formed in my mind while grappling with criminal law while I was a young law student, then coalesced into something that needed to find its form and voice while I was a lawyer interviewing hundreds of women who had been survivors of sexual assault. I then found the right time and place and wrote the play of Prima Facie...
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Playlists
by Christina Cooke, February 2, 2024 9:44 AM
Music is one of my most primal and fiercely held languages. It’s how I navigate the world, echo-locating myself in place and culture through the boom-tap-booms of sound. It started when I was four. One afternoon, my father picked me up from kindergarten in his red pickup truck and drove me through the thick of Mandeville traffic. Buckled in the backseat, I was humming; I was happy; we wouldn’t leave Jamaica for another eight years. We turned right into Mid-Way Mall...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, January 31, 2024 9:45 AM
New year, new books in translation! We’re so excited to be featuring our favorite new translated releases from the past two months. On this list, you’ll find a Hungarian exploration of Kafka’s relationship with his father; the story of a scandalous love affair from a late Italian author; a German novel about a lonely archivist; a Norwegian doctor’s friendship with a plastic skeleton; a Slovakian story about being young and alone in a metropolis; "a bewitching tale of memory, monsterhood..
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Rare Books
by Kirsten Berg, January 30, 2024 10:02 AM
Dear Sir:
We have read your story and are pleased with it. We could not publish it this year as the market is flooded at present with cheap fiction, but if you do not object to its being held over till next year, we will give you £25 for the copyright.
Yours Faithfully,
Ward, Lock & Co
October 30, 1886...
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Playlists
by Kaveh Akbar, January 26, 2024 9:20 AM
Martyr! is the debut novel from poet Kaveh Akbar. As you might expect, the language, the sentences, and the ideas are all exciting and vividly rendered with an intense musicality. This quality allows the novel to strike a fine balance: it is both a thoughtful novel of serious ideas and a propulsive intellectual romp. We’re overjoyed to feature it as one of our Picks of the Month.
The characters interact with and refer to music and musicians in myriad ways throughout, and we’re overjoyed to have, direct from the author himself, a playlist featuring all the music and musicians from the book...
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Original Essays
by Crystal Wilkinson, January 24, 2024 12:41 PM
We are so thrilled to be able to feature a recipe from Crystal Wilkinson's revelatory new cookbook, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts.
This is a mild chili, similar to the one I grew up with. It’s the perfect meal for a frosty fall evening. It’s perfect for a family of all spice preferences; you can increase the heat for those who want it (like my husband) or enjoy its tomatoey mildness. At my house, we now top it with a scoop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese and serve it with saltines...
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Five Book Friday
by Kat H., January 19, 2024 9:02 AM
In the coldest months of the year, the natural response of any bookworm is to bundle up with a blanket, some tea, and a homey book. We seek to warm the most frigid corners of our hearts and bring light to the darker seasons on earth — to reassure ourselves that even in dark times, hope and light will always return to us. In my experience, no subject is better suited to this task than tales of anthropomorphic adventure. From Aesop to Alice in Wonderland, stories of furry friends and their surprisingly...
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