Lists
by Powell's Staff, September 23, 2019 9:14 AM
Books are often banned for making readers uncomfortable. Sometimes that discomfort comes from having your worldview tested — Is your position on gender/sex/race/politics/religion/parenting valid? — and other times it’s inspired by how much you relate to a certain character or situation. Occasionally, this uneasiness derives from the intellectual and even physical pleasure of reading a good book about terrible things. Whatever the reason, almost everyone encounters a book at some point in their reading lives that makes them feel a little suspect.
This year for Banned Books Week, we asked our booksellers to share the reading experiences that made them uncomfortable...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, August 16, 2019 9:37 AM
It’s Bookstore Romance Day, a new nationwide initiative developed by bookseller Billie B. of Third Street Books aimed at celebrating romance novels and their readers. To get us in the mood to swoon, we've asked a few of our resident experts to share their favorite new romance novels.
Rebel
by Beverly Jenkins
I love historical romances, but I'm guilty of picking up books that cover obscure parts of English history and ignoring excellent authors writing about American history. My new favorite author is Beverly Jenkins and her books about powerful African American men and women after the Civil War.Rebel has one of her strongest leads yet...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, August 12, 2019 5:38 PM
When we published our first list of must-read books set in the Pacific Northwest, we knew it would be a popular and contentious feature, but we never anticipated that five years later we’d still be fielding passionate responses from our customers. When it was time to determine the theme for this year’s 25 Books to Read Before You Die list, we couldn’t resist the challenge of narrowing our favorites down further into what we consider a consummate selection of books written by Pacific Northwest authors.
A collection of old and recent books, expected authors and some who may be new to you, what the 25 books on our list have in common is the masterful prose, indelible characters, unique perspective, and profound gift for observation found in the very best fiction and nonfiction. Whether your passion is for short stories, nature writing, history, or literary fiction, you're guaranteed to find a stack of new reads to add to your bucket list...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, July 22, 2019 4:50 PM
Unless you've been living in a cave (and if so: Where is it, and may we join you?) it would be impossible to avoid the impression that the international news — and public discourse about it — have been heating up faster than our mild Oregon summer. It's exhilarating and exhausting and disheartening and galvanizing, but do you know what it's not? Relaxing. And while it's tempting to wake up each morning, check the headlines on your phone, and spend the next 16 hours in an anxious rage, it's summer. The sun is shining. It's seasonally and socially appropriate to eat ice cream in a bathing suit. It's okay to mute your news alerts and read a book just because it makes you happy.
Here are the new summer books that make us smile — or at the very least forget about the 2020 presidential race for a few hours. Some are crafty, others will help you plan the ultimate road trip, and many offer temporary escapes into fascinating places, real and imagined, like a private school for mages or Harper Lee's brain...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, June 21, 2019 9:58 AM
Let's face it: The world is in a weird place right now. This country is in a weird place right now. And the book industry is pretty much always in a weird place. With so much weirdness to contend with, thank goodness there are books — books that explain politics and relationships (or let us escape them entirely), books that explore art and science, books that dive into our history and others that imagine our future. The following are the best of the books we’ve read since January 1, 2019: We hope you read them too, and that they help to replace a little bit of that weird with a great deal more wonder.
Lanny
by Max Porter
The stage is set: Author Max Porter is the Pied Piper, and you are being called. Lanny will play your heart like a flute, luring you into its song of childhood landscapes, extending nature forward into its wild, animated state. And when the tune is complete, it will have fulfilled all its promises of consequence and heartbreak, in an astounding encore of reverie.
– Aubrey W.
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, April 26, 2019 9:08 AM
Tomorrow, Saturday, April 27, is Independent Bookstore Day, a one-day national party celebrating indie bookstores as part of the beating heart of their communities. Whether hosting author talks and story hours, providing restaurant recommendations to tourists or research help to students, or fiercely defending authors’ and customers’ first amendment rights, indies are so much more than places to buy novels and cute socks. Across the country, independent bookstores are among the increasingly rare public spaces where people can safely gather to share ideas, learn something new, and take a moment’s respite from a hectic, often digitized world.
Those of us who work in independent bookstores take pride in what we do. We’re here because we’re book nerds; nothing makes us happier than reading, talking about reading, anticipating our next read, and helping...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, March 15, 2019 9:24 AM
We asked... and we answered. Powell’s booksellers share the writers, characters, and books that most inspire us.
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What female author has had the biggest impact on your life?
Jane Austen: her dry and sly gentle sense of irony is such a constant joy. No one can emulate her. – Sheila N.
I read Virginia Woolf for the first time with a shock of recognition. YES! Here was life — the small beauties and horrors and sense of connection in the world I had felt but never articulated, put into words cut and polished and shining. The feeling of being seen was formative. – Patrick D....
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, December 28, 2018 11:22 AM
I plan to read everything published by Arsenal Pulp Press this year. Memoir, novels, poetry, cookbooks — this progressive Canadian press has a bit of everything and always impresses and inspires. A must for fans of queer lit and intersectionality! — Robin A.
This coming year I'm determined to rekindle my passion for children's picture books in the hopes that it pushes me to finally finish my own. The imagery and lessons found within these books have stuck with me through the years, both inspiring me as an artist and reminding me at all times to be the best version of myself I can possibly be. What a dream it would be to return that favor to the little humans of our future...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, December 7, 2018 9:38 AM
Without further ado, our favorite fiction from 2018.
The Pisces
by Melissa Broder
Sometimes I read a book that wrings me out so thoroughly I barely know who I am anymore. It's disturbing and disorienting, and although I'm glad it doesn't happen often, it is one of my very favorite things about reading. I had no idea that The Pisces was going to be one of those books. I was expecting a fluffy summer beach read about a hot merdude, and instead I got this book which absolutely destroyed me. I can't stop thinking about The Pisces; I already want to read it again...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, December 6, 2018 9:30 AM
Questions of reality, gender, race, love, crime, and, yes, psychedelics captivated our attention this year. Here are some of our favorite nonfiction books from 2018.
And Now We Have Everything
by Meaghan O'Connell
And Now We Have Everything is the most honest book about becoming a mom I've read. I don't have kids and don't know that I ever will, but I have a lot of anxieties about parenting and childrearing and Meaghan's writing aligns with them perfectly. This book is really funny in a kick-you-in-the-stomach kind of way, and I found myself laughing and sobbing a lot while reading it. As a childless bookseller, I wholeheartedly believe everyone — mothers in any sense of the term and others — would benefit from reading this book...
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