Lists
by Jeremy Garber, November 26, 2021 8:37 AM
Before we say adios, au revoir, arrivederci, auf wiedersehen, do svidaniya, or sayonara to 2021, we offer one last roundup of the world’s finest literature in (English) translation, combining releases for both November and December. Whether you’re seeking gift ideas for your worldly friends and family or simply new titles to help you while away the winter months, below you’ll find the year’s most expansive selection of fascinating fiction from afar...
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Lists
by Rhianna Walton, November 24, 2021 8:51 AM
This list is dedicated to serious readers who enjoy a pun in the oven and murder with two lumps.
Written to be read in one fireside sitting, with a stack of Scottie shortbread and bottomless tea, cozy mysteries must be the most soothing form of popular fiction around, despite their high body count. With their idyllic settings and sweet recipes, cozies are tailor-made for holiday reading; but since yuletide murder isn’t for everyone, and there aren’t a latke new Hanukkah mysteries, I’ve included a handful of fantastic new cozies without an ornament in sight, but which feel like a holiday nonetheless.
Eggnog Trifle Trouble (Murder in the Mix #28)
by Addison Moore
Lottie Lemon sees dead… pets. She’s also the baker of Honey Hollow, and prepping for the Jingle Hop Ball, managing a love triangle, and being six months pregnant are enough to worry about without stumbling upon a corpse in the snow (again)...
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Lists
by Powell's Books, November 22, 2021 8:22 AM
It's a Powell's tradition to ask some of our favorite authors about the books they're gifting this holiday season. Here
are 16 hot recommendations straight from the writer's desk.
 Eager by Ben
Goldfarb
To: All those who love the trees — and every last Oregonian
From: Wendy N. Wagner, author of The Deer Kings...
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Lists
by Gigi Little, November 19, 2021 8:58 AM
I don’t know about you, but at this time of year (read: any time of year), one of the most satisfying and comforting things to me is cooking (read: cooking and eating… okay, read: cooking and eating and eating and eating). Of course, as we head into the holidays, it’s expected that visions of pies and cookies and stuffing dance in our heads, but why limit ourselves to traditional holiday fare?
With victuals as varied as prawn and catfish stew, pork-and-homemade-kimchi mandu, stromboli with arrabbiata, peanut butter cup banana bread, lemon verbena kombucha, and something called pizza salad...
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City of Readers
by Powell's Books, November 17, 2021 9:37 AM
The Children’s Book Bank is an award-winning local nonprofit that collects, cleans, sorts, and redistributes books to children in need. Run by a small, dedicated staff and a host of volunteers, the Children’s Book Bank has distributed over 650,000 books and counting to eager young readers in the Portland area. Today, we sit down with Program Manager Jessica Levay to talk about being seen and understood through the transformative act of reading...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, November 12, 2021 9:41 AM
As we put together a roundup of notable 2021 releases for Native American Heritage Month, we were struck by the immense variety we found: moving memoirs, engrossing genre fiction, artful novels, and informative nonfiction. Despite the diversity of these books, they all share a common purpose: honoring the past while asking difficult questions about the present. And that’s exactly what we’re looking for when we select a title to expand our understanding of the lives of the Indigenous peoples of America.
Dog Flowers
by Danielle Geller
After her mother’s early death, Danielle Geller, a trained archivist, was faced with collecting her mother’s meager effects. She set about using the documents, diaries, and photos — all contained in a single suitcase — as a roadmap to tell the often very difficult story of her mother’s life, and her own. This memoir is deeply personal and truly moving...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, November 9, 2021 9:27 AM
Can a year’s worth of fiction really be distilled into a short list of the very best work? If you like a book, it’s good; there’s no value in snobbery. But there are always books that shift to the top of the pile, through exemplary prose, or intriguing situations, unusual characters, and narrators who see right through into the heart of you. This is the short list of the books that amazed us in 2021, and we think they’ll amaze you too.
Afterparties
by Anthony Veasna So
This collection of stories about the Cambodian American community in central California
is funny, insightful, and exuberant. Anthony Veasna So was an author with an eye for both the precision of the
telling detail and the generalized weight of history...
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Ask Aunt Paige
by Aunt Paige, November 5, 2021 9:22 AM
Give me a hey-ho! Give me a Na No! Give me a Wri Mo! And… that’s about as hip as it gets around here, cats and
kittens. But I am genuinely excited about NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, a free program happening rightnow that encourages novelists of all ages and experiences to spend the month writing,
writing, writing and connecting with other people who write too.
Last month, I asked readers to send me their questions about NaNoWriMo. From Why participate? to Is the
publishing world against me?, read on for answers to the most common questions I received...
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Lists
by Emily B., November 2, 2021 10:35 AM
What a year. If 2020 was the longest year ever, 2021 must be a contender for the shortest. The promise of "hot vax summer" faded away in a haze of boiling temperatures, continued worry, and safety precautions, and time slipped away like a field mouse not shaking the grass...*
On the bright side, authors have stepped into the breach to fill our time during the unanticipated continuation of our voluntary home confinement. From incredible graphic memoirs and pop culture deep dives to urgent reckonings with racism and poetic reflections on our Anthropocenic age, 2021 has offered up some amazing nonfiction books. They've instructed us, engrossed us, sustained us, opened our minds, and diversified our points of view. We hope you love them as much as we do...
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Lists
by Rhianna Walton, October 25, 2021 4:43 PM
What a year for escaping into a book! Monsters, space wars, fairy tales, illicit kisses... the plot doesn't have to be light or the characters likable for a novel to pull you into its embrace and away from reality, for a time. We all have our bookish kryptonite, but if science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, or graphic novels are your weakness, I encourage you to explore the 14 phenomenal books below.
Artemisia
by Nathalie Ferlut and Tamia Baudouin (Trans. Maelle Doliveux)
An example of when judging a book by its exquisitely gorgeous cover pays off, Artemisia, a French graphic novel about the life of 17th-century painter Artemisia Gentileschi, draws the reader into the sumptuous visual environment of Baroque Italy while recounting the abuse and difficulties Gentileschi encountered on her way to becoming one of the era’s foremost artists. Art lovers will be enchanted by Tamia Baudouin’s vibrant illustrations, often in homage to Gentileschi’s style and famous works, but Gentileschi’s incredible life story will engage anyone...
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