At Powell's, our book buyers select all the new books in our vast inventory. If we need a book recommendation, we turn to our team of resident experts. Need a gift idea for a fan of vampire novels? Looking for a guide that will best demonstrate how to knit argyle socks? Need a book for a vegetarian who loves Radiohead and Flight of the Conchords? Email your question to [email protected]. We'll be posting personalized recommendations regularly.Q: I love intense memoirs by American women. I've read lots of them, including books by Cheryl Strayed, Lidia Yuknavitch, Mary Karr, Jeannette Walls, Dorothy Allison, Haven Kimmel, and others. Are there any coming out now or soon that I may not have heard of yet? – Xenia
A: Have you read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson? – Tom
Christa Parravani: Her, Emily Rapp: The Still Point of the Turning World, Sonali Deraniyagala: Wave, and Domenica Ruta: With or Without You. – Jeremy
I enthusiastically second Tom's Winterson rec. Also in the memoir/novel genre-blending camp, check out Eileen Myles's Inferno (A Poet's Novel). And this list wouldn't be complete without the inclusion of Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. – Kim
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Q: I'm a big reader of contemporary fiction; I particularly love books that deal with history and facts in creative ways. Favorite authors of mine include W. G. Sebald, Ricardo Piglia, William T. Vollmann, Javier Marías. I haven't been reading nearly enough writing by women this summer, so I'm looking for a recommendation on that front. I generally go for translated stuff: Spanish, German... whatever, really. I would love to read a contemporary translated novel that deals in some way with historical events written by a woman. Any ideas? – Walter
A: I'd recommend Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009. Most of her work takes place in her native Romania during the Ceausescu regime. I'd start off with either The Appointment or The Land of Green Plums. – Shawn
Clarice Lispector: The Hour of the Star or Near to the Wild Heart, and Laura Restrepo: Isle of Passion or Leopard in the Sun. – Jeremy
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Q: I'd love your recommendations for contemporary literary fiction. I just finished Bobcat and Other Stories by Rebecca Lee, a solid collection. I'm now enjoying Marisa Silver's Mary Coin. What should I read next? – Suzanne
A: The Polish Boxer by Edeardo Halfon or Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. – Gerry
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Merra. – Shawn
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Q: I'm going to Finland for three weeks and I'd love to read some Finland-related literature! I've got long flights and even longer layovers ahead of me, so variety is what I'm seeking. I'm totally open to anything from Finnish authors to stories taking place in Finland to historical literature... you name it. – Lindsey
A: Check out James Thompson. He's an American but has spent considerable time in Finland and currently lives there with his Finnish wife. He has four titles so far in his Inspector Vaara series, the first of which is Snow Angels. – Tom
Finnish author Tove Jansson is a real staff favorite here. She's probably best known for creating the Moomin series for children, but her adult titles are excellent as well. In the last few years, New York Review Books has released several of her books, which include introductions by contemporary authors. I'd recommend starting with The Summer Book and then Fair Play or The True Deceiver. – Shawn
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Q: I am traveling with a typewriter to type free poems for people while my love and partner sketches. I just finished reading Oliver Sacks's An Anthropologist on Mars and I've been on a nonfiction binge for a while. My partner is currently reading War and War by László Krasznahorkai (translated into English). He's got a copy of Salinger's Nine Stories (which I read in high school and fell in love with alongside Holden Caulfield). I'm starting Anaïs Nin's second volume of journals. What should we read next? – Billimarie
A: Have you read Erik Larson? His books have been out for a while, but he writes narrative nonfiction like the best lit. I liked Issac's Storm, but The Devil in the White City is the most riveting story of the creation of the Chicago World's Fair and mass murderer who used it as his hunting ground. – Kathi
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Q: My boyfriend and I will be taking a month-long road trip cross-country and back, and I would love to take along a book or two that involve some sort of road trip theme. I would prefer nonfiction, but I'm open to fiction as well. I've been reading lists and have a few ideas — On the Road always comes up but I've already read it. Travels with Charley also gets mentioned a lot, as well as Blue Highways and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, none of which I have read, but I thought I would see if I could get some more ideas. I'd like to read something a little newer, if possible.
I'd also be interested in suggestions for audiobooks so my boyfriend and I can share something during the long drives. I'd love something funny to listen to — it was just suggested to me today, by another customer at Powell's, that I pick up something by David Sedaris. – Ashton
A: If you don't mind the subject matter, Jeremy Irons's reading of Lolita is excellent. – Gerry
You should absolutely read Steinbeck's Travels with Charley — it's timeless and poignant. Also, Bill Bryson: The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America or A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, Chuck Klosterman: Killing Yourself to Live, Edward Abbey: Desert Solitaire, or Hunter S. Thompson: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. – Jeremy
Sarah Vowell is great in print and on audio. I'd suggest Assassination Vacation or The Partly Cloudy Patriot, especially if you like a bit of American history in your travels. – Jen
Bill Bryson is hilarious. Lost Continent came out in 2001 but the audio came out this year. Also consider Driving Mr. Albert by Michael Paterniti, a funny and fascinating book about a road trip with Einstein's brain. And for a road novel, Jonathan Evison's The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving just came out in paperback. He's a favorite around here. – Kathi
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Q: How can I resist requesting a personalized recommendation from Powell's? I loved The Sense of an Ending, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Gilead, The Night Circus, The Earth Hums in B Flat, Olive Kitteridge (and all of Elizabeth Strout's books), The Inhabited World, to name a few. – John
A: The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka or Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. – Shawn