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Authors, readers, critics, media − and booksellers.

Lists

We Know What You Read This Summer: Book Recommendations From Powell's Customers

by Powell's Books, September 3, 2021 4:36 PM
What You're Reading Summer Challenge Customer Recommendatoons 2021 by Sarah Reif

During Powell's Summer Reading Challenge 2021 — our first-ever online challenge! — we received over 2600 submissions from 44 states and the District of Columbia. We heard from kids, teens, and adults of all ages, and were blown away by the diversity of everyone's favorite picks (out of the roughly 13,000 books read by participants this summer, over 9,000 of them were unique titles) and by the eloquence, wit, and enthusiasm of everyone's book reviews. Here is a list of a few of our favorites from kids and adults, lovingly compiled by reader recommendation fan and bookseller, Sarah R.

MOST IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON

Stuck Together (Pea, Bee, and Jay #1) Stuck Together (Pea, Bee, and Jay #1) 
by Brian “Smitty” Smith

"I liked Pea Bee and Jay because it tells you that even though you hear people are mean, they might not actually be. Jay was nice in real life even though Pea and Bee thought birds were mean." — Lilah M.





BEST USE OF A BOOK AS ESCAPISM

The Luminous Novel Migrations 
by Charlotte McConaghy

"Reading has allowed me to travel the world and inhabit different lives during the pandemic. I couldn't possibly pick one favorite, but a book that moved and surprised me was Charlotte McConaghy's Migrations. She masterfully evokes the cold inner landscape that can accompany our feelings of inadequacy, regret and fear, often reflecting it in the outer landscape as well, yet expressing it all with warmth and compassion. It's a thrilling, unique, heart breaking, uplifting read and I'm eager to read her new Once There Were Wolves." — Jeanne R.


BEST CAPTURE OF HOW IT FEELS TO READ A BOOK

Who Could That Be at This Hour (All the Wrong Questions #1) by Lemony Snicket "Who Could That Be at This Hour?" (All the Wrong Questions #1)
by Lemony Snicket

"All the Wrong Questions book 1 Who Could that Be at this hour was amazing to read! Edge of your seat, can't go to sleep until you finish the chapter and then try to start just one more before your mom notices, and then finally you just have to put the book down because there is so much to think about and your eyelids feel so heavy." — Fiona W.

A Total Waste of Space-Time! A Total Waste of Space-Time! 
by Jeffrey Brown

"A Total Waste of Space-Time is laugh-out-loud funny, literally! My mom kept reminding me my brother was sleeping, but I couldn't hold it in. I kept saying 'I know, sorry, mom, but just listen to this part....' Another keeper, i'll be saving up to buy this one for many re-reads in the future!" — Fiona W.




BEST USE OF A SIMILE

The Fifth Season (Broken Earth Trilogy #1) The Fifth Season (Broken Earth Trilogy #1)
by N. K. Jemisin

"An N. K. Jemisin book is like an ice cream sandwich on a hot day. As much as you want to savor it, that's just not going to happen. I refuse to take The Stone Sky out of the freezer until I have a long weekend and don't have to worry about sleeping." — Katherine S.




THE "DID SARAH WRITE THIS BLURB?" AWARD

84, Charing Cross Road 84, Charing Cross Road 
by Helene Hanff

"84, Charing Cross Road was the gemmiest of book gems. What an homage to not only books, but those who sell them. I think I might start writing letters to Indie booksellers." — Maggie M.






MOST SPECIFIC

Hug MachineHug Machine
by Scott Campbell

"In Hug Machine, I like when the hug machine hugs the ice cream truck." — Henry Sam F.




MOST CONCISE RAVE

The Butterfly LampshadeThe Butterfly Lampshade 
by Aimee Bender

"Every time I pick up a Bender book, I fall in love with language again." — Elizabeth H.







GOOD ENOUGH TO SELL US A BOOK YOU DIDN'T ENJOY

Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights 
by Emily Brontë

"Finally read Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Why is that a classic? Heathcliff is a violent, unpleasant, unlikeable, vindictive ass. The woman are generally infantile. Everyone is constantly rude and mean to each other. Why do they all stay there?" — Dorothy C.





MOST LIKELY TO TAKE YOU SOMEWHERE

One City’s WildernessOne City’s Wilderness 
by Marcy Houle

"One City's Wilderness: Portland's Forest Park has been my companion during this pandemic. I was inspired by a 20-year-old friend who is in great enough condition to hike the entire 30 miles during one day. Whew! I'm a little older at 67, but made it my goal to hike the entire Wildwood Trail... just not all at once. The book describes driving directions, trailheads, trails to a T. Wonderful guidebook!" — Deborah M.



MOST LIKELY TO CONVINCE THE BOOKSELLERS WHO WROTE THIS POST TO BUY THE BOOK

CultishCultish 
by Amanda Montell

"Cultish is the kind of book where it has somehow managed to weasel its way into most of my conversations. Amanda Montell is a both a skilled writer and language scholar, and now that I know the language of cults, I can't seem to stop seeing or talking about them." — Abigail L.




GENRE CONVERTS

These Fevered DaysThese Fevered Days 
by Martha Ackmann

"I usually find biographies boring, or too dense, or overwhelmed by minutiae, but These Fevered Days is wonderfully readable and brings the unusual life and personality of Emily Dickinson to life. An original approach and a wonderful read!" — Margaret H. M.

The House in the Cerulean SeaThe House in the Cerulean Sea 
by TJ Klune

"The House in the Cerulean Sea was the first fantasy book I have really loved since adolescence!" — Catherine M.

Project Hail MaryProject Hail Mary 
by Andy Weir

"Project Hail Mary introduced me to a love I never knew I could have for the sci-fi genre! I've been picking up more sci-fi books since I finished PHM a couple weeks ago. I laughed so hard and experienced that lump-in-my-throat sadness so many times through this book that I just got to say, this book is really quite some trip." — Shirley W.

The Final Girl Support GroupThe Final Girl Support Group 
by Grady Hendrix

"I had never read a horror or thriller book before, and by page four of The Final Girl Support Group I was hooked! It was very captivating all the way through with a good couple of twists. It was chilling reading through what many of the characters had gone through. I loved this book and am trying to get everyone I know to pick it up!" — Alexis A.



GOT THERE IN THE END

Slaughterhouse-FiveSlaughterhouse-Five 
by Kurt Vonnegut

“I don't know how it took me 31 years to read some Kurt Vonnegut books, but I'm so happy I finally did!!” — Laura F.

Of Mice and MenOf Mice and Men 
by John Steinbeck

"Somehow I managed to make my way through high school having never read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, so when I finally got to it this summer I was astounded at what I had missed. It was a fantastic novel, quite simple in premise but containing a depth of emotion and relationship that was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. It is, simply put, masterful." — Gabriel D.

PersuasionPersuasion 
by Jane Austen

"After reading The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, I decided to read some of the original 'marriage plots' by Jane Austen. It was my first time reading Persuasion and I absolutely LOVED it. It's the perfect novel: Austen is witty, insightful, reflective, etc. The characters are SO human and perfectly timeless. It was so delightful to read, and I wish I could read it for the first time again!" — Keremsa G.



THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT / MOST TIMELY / THIS WAS WRITTEN BY A TEEN AND GIVES US FEELINGS

The PlagueThe Plague 
by Albert Camus

"The Plague by Albert Camus is a novel that follows the lives of people living during a fictional plague epidemic in Oran, Algeria, in the 1940s. This plague is startlingly similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, and makes one feel as if Camus predicted the future. The characters are split up from the ones they love, must quarantine, they constantly check the charts recording infections, and mourn for deaths, just as we have to do in present times. The writing in this novel is vivid, and the characters seem nothing more than real. The story drags on just as real life, making one feel as if they live inside the book. As COVID seems to be nearing an end, this book becomes more prevalent than ever. It shows that to get through terrible times, people must love and care for one another, and that that is the only way in which the nightmares can come to a conclusion. At the same time, Camus leaves us with a reminder: nothing can ever truly come to an end, for the plague (or COVID) could always come back when least expected, and even if it does not, it shall always leave a lasting impact on those who experienced it." — Ava E.

Find more amazing reader recommendations on our What You're Reading page.



Books mentioned in this post

84 Charing Cross Road

Helene Hanff

Persuasion

Jane Austen

Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte

The Plague

Albert Camus

Of Mice & Men

Steinbeck, John

The Fifth Season (Broken Earth #1)

N. K. Jemisin

All the Wrong Questions 01 Who Could That Be at This Hour

Lemony Snicket

Slaughterhouse Five Or the Childrens Crusade a Duty Dance with Death

Kurt Vonnegut

Hug Machine

Scott Campbell

Pea Bee & Jay 01 Stuck Together

Brian Smitty Smith

House in the Cerulean Sea

Tj Klune

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

Migrations

Charlotte McConaghy

These Fevered Days Ten Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson

Martha Ackmann

Total Waste of Space Time

Jeffrey Brown

Final Girl Support Group

Grady Hendrix

Butterfly Lampshade A Novel

Aimee Bender

Cultish The Language of Fanaticism

Amanda Montell
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