Lists
by Powell's Staff, December 29, 2023 9:27 AM
For the fourth year running, we asked Powell’s booksellers to recommend the book that helped them the most through this past year — 2023 was another rough year in a long line of them, so it should be no surprise that the books that came in were escapist and heartfelt, redemptive and generous, wise and filled with the healing power of love. The books on this list nourished us...
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Five Book Friday
by Aster H., December 15, 2023 8:38 AM
For many people, the winter months feel like an especially magical time of year for a number of reasons — from family gatherings to icy, snowy weather to just the simple warmth and smell of cinnamon and pine that seems so emanate from every room. For witches, that magical feeling is often doubled. This is partially because the witch's new year is actually October 31, so there is a sense of renewal and starting fresh that can make the chilly winter months feel a little brighter, and also because...
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Lists
by Kelsey Ford, December 13, 2023 8:46 AM
2023 wasn't just a great year for books: it was also a great year for movies — we had movies that were grandiose and intimate, movies that made us yearn and movies that made us cringe (complimentary). For the second year in a row, we wanted to bring you a list of books to pair with your favorite movie from 2023. No matter what flavor you prefer — whether it be stories...
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Rare Books
by Kirsten Berg, December 11, 2023 10:17 AM
This month, the Rare Book Room Dispatch is featuring the legendary Robert Frost (1874–1963), the Poet Laureate of Vermont and four-time Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner. Perhaps one of the best known poets in America, we felt like it would be perfect to feature him during the month perfect for thinking deeply while ambling slowly along snowy forest paths...
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Lists
by Michelle Carroll, December 8, 2023 11:46 AM
Every December, when the Portland sun disappears, my mental health depends on a steady stream of sugary-sweet holiday rom-coms. While I love the low-budget movies (unlicensed new pop songs with auto-tuned jingle bells! Every scene obviously filmed in the same McMansion, even the ones that take place at "work"! Chemistry between romantic leads that lands anywhere between "wooden strangers" and "sizzling Christmas miracle"!), and while I love the high-budget movies (better music and settings, but chemistry can still be a struggle!), there's no replacing a holiday romance book. Nothing warms my heart more...
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Lists
by Kelsey Ford, December 6, 2023 8:53 AM
While putting this post together, I realized that the original song this is based on, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” needs very little amending to become horrific: why is someone gifting their lover so many different kinds of birds? That can’t be safe? But we love notching the horror up whenever we can, so in our version of the song — a list of holiday-themed horror novels — we’re exchanging drummers for zombies, leaping lords for mutilated bodies, and milking maids for debaucherous yule lords...
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Best Books
by Keith Mosman, December 4, 2023 8:40 AM
It’s the end of another year spent looking forward to long walks, tedious chores, and sleepless nights, because those are great times to listen to audiobooks. Every second spent in silence was a waste! I’ll do better next year, I promise!
Why am I always ignoring friends and family to listen to another chapter or two? Because of the books on this list (and many others, too. Possibly too many). A well-narrated book is a thing of joy, and here are some of the best that 2023 had to offer...
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Lists
by Powell's Staff, November 29, 2023 9:33 AM
Here we are, with our final literature in translation round-up of 2023! And what a year it’s been, full of great books from around the world, all enthusiastically recommended by Powell’s booksellers. We’ll be back with a new post in January 2024, but until then, we hope you enjoy these eight new titles, released in November. On this list, you’ll find a tender novel about friendship from Mexico; “a sordid tale of a man on the run” from a Brazilian legend; a Lebanese-French author’s wild tale...
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Best Books
by Powell's Staff, November 17, 2023 9:16 AM
2023 was such a great year for fiction! We had the hardest time narrowing down our list of the best fiction books of the year, but after much debate, we settled on these 23 (an appropriate number for 2023, we decided). The books on this list take place in Hawaii, Argentina, the Hamptons, a Palace in the desert, and a land of milk and honey. We’ve got campus novels and high-concept museums, fictional biographies and black holes, ugly publishing truths and gladiatorial dystopias...
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Best Books
by Powell's Staff, November 15, 2023 9:25 AM
If there’s one thing you know you can rely on, it’s the good taste of Powell’s booksellers, which is soundly reflected in this year’s collection of nonfiction books that we thought were the best from this past year. On this list, you’ll find bookstores and hot dogs, doppelgangers and wolves, celebrities and shitty crafts. These books explore questions of identity, belonging, community, resistance, capitalism, colonialism, to name just a few of their topics; they’re tender and hilarious and heartfelt and insightful...
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