By: Zachary Thomas Dodson,
on 10/5/2015
Bats are a much-maligned animal. Long thought of as creepy or evil or diseased, a closer look reveals that the wide variety of bat species also possess an amazing array of attributes and perform all sorts of vital ecological roles: from pollinating bananas and mangoes to eating so many insects every night that they save [...]
By: Litizens United,
on 9/30/2015
÷ ÷ ÷ Have you invented a Readerly Term of your own? Email us at [email protected] with the word and definition, and we'll consider including it in our Compendium. Browse all the terms here.
By: Caitlin Doughty,
on 9/25/2015
The soundtrack perfectly suited to facing your own mortality. ("My Way," "Wind beneath My Wings," and other popular funeral songs need not apply.) 1. "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo The first time I heard this song, I couldn't believe how good it was. It imagines death as a raucous adventure. "Who could ask for [...]
By: Powell's Staff,
on 9/25/2015
For Banned Books Week this year, we combed through hundreds of records of challenged materials reported by Oregon schools and libraries over the past 35 years. In the process, we came across some surprising, amusing, and, at times, weirdly specific arguments for banning books. Here are 10 particularly strange reasons that demonstrate how absurd it [...]
By: Powell's Staff,
on 9/25/2015
It's one thing to read about censorship in a news article; it's another to become aware of the threat at a nearby library or school. For Banned Books Week this year, we reviewed hundreds of documented appeals to remove materials from a local public library, school library, or course curriculum. Below are 30 books that [...]
By: Bryan Doerries,
on 9/23/2015
In ancient Athens, during the fifth century BC, military service was required of all citizens. To be a citizen meant being a soldier, and vice versa. Because every citizen served in the military, the health of the democracy depended upon the health of its soldiers, and the ability of citizen-soldiers to move fluidly and frequently [...]
By: Litizens United,
on 9/23/2015
÷ ÷ ÷ Have you invented a Readerly Term of your own? Email us at [email protected] with the word and definition, and we'll consider including it in our Compendium. Browse all the terms here.
By: Renee P.,
on 9/22/2015
The delightful and cunning author of The Sisters Brothers returns with another enigmatic, off-kilter tale. Set in a vaguely fairy tale-like land, Undermajordomo Minor traces the wayward path of the young Lucien, who is to begin a new post at the castle of a mysterious baron. Darkly funny and deftly crafted, deWitt's new novel is [...]
By: Tessa,
on 9/22/2015
Heidi Swanson, author of the fantastic Super Natural Every Day, doesn't disappoint in this newest collection inspired by her travel journals. Her vegetarian recipes contain influences from Japan to Italy to Morocco to India and are delicious, inventive without being complicated, and, as a bonus, fairly healthy. Books mentioned in this post Near and Far: [...]
By: Mary Jo,
on 9/22/2015
Michael Clune's mother accused him of using computer games to escape from reality. She wasn't wrong, but part of what's fascinating about Gamelife is where Clune escapes to and what he thinks about along the way. "I need to be somewhere else," he writes, and that is the gift and the curse computer games offer. [...]
By: Genevieve A.,
on 9/22/2015
An attractive, charismatic couple who married young, Lotto and Mathilde were exceptional, with a seemingly perfect marriage and happy life together. As recounted from both of their perspectives, Fates and Furies reveals the stunning truth and dark secrets that lie behind their relationship. A tense and vibrant tale. Books mentioned in this post Fates and [...]
By: Mary Jo,
on 9/22/2015
The author of several bestselling memoirs gives us a look under the hood. What makes a successful memoir? How does one handle the wily beast of memory? Karr elegantly dissects several well-known memoirs and gives clear examples of why they work so well. She also discusses her own work and writing process. Books mentioned in [...]
By: Richard C.,
on 9/22/2015
Benjamin's first novel is a stunningly beautiful and heartfelt book about overcoming a sudden death of a friend. Suzy wants answers as to why Franny has died. As she works through this, she gains two friends, acceptance of her parents' divorce, courage, and an appreciation for life in this universe. Books mentioned in this post [...]
By: Britt,
on 9/22/2015
Jenny Lawson writes mainly about therapy, mental illness, and taxidermy, and I was laughing about every two sentences. About every six sentences, I had to put the book down and regain composure. In fact, reading this book made me annoying to be around, as though I were involved in a 273-page inside joke. Books mentioned [...]
By: Howard Axelrod,
on 9/22/2015
As a teenager, I didn't pay much attention to posted signs. I was a strange kid — both very confident and very lost. My façade, my own sign posted for the world, was a lie and I knew it. But I believed if I could just be patient enough, a kind of secret door would [...]
By: Annie Jacobsen,
on 9/21/2015
As a national security reporter, I write about war, weapons, security, and secrets. The question most commonly asked of me is, "How do you get sources to talk to you?" The Pentagon's Brain is my third book in a series about seemingly impenetrable subjects. The first one, Area 51, is about the highly classified military [...]
By: Litizens United,
on 9/16/2015
÷ ÷ ÷ Have you invented a Readerly Term of your own? Email us at [email protected] with the word and definition, and we'll consider including it in our Compendium. Browse all the terms here.
By: Mary Karr,
on 9/15/2015
Editor's note: It's been 20 years since the groundbreaking memoir The Liars' Club sent Mary Karr into the literary spotlight with its phenomenal success and widespread acclaim. Since then, Karr has gone on to publish two more bestselling memoirs — Cherry and Lit — and has mentored such revered authors as Cheryl Strayed and Koren [...]
By: Lauren Groff,
on 9/11/2015
My first job was as a babysitter when I was 11. Now that I'm a parent and look at the 11-year-olds I know, one of whom is still dressed by her mother in the morning, this fact appalls me. It's true that when I was 11 I looked 14 and the parents must have been [...]
By: Kathi,
on 9/11/2015
When failed novelist Liam Wilder decides his best friend, Aldo Benjamin, is his muse, we are introduced to one of the most grimly hilarious, heartbreaking, foulmouthed, loveable characters to have graced the page in a very long time. Aldo consistently and comically loses at business and, sadly, in love, yet as Liam tells his story, [...]
By: Amy Stewart,
on 9/10/2015
Amy Stewart is the author of the novel Girl Waits with Gun and six other books, including The Drunken Botanist and Wicked Plants. Some of her earliest research for the novel happened right here in Portland, and Tin House editor Masie Cochran was there to witness it all. We've brought them back together to reminisce [...]
By: Jill Owens,
on 9/9/2015
"Padgett Powell is an extravagantly talented writer," raves The New York Times Book Review. We also think he's one of the funniest, saddest, and most innovative writers that you might not yet have read. His first novel, Edisto, was nominated for the National Book Award, and he's also won the Prix de Rome of the [...]
By: Litizens United,
on 9/9/2015
That man is a ruttish, smooth-tongued cad! ÷ ÷ ÷ Have you invented a Readerly Term of your own? Email us at [email protected] with the word and definition, and we'll consider including it in our Compendium. Browse all the terms here.
By: Gigi Little,
on 9/7/2015
Science guy Bill Nye's book Undeniable is definitely a manifesto. He takes on Creationism and the deniers of evolution eloquently and successfully. But it's more. With Nye's easy style and wit, Undeniable both effectively explains and exalts the wonders of science and our evolved world. Books mentioned in this post Portland Noir (Akashic Noir) Kevin [...]
By: Genevieve A.,
on 9/7/2015
In Hynde's long-awaited memoir, readers witness everything from her normal childhood in Akron, Ohio, to finding herself in the midst of the rise of punk rock in 1970s London, all the way through the beginning and sudden tragic end of the Pretenders. Reckless is both a whirlwind tour and a fascinating education in rock history. [...]
