February 2010
Wells Tower
Monday the 8th, 7:30PM Powell's City of Books on Burnside
In Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned (Picador), Wells Tower's debut collection of stories, families fall apart and messily try to reassemble themselves in an America that is touched by the seamy splendor of the dropout, the misfit, boozy dreamers, hapless fathers, and wayward sons. Booklist calls Tower "a serious talent....[His] voice is honest and strange, humorous and insightful."
Macintosh Users Group
Tuesday the 9th, 6:30PM
Powell's Technical Books
Join us every other Tuesday for a fun and informal meeting with like-minded Mac geeks. Bring your questions and tips to share with the group.
Cory Schreiber
Tuesday the 9th, 7:00PM
Pastaworks
In Rustic Fruit Desserts (Ten Speed), James Beard Award-winning chef Cory Schreiber shares his repertoire of classic fruit desserts, including crumbles, crisps, bettys, buckles, and pies that showcases the freshest in-season fruit available.
Science Fiction Book Group
Tuesday the 9th, 7:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
This month we meet to discuss Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. Join us!
Chris Bohjalian
Tuesday the 9th, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
From the bestselling author of The Double Bind and Midwives comes a novel of shattered faith, intimate secrets, and the delicate nature of sacrifice. Secrets of Eden (Shaye Areheart) is both a haunting literary thriller and a deeply evocative testament to the inner complexities that mark all of our lives. "A masterfully human and compassionate tale," raves Publishers Weekly (starred review). This event co-sponsored by Bradley Angle.
Heather Brewer
Wednesday the 10th, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
The latest volume in Heather Brewer's Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, hailed by Publishers Weekly as "something fresh in the vampire lit genre," Eleventh Grade Burns (Dutton) combines doomed love, failing friendships, and psycho-sadistic vampires in a tale that's perfect for anyone tired of hearing about Edward and Bella.
Deadly Diversions Mystery Book Group
Thursday the 11th, 7:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
This month we meet to discuss In the Woods by Tana French. Join us!
The Manual of Detection
Thursday the 11th, 7:30PM
Powell's Books on Hawthorne
In Jedediah Berry's tightly plotted debut novel, The Manual of Detection (Penguin Books), an unlikely detective, armed only with an umbrella and a singular handbook, must untangle a string of crimes committed in and through people's dreams. The Boston Globe calls it "meticulously written and plotted," while the New Yorker dubs it "the kind of mannered fantasy that might result if Wes Anderson were to adapt Kafka."
Myrlin Hermes
Thursday the 11th, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet (Harper) is Myrlin Hermes's witty and wise reimagining of Hamlet. Laced with quotes, references, bed tricks, and a bisexual love-triangle inspired by Shakespeare's own sonnets, this novel will upend everything readers think they know about the Danish prince.
Hold Me Tight and Tango Me Home
Friday the 12th, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
Maria Finn's husband was cheating. First she threw him out. Then she cried. Then she signed up for tango lessons. As exhilarating as the dance itself, Hold Me Tight and Tango Me Home (Algonquin) whirls us into the center of the ballroom dancing craze and imparts surprising insights about how to get on with life after you've lost in love. Booklist dubs it "a lively debut memoir, brimming with tango history and lore." This event coincides with Portland ValenTango XIII.
Hillary Manton Lodge
Sunday the 14th, 2:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
With Plain Jayne (Harvest House), Hillary Manton Lodge brings a new twist to the popular Amish novel. Jayne Tate loves her fast-paced life in the big city, working as a newspaper reporter. When her father dies and she loses out on the big career opportunity she was hoping for, she seeks solace in Oregon's Amish country. Publishers Weekly cheers, "Smart, fast-paced and chock-full of endearing characters, Lodge's entry into inspirational fiction is a keeper, plain and simple."
The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050
Monday the 15th, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
In The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050 (Penguin), visionary social thinker Joel Kotkin looks ahead to America in 2050, revealing how the addition of 100 million Americans by midcentury will transform American families, towns, and industries. "A fascinating glimpse into a crystal ball, rich in implications that are alternately disturbing and exhilarating," declares Kirkus Reviews. This event is co-sponsored by Bright Lights, a city-design discussion series presented by Portland Spaces and the City Club of Portland.
Dave Eggers Booksigning Rescheduled for March 5
Tuesday the 16th, 01:00AM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
Rescheduled for March 5" BORDER=0>
Join us when bestselling author, Dave Eggers, signs copies of his most recent books, The Wild Things and Zeitoun (McSweeney’s). Zeitoun, a riveting work of non-fiction, explores the life of a prosperous Syrian-American who chose to stay in New Orleans through Hurricane Katrina to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. The Wild Things -- loosely based on the storybook by Maurice Sendak and the screenplay co-written with Spike Jonze -- is about the confusions of a boy, Max, making his way in a world he can't control.
Rescheduled for March 5
The Naughty List
Tuesday the 16th, 7:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
In Suzanne Young's new young adult novel, The Naughty List (Razorbill), Tessa Crimson is the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad-turned-spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. When Tessa's own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa's sneaky ways end in catastrophe?
Dana Stabenow
Thursday the 18th, 7:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
A Night Too Dark (Minotaur) is the 17th book in New York Times-bestselling author Dana Stabenow's series chronicling life, death, love, tragedy, mischief, controversy, nature, and survival in Alaska — America's last real frontier. This time, smart, sexy P.I. Kate Shugak, her wolf/husky hybrid Mutt, and Chopper Jim are only just beginning to realize the fallout from the discovery of the world's second-largest gold mine in their backyard. Publishers Weekly proclaims, "Stabenow deftly explores the environmental and economic impact of gold mining in her sizzling 17th novel."
Crossing the Gates of Alaska
Thursday the 18th, 7:30PM
Powell's Books on Hawthorne
In the spirit of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, seasoned wilderness survivalist Dave Metz takes on Alaska's backcountry in his most daring trek to date. Crossing the Gates of Alaska: One Man, Two Dogs, 600 Miles on the Map (Citadel) is Metz's inspiring account of survival on a death-defying trek across the perilous Alaskan Arctic.
Young Writers' Workshop
Friday the 19th, 4:30PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
Children's authors Rosanne Parry (Heart of a Shepherd), Fran Cannon Slayton (When the Whistle Blows), and Edith M. Hemingway (Road to Tater Hill) demonstrate how writers can help make each other's writing stronger in a workshop titled An Inside Look at Story Critique: How Writers Help Other Writers. Writers of all ages are invited. Observe, ask questions, share ideas, or bring the first page of something you've written and receive friendly suggestions.
Cheeky Pages Romance Book Group
Friday the 19th, 7:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
This month we meet to discuss My Zombie Valentine by Katie MacAlister. Join us!
Heidi W. Durrow
Friday the 19th, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
Winner of the Bellwether Prize, Heidi W. Durrow's debut novel, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky (Algonquin), tells the story of Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I., who becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy. Growing up in the 1980s, she confronts her identity as a biracial young woman in a world that wants to see her as either black or white. "[A] post-postmodern novel with heart that weaves a circle of stories about race and self-discovery into a tense and sometimes terrifying whole," hails Ms. magazine.
Burns Rubber: Babymouse #12
Sunday the 21st, 2:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
Brother-sister team Matthew Holm and Jennifer L. Holm are back for the 12th title in the popular Babymouse series. Babymouse's big dreams of becoming a race car driver come true when she and her best pal, Wilson, enter the "Race of the Century "(or at least the school year). But will she and Wilson crash and burn? Find out in Burns Rubber (Random House).
Girl Power
Sunday the 21st, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
In the early '90s, riot grrrl punk exploded onto the underground music scene, inspiring girls to pick up instruments, create fanzines, and become politically active. Girl Power (Faber and Faber) examines the role of women in rock since the riot grrrl revolution, weaving Marisa Meltzer's personal anecdotes and interviews with key players such as Tobi Vail from Bikini Kill and Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. Library Journal declares, "Meltzer's in-depth research and interviews blend into a tightly woven yet flowing narrative....[A]bsorbing."
Rachel Kramer Bussel
Monday the 22nd, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
From breastfeeding to swingers to underage sexting, the thinnest condom ever and sex work to the thrill of voyeurism and the story of X-rated Tijuana bibles, Best Sex Writing 2010 (Cleis Press) covers the latest, hottest topics from the world of sex. Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel is joined by contributor Kerry Cohen.
Macintosh Users Group
Tuesday the 23rd, 6:30PM
Powell's Technical Books
Join us every other Tuesday for a fun and informal meeting with like-minded Mac geeks. Bring your questions and tips to share with the group.
Tokyo Vice
Tuesday the 23rd, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
From Jake Adelstein, the only American journalist ever admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club, comes Tokyo Vice (Pantheon), a unique, firsthand, revelatory look at Japanese culture from the underbelly up. Adelstein tells the riveting, often humorous tale of his journey from an inexperienced cub reporter — who made rookie mistakes like getting into a martial-arts battle with a senior editor — to a daring investigative journalist with a price on his head. Publishers Weekly calls it "a deeply thought-provoking book: equal parts cultural expose, true crime, and hard-boiled noir." This event is co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Oregon.
Classics Book Group
Wednesday the 24th, 7:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
This month we meet to discuss War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Join us!
Jim Wallis
Wednesday the 24th, 7:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
Rather than join the throngs asking, "When will this economic crisis be over?" New York Times-bestselling author Jim Wallis (God's Politics) says the right question to ask is "How will this crisis change us?" In the pages of Rediscovering Values (Howard Books), Wallis provides us with a moral compass for this new economy — one that will guide us on Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street.
Joanne Fluke
Thursday the 25th, 7:00PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
In Apple Turnover Murder (Kensington), New York Times-bestselling author Joanne Fluke's latest murder mystery (with recipes!), it's June in Lake Eden, Minnesota — and for Hannah Swenson, that means bridal showers galore, not to mention a killer who never learned that charity begins at home.
Brenda Peterson
Thursday the 25th, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
Fundamentalism meets deep ecology in Brenda Peterson's unusual memoir I Want to Be Left Behind (Da Capo Press). The author's father, a forest ranger, leads her to embrace the entire natural world, while her Southern Baptist fundamentalist relatives prepare to leave this world. "[A] witty, enrapturing account of a spiritual journey of great relevance to us all," cheers Booklist (starred review).
The Bread of Angels
Friday the 26th, 7:30PM
Powell's City of Books on Burnside
The Bread of Angels (Doubleday) is a gorgeous, romantic memoir of Stephanie Saldana's year in Damascus, where she studied the Muslim Jesus, fled to an ancient desert monastery to heal her past, and unexpectedly found herself in love with a French novice monk. "A beautifully woven exploration of language and spirituality," hails Kirkus Reviews.
March 2010
Dave Eggers Booksigning
Friday the 5th, 12:00PM Powell's City of Books on Burnside
Join us when bestselling author, Dave Eggers, signs copies of his most recent books, The Wild Things and Zeitoun (McSweeney's). Zeitoun, a riveting work of non-fiction, explores the life of a prosperous Syrian-American who chose to stay in New Orleans through Hurricane Katrina to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. The Wild Things — loosely based on the storybook by Maurice Sendak and the screenplay co-written with Spike Jonze — is about the confusions of a boy, Max, making his way in a world he can't control.
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