Beach Books' holiday giving tree

The Storefront

Booklovers Give Back

Many independent bookstores organize book collections to brighten the holidays for others. Please add more stores and their giving campaigns in the comments section. Beach Books, Seaside, OR: “At Beach Books we get wish lists from the four Seaside area schools. These ‘books’ are hung on our tree and customers get a 20% discount on a book chosen for the school and a 20% discount for one for themselves.” BookPeople of Moscow, Moscow, ID: “We have a giving tree at Book People …

Dec 7, 2018

what's new

Dec

10

2018

Nausea

One Nightstand

Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

My 20th reading of this existential classic (I read it once a year). A story whose narrator rides waves of sorrow, dread, and sometimes joy. Ultimately empty, but with hope. Exploring and explaining a world that both makes sense to human probing, but denies it at the same time. Favorite quote: “My memories are like …

Dec

6

2018

The Faithful Spy

Face Out

The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix

In a year full of weighty political tomes, each grimmer than the last, I find myself in need of inspiration more than information. The Faithful Spy is both a salve for the weary soul and a much needed encouragement to brave action in dark times. In this slim volume, John Hendrix chronicles Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life, …

Dec

5

2018

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good

Face Out

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

If you’ve ever wondered how to commit the perfect murder, this book will give you some clues. Much delightful mayhem occurs in these five short chapters, where we come to know the seemingly mild-mannered Maud, an elderly retiree in Göteborg, Sweden. Maud leads a rather comfortable but pedestrian life of solitude, which she will protect at …

Dec

4

2018

Carol Price of Book People of Moscow

The Storefront

Carol Price of BookPeople featured on Booksellers of America

I love to read, so I appreciate how one of my favorite things to do in my spare time seeps into my professional life, as well. Customers are usually happy when they’re in a bookstore. We’re a place where people come to find inspiration, or learn something, or just to relax. I love it when …

Dec

3

2018

Washington Black

Awards and Honors

2019 Pacific Northwest Book Awards Shortlist: “Washington Black”

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan, Victoria, BC This stunning book kept me guessing at every turn. It begins on a sugar plantation in Barbados, when an 11-year old slave, Wash, is plucked from his unrelenting work by his master’s brother to be his own assistant. Titch is a scientist, and Wash’s life is about to …

Nov

30

2018

Alyson Hagy

Conversations

Acts of Healing: A conversation with Alyson Hagy and her novel Scribe

SCRIBE by Alyson Hagy IndieNext #1 Pick for November Belletrist Book of the Month for October Finalist for the Southern Book Prize Alyson Hagy is a contemporary master novelist. I’m not talking about her adept and fierce attention to words or the long excellence which has won her many awards—a Pushcart Prize, the Nelson Algren …

Nov

29

2018

Wizard of Foz

Face Out

The Wizard of Foz
by Bob Welch and Dick Fosbury

Eugene-based writer (and Paulina Springs favorite) Bob Welch, with the assistance of his subject, has written a fascinating accounting of the path Dick Fosbury, he of “Fosbury Flop” fame, took to becoming an Olympic champion in the high jump. More than a biography, it is a snapshot of the time and place in which Dick …

Nov

28

2018

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

Face Out

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Biography at its finest. I couldn’t put it down. As a Jackson fan, I was delighted to learn more about the author of my favorites: The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and “The Lottery.“ As a woman, I was heartbroken to learn how sexism and misogyny affected Jackson. As a …

Nov

27

2018

Seattle Mystery Bookshop sign from 2015

Face Out

Seattle Mystery Bookshop (RIP) Still Helping Readers

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was in downtown Seattle with visiting family and walked by the former location of the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, which closed a little over a year ago after 27 years of helping readers find great mysteries. If you understand my sadness at that empty storefront, then you probably also understand my …

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