When a meme mocking her cousin’s body hair becomes the talk of the school, TJ Powar begins to wonder how and why something as natural as hair is seen as disgusting or unclean—she then decides to discontinue her shaving and waxing regimens to test just how much it affects her social status. TJ Powar Has …
May the memory of bell hooks (1952-2021) always be preserved. Her work was a tour de force, and this excellent volume is a good a place to start. She was the author who taught me about feminism as an act of revolutionary love, and as a critical mindset for human thriving. This book disrupts patriarchal …
From Amy Wang of The Oregonian/OregonLive, June 3, 2022: For Nanea Woods, books and community have always gone together, and now she’s launching her biggest effort yet to combine the two. Portland’s first Black literary festival, the Freadom Festival, is a tribute to freedom and reading that’s taking place in Portland’s Peninsula Park on Saturday, June …
This is a gorgeous, rich, romantic Ethiopian retelling of Jane Eyre. Andromeda is hired as a debtera, licensed exorcists hired to cleanse households and individuals of the Evil Eye. Andromeda is the latest in a long line of debtera. The previous 10 fled, or disappeared trying. The Evil Eye has a particularly strong hold on …
Karen Maeda Allman, event coordinator and bookseller at Seattle’s Elliott Bay Book Company, was interviewed by Elaine Ikoma Ko and featured on The North American Post and Discover Nikkei. Below is an excerpt. Let’s talk about your literary life. Did you always have a keen appreciation for books growing up? I actually started out as …
[In David Yoon’s City of Orange, a] man wakes up. He has no memory. He’s not sure where he is. He’s injured and thirsty. As he explores what looks like an apocalyptic landscape for food, water, and answers, he gradually realizes everything is not as it seems. Show up for the “what the heck?” Stick …
Janelle Monáe returns to the dystopian cyberpunk world of her Dirty Computer album with The Memory Librarian, a collection of five long stories that further the narrative set forth in the album. While the New Dawn is intent on standardizing and homogenizing the future, a band of gender-nonconforming rebels persist in retaining, remembering, and celebrating the stories of …
I’ve been collecting this series since it began in 1988, and though my enthusiasm for each volume differs, I love how it’s become an historical artifact of sorts. Each volume features a guest editor (2021 is curated by Tracy K. Smith, Poet Laureate of the U.S. 2017-2019), who, along with their picks for the 75 …
It’s time for a Thursday Theme, where we shine a spotlight on some of the titles featured in this week’s Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association regional bestseller list. It is the last day of March, Women’s History Month. We thought we would finish up with a selection of amazing, bestselling Native American woman authors– including the Pacific Northwest’s …
A taut legal thriller, this debut novel truly has it all – a devious plot, slick characters, and a riveting pace. Ellice, a corporate attorney, is finally given the upper echelon job she has worked hard to achieve, but only after the sudden death of her boss. Her rise to the top is not without …
