Brian Doyle was an unusually gifted storyteller, and it is very bittersweet and perfect that his last book is, at its core, all about the gift of storytelling. This is Doyle’s take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s planned-but-unwritten novel about the great Scottish author’s time in 1880s San Francisco. Stevenson was living in a boarding house …
This Memorial Day Weekend has been particularly emotionally intense for our region. Every year at this time, our nation honors those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country. This weekend, waves of mourning have rippled out from the Pacific Northwest after two brave men were killed on the MAX in Portland. Our community and …
2016 wasn’t quite two weeks old when I first heard that it was cursed. On top of the usual bad news (Sharaban tea shop, bombing) came the announcement of David Bowie’s death, and something about it, hard on the heels of his most acclaimed record in years, songs that were released on his birthday, seemed …
by Brian Doyle I have lived in Oregon for a quarter of a century. Ever since I arrived here I have been absorbed in the stories and history and literature of Oregon, and in its finest writers, especially the ones most interested in what the great Oregon writer Robin Cody calls Oregonness – writers like …
From the Island Books blog: A few months ago a select group of attendees enjoyed one of the most enthralling author events Island Books has ever hosted. We had so much fun that I issued Brian Doyle a standing invitation to visit any time. It’s too soon to expect another in-person appearance, but luckily for …
What did I think of when I learned that my peculiar collection of essays had won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award? Weirdly, not the barrels of cash and fine wines and excellent cheeses that would surely come my way, or the hordes of somber graduate students that would soon be studying my semicolons, or the …
The 2016 Pacific Northwest Book Awards Winners have been announced! A panel of nine booksellers from the region chose the winners from nearly 300 nominations of books written by authors from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, or British Columbia. Here are the winners, with brief descriptions by the Award Committee: Call Me Home by Megan Kruse (Seattle, WA) …
Oregon Public Broadcasting has launched a new monthly online series called “Greetings From the Northwest.” It explores stories, adventures, and history about this remarkable place we call home. This month, the series showcases books. Stories connect to reading lists, author interviews, book tours and more. It’s a nice stew of literary Northwestiness—features on Ken Kesey, Ursula K. …
Obviously, this is not actually a musical, but it got your attention, didn’t it? First, I would like to thank the other eight members of this year’s PNBA Book Awards Committee of booksellers: Michael Coy, Madison (Butler) Duckworth, Tim Hunter, Dianah Hughley, Tina Ontiveros, Carol Spurling, Casey Stryer, and Claudia Wohlfeil. This was my third (and …
The 2016 Pacific Northwest Book Awards Shortlist has been announced! A panel of nine booksellers from the region whittled the list to twelve from nearly 300 nominations. Five previous shortlisted authors (indicated with a *), including one two-time winner (with a +), made the cut. Up to six winners will be announced in early January. Here …
