This is a spectacular graphic novel. The plot and characters are fully developed, and it’s a romance that pushes them to grow even further. A road trip, science, love AND a heist-what better way to start 2026? Perhaps, I don’t know, draw me some chibis, and I’m one hundred percent a fan. –Blanca, King’s Books, …
I felt so connected to this book and its characters in a way I never have before. This book follows a 30-year-old trans guy who, after losing his job and housing stability, returns to his hometown– only to find himself face-to-face with his pre-transition teenage self in the bookstore he once worked at. It’s funny, …
Palaver centers on the relationship between a queer Black man living in Japan and his mother, who unexpectedly visits from the US. The book explores the hurt we accumulate and carry with us as adults. It looks at the difficulties of tending to that hurt while living our day-to-day lives and the hard work of …
Happy New Year! Do you have a new year’s reading resolution? Why not resolve to treat yourself to books that bring you joy? Grow your reading habit and increase your quality of life with books from independent bookstores. About There’s Always Next Year by Leah Johnson and George M. Johnson: “A snow-kissed, warmhearted ode to …
What an absolutely beautiful book and way of thinking about the world. Kaishain shows us the value of applying queerness to more than just sexuality and gender, by using it as a lens to find wisdom from the creatures often maligned by (especially white) humans. The reader is invited to listen to learn from slugs, …
Mary Desch, writing under the pen name MM Desch, brings years of psychiatric expertise to her debut psychological thriller, Tangled Darkness. The novel follows Dr. Leslie Schoen, a psychiatrist who becomes a suspect when a clinical assistant is found dead amid missing opioid allegations. She becomes ensnared in a deadly scheme of clinic conspiracies and …
Ostensibly a charmingly personal encyclopedia about the fictional television show Little Blue, Hazel Jane Plante’s debut novel is an incandescent love letter to trans friendship. A tender TV-and-karaoke-soaked heartbreaker that delights in pop culture. By the end I was as smitten with Little Blue and its colorful characters as Vivian was, and I fell in love with Vivian …
When Darby visits his hometown to help his mom move, he’s transported back in time– in the literal sense– whenever he enters In Between Books, where he worked part-time in high school. What avenues of your life might change if you knew then what you know now, and what would you want to express to …
This is my all-time favorite graphic novel– it’s the perfect blend of funny, heartfelt, and subversive. I cannot recommend it enough. If you haven’t read it, you’re in for a treat! –Jess, Powell’s on Hawthorne, Portland, OR Last week, during Portland Book Week, booksellers, authors, illustrators, and publishing folk from around the country gathered in …
Every Wednesday, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association publishes the regional bestseller list. On Thursdays, we celebrate Thursday Themes to shine a spotlight on some of the books from the list and give our brains a different way of thinking about books. It’s Pride Month, so let’s celebrate LGBTQ+ characters and authors on our list! Atmosphere Taylor Jenkins Reid …
