As a kid growing up in late 1950s and 1960s Seattle, imagined visits to foreign lands were a focus of my inner life, what with 707s (and later 747s) soaring over the city, and twice- or thrice-yearly sightings of ocean liners that actually traveled all the way around the world. As it turns out, I wasn’t …
TW: Physical abuse, domestic abuse, emotional abuse National Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey has written a brave and telling account of her stepfather’s systematic emotional and physical abuse and murder of her mother, a social worker. Perhaps the most chilling part of the book is the transcript of her stepfather’s last phone call, discovered by the author …
When I was fifteen, my parents returned to South Korea and left me behind with my brother in America. My mother started writing me letters in Korean, a language I could not fully understand at the time. Over a decade after she wrote me, I translated her letters into English. In one letter, she writes: …
From the archives: The March Trilogy is one of the most important graphic novels created. A superbly told history of the civil rights movement, John Lewis’s personal account of the actions of individuals and organizations throughout the South (but focused largely in Alabama) is a gripping, passionate, and richly detailed narrative of the events that would eventually …
This is a beautiful story about an unlikely friendship between a Taiwanese-American college graduate from the Midwest and a young African-American student dropout from the Mississippi Delta who is convicted of murder. Michelle Kuo details her time with Teach For America in the deep south and her relationship with her prized student with careful observations …
Growing up, I always assumed I would be just like my mother. I would travel to India… and yes, of course I would get my PhD. Why? Because my mom did. Now, at seventeen years old myself, I can only hope to follow in her footsteps. Not by getting a PhD in anthropology, or traveling …
Ordinary Girls is a book that makes me feel seen. Too often, those of us who grow up below the federal poverty line spend the rest of our lives erasing ourselves. If we manage to migrate out of poverty, we do so at a cost. The gatekeepers of academia, and of literature, only want to hear …
More titles were mentioned in the 2020 Pacific Northwest Book Awards preview. Readers have found many treasures from Pacific Northwest authors in the last year! All the Better Part of Me was suggested by Stephanie from Books Around the Corner. The store’s all-female Fiction Addiction book club discussed it and loved it. The book comes …
Do witches exist? And if so, do their spells really work? After reading this delightfully magical memoir, I certainly hope so. Known for his wicked humor in the face of real challenges, Burroughs does not disappoint in this latest tale, in which he comes out as a witch, descended from a centuries-long lineage of powerful …
Bythell’s sardonic humor and undeniable wit and charm will “bookworm” its way into your heart and mind. Two things are bound to happen: 1. You’ll add The Bookshop in Wigtown to your bucket list of Scottish destinations hoping to catch a glimpse of EITHER the author OR the spraying stray cat, or to hear one …
