Iron Widow is a book born from female rage. I often pitch it as “Pacific Rim” meets The Handmaid’s Tale because those are two properties familiar to Western audiences, but in truth, I was more inspired by Japanese mecha anime and Chinese harem dramas. The gilded palaces of Imperial China, where thousands of women must …
Whenever your local librarian highly recommends a book that TJ Klune (author of The House in the Cerulean Sea) calls a transformative marvel, you should probably read that book. I immediately did, and as someone who has access to whatever she wants to read, this will be a book I come back to over and …
By the time he was twenty-nine, Charles Darwin had puzzled his way toward two-thirds of his theory of natural selection. He understood that plants and animals passed traits (hair color, say, or beak shape, or flower scent) down to their offspring. And he understood that those traits were not passed down perfectly. We resemble our …
Dispatches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin is a marvelous collection of short fiction imbued with the fiery independence and far-reaching vision of Le Guin. It’s lovely to see such passion persisting in Pacific Northwest storytelling. –A Good Book, Sumner, WA Explore literary legacies with books from A Good Book and …
Katrina is on the run to find a better life when she is discovered by famed violin teacher Shizuka– who happens to be searching for one more soul to finish her deal with Hell. As she trains Katrina, Shizuka also meets Lan, former starship captain turned donut shop owner. I was entranced by this story …
From Oregonlive.com July 31, 2021: The Ursula K. Le Guin stamp, the 33rd in the U.S. Postal Service’s Literary Arts series, was released Tuesday in a ceremony at the Portland Art Museum. Among those who spoke at the event was Portland arts critic Martha Ullman West, a longtime friend of Le Guin’s; Oregon Arts Watch published her remarks. Other …
An astronaut wakes up with amnesia, and discovers he is on a mission to save the world. This book is a return to what made The Martian such a great read. There’s a sarcastic but earnest narrator, many a life-threatening disaster, and so very much clearly and cleverly explained science. Once I started reading it, I could …
We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker is… wow. Proof that I need a bit more faith in the good authors because Pinsker went places with this story I was not expecting and that is glorious! In the near future, Pilot is released. It’s a small brain implant that allows the brain to come close to …
I have absolutely loved everything Nnedi Okorafor has ever written, and this latest book from her is no exception! Her amazing ability to blend traditional African stories and themes with hardcore science fiction is spectacular. While Sankofa cannot remember her name, she does remember her past as she travels from town to town. Even as …
Be sure to read the full list, with recommendations from booksellers around the country, but why not start here, with favorites from Portland and Seattle booksellers? John Rember, A Hundred Little Pieces on the End of the World (University of New Mexico Press) Jeremy Garber, Powell’s, Portland: John Rember’s A Hundred Little Pieces on the End of the World collects …
