Powell's Picks of the Season 2021

All Her Little Secrets

“Grave Secrets: The secrets you carry to the grave. Ellice has carried hers many years, but now they threaten to be her undoing. But an even greater threat lurks, as first her boss and then others around her are murdered. Who is behind it all, and exactly what are they planning and hiding? The many twists and tense moments in this well-crafted thriller made me loathe to take a break from listening.”

Nancy, Raven Book Store

Beautiful World, Where Are You

“'Humanity on the cusp of extinction [&] here I am writing another email about sex & friendship. What else is there to live for?' A mastery of capacious dialogue; this page-turner satisfies with 21st century romance & unanswered questions that will linger in any hopeful, nihilistic heart.”

Jill, Collected Works Bookstore

Bewilderment

“An homage to the heartbreaking Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, this intimate story of a grieving father and his troubled son is an intelligent and touching story of tragedy and hope.”

Genevieve, A Great Good Place for Books

The Book of Form and Emptiness

“What I love most about Ruth Ozeki's writing is that it's different every time. You get some of the same vibe but her storylines are vast and unpredictable and you never know what you are getting into, but it will be good and 100% worth your time! The Book of Form and Emptiness started off bizarre but sucked me in so fast and then made me slow down to absorb every single word. It was almost meta with one of its main voices, a Book, and hit hard with its deep dive into mental illness. Parts of this book skewed a little Murakami in tone but coming from someone who doesn't always love Murakami, there is something so human and relatable in Ozeki's writing that separates her a little. Benny lives alone with his mother Annabelle after losing his father in a terrible accident a few years previous. Plagued by the voices of inanimate objects around him, Benny struggle with his mental health throughout the novel. In part narrated by one of his voices, an omnipresent Book, whom Benny first encounters at an abandoned Bindery at his local library. The Book tells us the story of Benny and Annabelle through a third party lens. We encounter a fun cast of characters from Benny's adventures who all band together to help this family get through a tough time. Truly a magical reading experience that is full of heart, Ozeki's newest work is a must read for fans of literary fiction.”

Kimi, Buttonwood Books and Toys

Cloud Cuckoo Land

“From the author of the much loved All The Light We Cannot See comes a very different and imaginative story. Doerr writes of the longevity of books and libraries and how they endure through time. Spanning from 15th century Constantinople, to present day Idaho (where he lives), to a 22nd century spaceship, one wonders how these settings and characters could possibly intersect. But, they do in surprising ways. This is my favorite book of the year. Enjoy!”

Melanie, Bookstore1Sarasota

Harlem Shuffle

“A tribute to Harlem...a mystery...so well written, and great characters too!”

Elsie, Bookstore1Sarasota

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction
Finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography

“An exhilarating romp through Orwell’s life and times and also through the life and times of roses.” —Margaret Atwood

“A captivating account of Orwell as gardener, lover, parent, and endlessly curious thinker.” —Claire... Read more »

If you enjoyed This Tender Land, then you’ll love The Lincoln Highway.

“THIS BOOK EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS! As a huge fan of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility, The Lincoln Highway had a lot of pressure and holy cow did it surpass anything I could have hoped for. From the first page, I was immediately drawn into Towles' magical writing and superb characters. This felt like a modern classic, the new and updated version of Huckleberry Finn that I actually wanted to read in high school. You cannot beat the quirkiness of Towles' characters. You feel so deeply about every single one of them and it feels like they leap off the page with specificities with which they are written. Duchess and Woolly, the stowaways, felt like a modern day George and Lennie from Of Mice and Men with Woolly's gentle giant innocence and Duchess' take-the-lead wile. Emmett is the stoic, do-right midwesterner who always fixes the messes. And Billy is the smartest, sweetest kid who inspires those around him. You fall in love with them and are left with all the feels. A glorious five out of five stars for me, The Lincoln Highway will be my go-to recommendation this fall.”

Kimi, Buttonwood Books and Toys

Crossroads

“Crossroads is Franzen's first novel since the National Book Award winning The Corrections that smacks of his original genius. Gloriously the tale of a 1960's Chicago minister led family of six is the start of a trilogy. The type of book you can't put down, I banned it from night time reading due to the thrilling descent of some of the characters. Hungry for the next two, which is saying something considering the book's 500+ pages.”

Roxanne, Bookstore1Sarasota

An Electric Literature “Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Book of 2022” Selection

A love letter to the legendary Black and Latinx LGBTQ underground subculture, uncovering its abundant legacy and influence in popular culture.

What is Ballroom? Not a song, a documentary, a catchphrase, a TV show, or an individual pop star. It is an underground subculture... Read more »

Ace

“This book is an eye-opening collection of personal testimonies, research, and history about asexuality, and to a lesser extent, aromanticism. Whether you are new to learning about asexuality or are asexual yourself, by the end of the book you will have a richer and multifaceted understanding of ace identity and experience.”

Miriasha, Phoenix Books

If you enjoyed Guns, Germs, and Steel, then you’ll love The Dawn of Everything.

“In this brilliant and sometimes funny reexamination of human history, the authors argue that we are less free than our ancestors, and that it was not inevitable "progress" that brought us here. Using evidence from the last few decades of archeology, the authors contend that the centralization of power in the hands of a few was often avoided in prehistory. This analysis is a hopeful one of a world where we could again have three basic freedoms: the freedom to disobey, the freedom to go somewhere else, and the freedom to create new social arrangements.”

Michael, A Great Good Place for Books

The acclaimed chronicle of the regeneration of one family's traditional English farm

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing * Named "Nature Book of the Year" by the Sunday Times * New York Times Editors' Choice * Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize and the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize * A BEST BOOK OF...

A beloved natural historian explores how climate change is driving evolution  

In Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, biologist Thor Hanson tells the remarkable story of how plants and animals are responding to climate change: adjusting, evolving, and sometimes dying out. Anole lizards have grown larger toe pads, to grip more tightly...

“When you wake up and you see that the Earth is not just the environment, the Earth is us, you touch the nature of interbeing. And at that moment you can have real communication with the Earth… We have to wake up together. And if we wake up together, then we have a chance. Our way of living our life and planning our future has led us into this...

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

“The best dictionary you'll ever had read to you. In fact, there's probably a word for that.”

Charity, Schuler Books

The instant #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller


The breakout poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman

Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet... Read more »

The international literary icon opens his eclectic closet: Here are photographs of Murakami’s extensive and personal T-shirt collection, accompanied by essays that reveal a side of the writer rarely seen by the public.

Considered "the world's most popular cult novelist" (The Guardian), Haruki Murakami has written books that have galvanized... Read more »

On Animals

“Loved the Libro.fm version of this book! Read by the author, it is engaging and entertaining. It is not deep or heavy, but whether you are an animal enthusiast or not, this book works!”

Rebecca, Rediscovered Books

HIP-HOP (AND OTHER THINGS) is the third book in the (And Other Things) series. The first two—Basketball (And Other Things) and Movies (And Other Things)—were both #1 New York Times bestsellers. Read more »