FRIDAY 11/1 Dan Savage His new book, Skipping Towards Gomorra is all about those who frown on the human thirst for pleasure, like William Bennett. In a place like downtown Portland, such a diatribe is probably an example of preaching to the choir. Still, the man could write about his socks and be a joy […]
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Review: Rogue Warrior: Violence of Action
Rogue Warrior: Violence of Action Richard Marcinko (Atria Books) When it comes to guilty pleasures, nothing beats the “military action” genre. Unfortunately many of it’s grenade-throwin’ cigar-chompin’ action heroes are… well… “pussies.” These characters are written for actual army grunts whose only interest lies in “realism” and pages of flowery prose dedicated to the latest […]
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Review: Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey
Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey Edited by Karen Wilkin Harcourt News For most people, the echoes of childhood last a lifetime, especially when tinged with a subterfuge of dark influence. For myself and many others, master illustrator and author Edward Gorey provided a much-needed glimpse into the region of the imagination where we […]
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Book Review:
Shit Magnet: One Man’s Miraculous Ability to Absorb the World’s Guilt
If you’re not the type who frequents Mary’s Club or Magic Gardens, you may not have noticed Exotic Magazine; and even if you have a stack of back issues in the bathroom, with all the provocative photos to distract you, you may not have thought to actually read Portland’s monthly sex mag. But if you […]
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Readings Listings
THURSDAY 10/24 Jennifer EganTwo Charlottes occupy Egan’s Look at Me. Charlotte #1 has 80 screws holding together her car-accident-torn face. Charlotte #2 is a teenager who has an affair with one of her teachers. Naturally, the lives of the two women interweave. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, 7:30 pm, free FRIDAY […]
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Book Review:
Sam: The Boy Behind the Mask
Many Portlanders will remember the Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles Tom Hallman, Jr. published in The Oregonian a couple years back about Sam Lightner, the boy born with a huge and debilitating growth on his face. Now, Hallman has released a book about Sam composed of the original story, as well as additional reporting on […]
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THURSDAY 10/17 Martha McPhee McPhee revisits the charismatic therapist, Anton Furey, that she created in Bright Angel Time in Gorgeous Lies. Now, Furey is dying of pancreatic cancer and his family is gathered around. Annie Bloom’s Books, 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, 246-0053, 7:30 pm, free Ambushed This one sounds fascinating. While covering the front in […]
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Tristin Egolf Skirt and the Fiddle Reading at Powell’s on Hawthorne Tues Oct 22, 7:30 pm T ristan Egolf’s first novel, Lord of the Barnyard, received press and praise all over the place for being bold and new and fresh and inventive. But no one is going to be saying such things about his second […]
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THURSDAY 10/10 By the Grace of the Sea A while back, self-taught painter and sailor Pat Henry went on an eight-year sailing voyage around the world. She then wrote and illustrated this book about it. Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 238-1668, 7:30 pm, free Irvine Welsh The blokes from Trainspotting are back […]
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The Camera My Mother Gave Me
Susanna Kaysen Reading at Powell’s City of Books Tues Oct 15, 7:30 pm
You may remember Susanna Kaysen from her earlier memoir, Girl, Interrupted, which was made into a big hoopla of a movie with Angelina “Big Lips” Jolie and alleged Hollywood crime denizen, Winona Ryder. The Camera My Mother Gave Me is another memoir of sorts. Technically, the classification given above the jacket’s bar code is “memoir/psychology.” […]
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rEADINGS THURSDAY 10/3 Shawn Levy Oregonian film buff Levy reads and signs his new, excessively-titled book, Ready, Steady, Go: The Smashing Rise and Giddy Fall of London. Borders Books and Music, 708 SW 3rd Ave, 220-5911, 7 pm, free FRIDAY 10/4 Dave Eggers Fans of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius should dig his new […]
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Preview: Books
Q & A Dave Eggers Reading Frenzy Friday, Oct 4, 2 pm If you’ve not yet heard, Dave Eggers, aka the most famous writer in America, will be reading in Portland next week. And because of his fans’ unconditional love and his mass appeal, it’s tempting to hate him. But–for me at least–hatred is impossible […]