LibraryThing Local

Fiction Collective Two — an author-run, not-for-profit publisher of artistically adventurous, non-traditional fiction — introduces the Writer's Edge, the first and only writers' workshop dedicated to the practice of innovative writing. Tonight's reading features Lance Olsen (Nietzsche's Kisses), ... (more)Noy Holland (What Begins with Bird), Steve Tomasula (The Book of Portraiture), Kate Bernheimer (The Complete Tales of Merry Gold), and Lidia Yuknavitch (Liberty's Excess).

Live Wire! is an independently produced radio variety show recorded in front of a live audience at the Aladdin Theater and broadcast on Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). The July 26th show features writer and comedian Michael Ian Black ("My Custom Van...and 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow ... (more)Your Mind All Over Your Face"); musician and author Willy Vlautin ("Northline," "The Motel Life"), along with his band, local favorite Richmond Fontaine; filmmaker Curt Ellis discussing his new documentary, "The Greening of Southie"; whip-smart indie-pop band Derby; and Paul Anthony, who will share the secrets of his "sonic branding" agency, Rumblefish. Plus, original sketch comedy from Faces for Radio Theater, music from Ralph Huntley and the Mutton Chops, host Courtenay Hameister, and, as always, a few surprises!

From critically acclaimed author Rhys Bowen comes A Royal Pain, another hilarious mystery featuring penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie, "a feisty new heroine to delight a legion of Anglophile readers" (Jacqueline Winspear).

Set in Portland, Oregon, 42 follows George Olson, accused of murdering his wife and child, as he finds himself caught up in a conspiracy of numbers and strange events. The number 42 becomes the meaning of George's life. But does the conspiracy really exist or is it the product of a paranoid mind?

Calyx, the independent, nonprofit publisher of contemporary writing and art by women from a diversity of backgrounds, celebrates its 32nd anniversary with a reading from contributors to the July issue of Calyx Journal, including National Book Award winner Ursula K. Le Guin, Frances Payne Adler, Paulann ... (more)Petersen, Pam Crow, and Willa Schneberg.

Naomi Novik's acclaimed series starring the fighting dragon Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, reaches a peak of excitement with Victory of Eagles, the latest installment and the first in hardcover.

Weakness has always been a concern for William Miller, but he is further weakened by his irrepressible crush on his new stepsister, Lulu. Once Lulu departs for college, Will attempts to find himself — discovering Western philosophy, a cruel dating world, and, ultimately, his true calling.

This month the classics book group meets to discuss Orlando by Virginia Woolf. New members to the group are always welcome.

With Run Faster: From the 5k to the Marathon, Brad Hudson — former Olympic-trials marathoner and current coach to Olympians — enables runners to do for themselves what top coaches do for their athletes: custom-tailor their training plans. With Hudson's guidance, runners can avoid injury and ... (more)train more effectively.

Alive in Necropolis is Doug Dorst's fresh, imaginative debut novel about a young police officer in northern California struggling to keep the peace — and maintain a grip on reality — in a town where the dead outnumber the living.

In the first small-format instructional guide to combine poetry and spirituality, Robert McDowell's Poetry as Spiritual Practice offers readers the tools to explore poetry in a reflective writing and reading process that may lead to deeper awareness and enjoyment.

On Friday, August 1, Powell's will host Bella's Ball, a midnight release party celebrating Breaking Dawn, the long-awaited fourth book in the Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga. Come to Powell's City of Books for fun and games. Enter the costume contest. Dance to a DJ. Donate blood at a Red Cross ... (more)Blood Mobile (on-site 3:30-6:30 p.m.). Blood donors receive priority line-placement when the book goes on sale. To pre-register for the blod drive, contact Mark at the American Red Cross: 503-528-5608

Convictions is a spellbinding story from the front lines of the fight against crime. Most Americans know little about the work of assistant United States attorneys, the federal prosecutors who possess sweeping authority to investigate and prosecute the nation's most dangerous criminals. John Kroger pursued ... (more)high-profile cases against Mafia killers, drug kingpins, and Enron executives. Starting from his time as a green recruit and ending at the peak of his career, he steers us through the complexities of life as a prosecutor, where the battle in the courtroom is only the culmination of long and intricate investigative work. He reveals how to flip a perp, how to conduct a cross, how to work an informant, how to placate a hostile judge. Kroger relates it all with a novelist's eye for detail and a powerful sense of the ethical conflicts he faces.

Here are twenty wilderness hikes within twenty miles of downtown Portland, Oregon, less than a half hour's ride from the city. Adventurers at all skill levels will be surprised by the remoteness and remarkable beauty of these easy woodland escapes. Just take this pocket-sized companion and slip down ... (more)a hidden trail to emerge on vistas with eagles soaring overhead. There are shorter walks suitable for kids, like the McCarthy Creek Loop, and rugged routes for the ambitious, like the Fire Lane 12 loop. Each hike description includes a map, bus access, basic conditions, length, and grade, as well as flora, fauna, geology, and local history. Half the trails explore lesser-known wooded hillsides in Forest Park. Others venture farther north in the Tualatin Mountains into rarely described prime Oregon hiking country. A devoted advocate for Portland's wilderness areas, James D. Thayer has surveyed most of the publicly accessible walking routes along the Tualatin Mountains from Forest Park to Scappoose and nearly to the Oregon coast-on foot.

Oregon became the 33d state in the Union on February 14, 1859. Portland had wooden sidewalks, and gold glittered in southern Oregon streams. Towns like Lookingglass, Needy, and Sodaville were springing up all around. It is a time to remember-and to revisit-today, 150 years later, with this detailed and ... (more)lively guide. Janice Marschner's Oregon 1859 provides all you need to travel through each of Oregon's 19 original counties at the moment of statehood: a map showing each county's 1859 place names and current reference points; the history of native peoples and settlers; early roads and bridges; the first homes, schools, stores, hotels, and churches; biographical sketches of notable individuals throughout the state; lists of family names from Applegate and Lovejoy to McLoughlin, Reed, and Zumwalt; and sites to see. Historical photographs show the determined faces of natives and settlers; their oxen and wagons on wide, rough roads; their rafts and ferries on the rivers; and their towns under development. An inspiring, closeup portrait at the moment of statehood, Oregon 1859 will light the way back for anyone who wants to see Oregon today as it was then.

What caused the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986? Why were thousands of parents wrongly accused of child sex abuse in the 1990s? Why do law courts throughout the world rely on a process that is next to useless? And why do people entrust millions of dollars each year to hedge-funds ... (more)that economists agree use flawed financial models? The answer is failure. Not just any failure; but failure of knowledge. In this gripping and controversial book, Michael Phillips outlines all the reasons we don't know what we think we do, and the devastating consequences this can have. From false memories to fraudulent experts, Phillips treads in the footsteps of Descartes to reveal why we must be more careful in what we believe and how we think. Spanning psychology, philosophy, science, and sociology, this unique exploration of why we get things wrong, and how to guard against it, is an essential read for anyone seeking to make sense of the chaotic world in which we live. Michael Phillips has taught philosophy for over 30 years, most recently at Portland State University.

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