Broadway Books - Independently owned and supporting the NE Portland community since 1992.

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Did you know?

That you can order books 24/7 on our website? Select "pay in store/pick up in store," and we'll notify you when they're ready for you to pick up!

That we sell Kobo eReaders and eBooks that you can read on any device (including your iPad) except Kindle devices?

That we happily gift wrap any of your purchases from us at no additional charge?

That our gift certificates never expire? If we don't expire, they don't expire!

That more than almost anything else we love helping you choose just the right gift? So don't hesitate to ask for ideas if you're stuck.

That we are long-time supporters of local literary and educational activities?



 

Our Hours:

Monday - Saturday
10 am to 7 pm;
Sunday
Noon to 5 pm
Open 24/7 on our website!


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Thank You for Supporting Local Businesses!


Read this year's Multnomah County Library's Everybody Reads book: The Residue Years, by former Portlander Mitchell Jackson


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See you next month!
Broadway Books
A Great Little Store with Great Big Service
January 2015 Newsletter
 
  

Thank you, loyal customers and dear friends for a wonderful holiday season!  We loved visiting with you all in the store and ordering special gifts for you over the phone and online. We feel immensely grateful for your support.

Hello, 2015! Here at the bookstore we are looking forward to a brand new year, chock-full of literary magic.  Count on us to help meet your book needs and engage you with reading events -- and we even have a few new ideas up our sleeves! 

We have several great events lined up to kick off the year -- including two in the coming week. We look forward to seeing you.

Sally McPherson and Kim Bissell
Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232
(503) 284-1726
bookbroads@qwestoffice.net
January Readings
Tuesday, January 6th, 7 pm:  Barbara Drake, Morning Light

In her new memoir, Drake ruminates on rural life and lessons learned during her time living in Yamhill County.

 

As entertaining and instructive as it is personal and reflective, Drake's writing will resonate with anyone who has experienced a convergence of family history with natural history, considered their place in the historical continuum, or wondered if their lifestyle can be sustained with age.  In a world where even "the country" is becoming increasingly citified, Morning Light reminds us why we should care for our rural landscapes-while we still can.  

 

Barbara Drake was born in Kansas in 1939 and moved with her family to Oregon two years later. She grew up in Coos Bay and earned BA and MFA degrees from the University of Oregon. After teaching at Michigan State University, she returned to Oregon in 1983 to develop the new creative writing major at Linfield College, where she taught until retiring as Professor Emerita in 2007. Drake has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and a widely used college textbook, Writing Poetry.  

 

Thursday, January 8th, 7pm: Gary Ferguson, The Carry Home

This powerful and uplifting memoir records the intimate journey of Ferguson's grief over the tragic loss of his wife during a canoeing accident.

  

Over the past twenty-five years, Ferguson has earned respect for his well-written and researched nature memoirs including Walking Down the Wild about his 500-mile trek through Yellowstone. He is a frequent speaker at conservation and outdoor education gatherings around the country and is currently on the faculty of the Rainier Writing Workshop Masters of Fine Arts program at Pacific Lutheran University.  

 

In The Carry Home, Ferguson chronicles his journey scattering his late wife's ashes in five remote locations where they had adventured together. This poignant memoir reminds us all of the importance of the natural world's healing powers.

 

Wednesday, January 14th, 7 pm: William Stafford Birthday Celebration 

We will be celebrating the anniversary of William Stafford's birth by hosting our annual reading and discussion. Novelist and poet Joanna Rose will lead a group of writers, each of whom will read a Stafford poem and then a piece from their own work that they feel has been informed by the poem in some way.

 

Featured readers are Turiya Autry, Mark Pomeroy, and Harold Johnson. 

 

As always with our annual Stafford celebrations, audience members are invited to share their favorite Stafford poem, a thought, or a memory about William Stafford after the featured readings. 

 

Tuesday, January 20th, 7 pm: Ali Berman: Choosing a Good Life

Ali Berman's new book,  Choosing a Good Life: Lessons from People Who Have Found their Place in the World, traces the journey of a woman who sought out the key to balance and fulfillment by interviewing incredible people with diverse backgrounds.  Each of her interviewees have achieved a deep sense of harmony in their lives despite unimaginable hardships. This should be an inspirational event to get us off to a good start in 2015.
    

Tuesday, January 27th, 7 pm: Marilyn Sewell, Raw Faith: Following the Thread

Spiritual and community leader Marilyn Sewell will share from her literary memoir, Raw Faith: Following the Thread.  Sewell writes about universal longing -- for love and acceptance and for home.  Her angst originates from the loss of connection with her mother and her home at age nine. Her lifelong wandering teaches her that home is not a place, not even with people she loves and who love her, but is rather a condition of the spirit.    

 

Grant from James Patterson
Bestselling author James Patterson is passionately committed to the cause of literacy and to the viability of libraries, schools, and independent booksellers, and we applaud him for his efforts. Now we have even more reason to applaud Mr. Patterson, and to thank him: last year he committed to awarding grants totaling one million dollars to independent bookstores throughout the country. We applied for a grant, and many of you wrote emails to Mr. Patterson, lobbying on our behalf. We're thrilled to tell you that thanks in large part to your efforts, we have just received one of Mr. Patterson's grants.

While not enough for a total makeover, we hope to use the money to help us spruce up some of the basic infrastructure of the store, which is looking a little long in the tooth after almost twenty-three years. We have recently purchased newer, faster computers -- guaranteed to leap tall buildings in a single bound -- and we have our hearts set on doing a little painting and carpeting this winter.

Many thanks to all of you who wrote emails of support, and an incredibly heartfelt thank you to Mr. Patterson -- not only for our grant, but for all of the others he awarded, and for all that he has done to promote the cause of literacy and the love of reading throughout this country.
Broadway Books Bestsellers
Every January, many of our customers want to know which books were the big sellers at our store the previous year. This year two authors -- both local -- earned two spots on the list: Cheryl Strayed and Brian Doyle. Thirteen of the books on the list are written by Northwest-based authors. The list is almost evenly divided between nonfiction and fiction.

Kate has made a beautiful window display at the store highlighting the top sellers from the past year. Here is a list of the top thirty, with links to each of them:
  1. Wild, Cheryl Strayed 
  2. Tiny Beautiful Things, Cheryl Strayed 
  3. The Boys in the Boat, Daniel Brown
  4. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  5. My Beloved World, Sonia Sotomayer
  6. A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki
  7. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
  8. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante
  9. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
  10. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
  11. The Orchardist, Amanda Coplin
  12. The Plover, Brian Doyle
  13. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo
  14. Ask Me, William Stafford
  15. The Care and Management of Lies, Jacqueline Winspear
  16. Astoria, Peter Stark
  17. The Moth, edited by Catherine Burns
  18. My-Te-Fine Merchant, Fred Leeson
  19. I Loved You More, Tom Spanbauer
  20. Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? Roz Chast
  21. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
  22. The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert
  23. Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
  24. Mink River, Brian Doyle
  25. The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert
  26. Back in the Garden with Dulcy, Dulcy and Ted Mahar
  27. The Free, Willy Vlautin
  28. Life after Life, Kate Atkinson
  29. The Guest Cat, Takashi Hiraide
  30. The Fiddler in the Subway, Gene Weingarten
New in Hardcover
Honeydew: Stories, Edith Pearlman
We are huge fans of Edith Pearlman's short stories, so we're thrilled to announce that her new collection goes on sale on Tuesday, January 6th. Her previous collection, Binocular Vision, won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Pearlman writes with warmth about the predicaments of being human. In prose as knowing as it is poetic, she shines a light on small, devastatingly precise moments to reflect the beauty and grace found in everyday life. This new collection examines Pearlman's favorite subjects: the mysteries of love and friendship, the indignities and compensations of growing older, and the knotty complexities of the human heart. Anthony Doerr, author of All the Light We Cannot See, says "if you believe gorgeous, scrupulously made literature nourishes the soul -- then you must read Edith Pearlman."
 De Niro: A Life, Shawn Levy
Local author and film critic Shawn Levy has written books on Paul Newman and the Rat Pack, among others. Now he tackles Robert De Niro, one of the greatest screen actors of his generation.

In a biography that reads much like a novel, Levy explores the characters De Niro dove into on screen, and the actor behind those characters. His parents encouraged him from a young age to be independent of vision and spirit, and he followed that lead. The book is thorough, fact-filled, and deeply researched, sure to be the definitive biography of a great actor.
 Is your book club looking for ideas for new books? We're always glad to brainstorm with you. And we're happy to let you know if books are readily available, and when they'll be out in paperback.
 
Contact Information
Roberta Dyer or Sally McPherson
Broadway Books
(503) 284-1726
bookbroads@qwestoffice.net