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Heather B. Armstrong

Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, OR, United States

From blogger Heather B. Armstrong (dooce), author of It Sucked and Then I Cried, comes The Valedictorian of Being Dead (Gallery), an irreverent new memoir – reminiscent of Brain on Fire – about her experience as one of only a few people to participate in an experimental treatment for depression involving 10 rounds of a chemically-induced coma approximating brain death. Disarmingly honest, self-deprecating, and scientifically fascinating, The Valedictorian of Being Dead brings to light a groundbreaking new treatment for depression.

Free

Landfill: Notes on Gull Watching and Trash Picking in the Anthropocene

Powell's Books on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR, United States

Over the past 100 years, gulls have been brought ashore by modernity. They now live not only on the coasts but in our slipstream following trawlers, barges, and garbage trucks. In many ways they live as we do, walking the built-up world and grabbing a bite where they can. Tim Dee’s Landfill (Chelsea Green) is the compelling story of how in the Anthropocene we have learned about the natural world, named and catalogued it, and then colonized it, planted it, or filled it with our junk.

Free

Lauren Kessler

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

Over three years, Lauren Kessler helped men facing life in prison confront the reality of spending the rest of their lives behind bars through writing workshops. Kessler brings her experience and some of their most powerful stories to light in her new book, A Grip of Time (Red Lightning). Gripping, intense, and heartfelt, A Grip of Time shows what a lifetime with no hope of release looks like up close.

Free

Jonathan Hill

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

Hold on tight and learn about weather and storms in illustrator Jonathan Hill’s Science Comics: Wild Weather: Storms, Meteorology, and Climate (written by MK Reed) (First Second), an action-packed nonfiction graphic novel for middle-grade readers. Furious floods, looming landslides, terrifying tornadoes, ferocious forest fires! Is Mother Nature trying to tell us something?

Free

The Immigrant Story Exhibition Opening Reception

Collins Gallery 801 SW 10th Avenue, Portland, OR, United States

Join us for an opening reception for the exhibit: The Immigrant Story: Who We Are and What We Carried, featuring talks from the photographers and the sharing of stories. Light refreshments will be served. Who We Are is our way of honoring those affected by the horrific violence that took place aboard a Portland MAX train on May 26, 2017. It is a visual narrative of six Muslim women who wear hijabs. The six stories were documented by The Immigrant Story in 2017 and 2018. What We Carried, by award-winning photographer Jim Lommasson, uses objects to tell the stories of refugees fleeing the Iraq and Syrian wars.

Free

Longreads Club: The Underground Railroad of North Korea

Rose City Book Pub 1329 NE Fremont, Portland, OR, United States

For over two decades, a secret network has worked tirelessly to help thousands of refugees escape the world's worst dictatorship. This is the story of one desperate woman who risked her life to reach freedom, and of the complicated man who led the way. READ THE ARTICLE: https://www.gq.com/story/underground-railroad-of-north-korea Join the Longreads Club where we discuss a long-form article focused on global topics. No membership or registration required. Just read the article, show up, and join the discussion!

Free

A Deadly Wind: The 1962 Columbus Day Storm

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

John Dodge’s A Deadly Wind (Oregon State) is a detailed account of the most powerful windstorm in recorded history to strike the West Coast. The Columbus Day Storm of Oct. 12, 1962, was a freak of nature, with deadly winds topping 100 miles per hour. The storm killed dozens, injured hundreds, damaged more than 50,000 homes, and leveled enough timber to build one million homes. A Deadly Wind tells the story spiced with human drama, Cold War tension, and Pacific Northwest history.

Free

Green Buddhism: Practice and Compassionate Action in Uncertain Times

Powell's Books on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR, United States

With species rapidly disappearing and global temperatures rising, there is more urgency than ever to act on the ecological crises we face. Leading Buddhist environmentalist Stephanie Kaza has spent her career exploring the intersection of religion and ecology. In Green Buddhism (Shambhala), she offers guidance on how people and communities can draw on Buddhist concepts and practices to live more sustainable lives on our one and only home. Kaza will also present Conversations With Trees (Shambhala), a collection of evocative meditations on the beauty, fragility, and resilience of trees.

Free

Garden+ Lecture Series: Balazs and Botond Bognar

Portland Japanese Garden 611 SW Kingston Ave, Portland, OR, United States

Balazs and Botond Bognar present a public lecture at the Garden to mark the launch of their new book, Kengo Kuma: Portland Japanese Garden (Rizzoli, 2019). Come join us on the Garden’s beautiful Overlook to hear the story of the creation of the Garden’s Cultural Village and the inspiration it took from Japan’s monzen-machi, the small settlements built in front of gates or shrines. The conversation will touch on the Japanese tradition of dwelling in harmony with nature, the Garden’s evolution into a world-renowned Japanese cultural organization, and the bold vision shared across the Pacific that moved the project forward to fruition. The evening will be a chance to learn firsthand about the elements and features in the Cultural Village and their ancient lineage in…

Continue readingGarden+ Lecture Series: Balazs and Botond Bognar
$15

The Socialist Manifesto

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

What, exactly, is socialism? And what would a socialist system in America look like? In The Socialist Manifesto (Basic), Bhaskar Sunkara explores socialism's history since the mid-1800s and presents a realistic vision for its future. The founder and editor of Jacobin magazine, Sunkara shows that socialism, though often seen primarily as an economic system, in fact offers the means to fight all forms of oppression, including racism and sexism.

Free
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