Powell's Condon Outpost, Face Movie, Bookstore Cats, Banned Books in Texas, Book Bans Should Alarm Every American, RIP Hilary Mantel, The Ability by M.M. Vaughn, Flame Kissed by Annie Anderson, and When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting

Greetings Bibliophiles and other book lovers, to the third week of September already! Its been another rough month for my family, with lots of health issues and medical bills, but there have also been a number of new streaming shows on Disney +, Netflix and Amazon, the latter of which just posted Top Gun Maverick at a really reasonable 6 bucks for rental streaming. I watched it just an hour ago, and was surprised and delighted that it did not disappoint, but instead delivered a wonderful cinematic experience. I laughed, I cried, I drooled over shirtless flyboys playing football (so sue me, I'm an old lady, not a dead one!). My only complaint was that the sound track wasn't as good as the original. Can't beat Kenny Loggins, and all the other artists on the original album/cassette tape. Meanwhile, I've been trying to get in as much reading as possible. I'll review below starting after the usual obits and tidbits.

I have always loved going to the mecca of book lovers, Powell's City of Books in the middle of Portland, Oregon. It's a splendid cave of delights for book dragons, with four floors of great books and bookish accessories. Now I find out that there's a small Powell's outpost in a tiny town in Oregon that I've never heard of...those who live in Condon are very lucky people! Where I live the population is vastly bigger than theirs, yet we don't have even a miniature bookstore. 

Powell's Books Outpost Still Going Strong in Condon, Ore. (Pop. 760)

"Against all odds," Condon, Ore.--population 760--is home to a little-known outpost https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscATenuUI6alnKh0jSw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jDDJ-tpoMLg-gVdw of Powell's Books, the Oregonian noted in its profile of Powell's Books at Condon Local, a retail store that features a coffee shop, soda fountain and, in the back, a small bookshop.

Michael Powell, founder of the Portland bookstore, launched the Condon outlet in 1993. "People do a double take, and then they come back and say, 'Is it true? Is it real?' " he said. "Yep. That's us."

For 34 years, the business, owned by Darla Seale, was known as Country Flowers. "The idea of being in Condon appealed to me," Powell added, "but mainly it was Darla's personality that made it happen."

Her floral business gradually expanded to "sell an assortment of knickknacks, kitchenware, clothing and greeting cards. Seale also added a soda fountain and deli counter. Hers was the first cafe in the county to get an espresso machine," the Oregonian noted.

Powell discovered the store around that time after purchasing vacation property in the neighboring community of Spray and becoming one of Seale's regular customers. Then the idea of a Powell's Books outlet came up.

"It just seemed like a good idea at the time," Powell recalled. "I got to know Darla. It didn't take her very long to say, 'How would you feel about putting some kind of a book presence here?' " In the early years, Powell's sent someone to restock the books. Later, Seale would bring a vanload back herself when she visited Portland.

Both businesses have changed. Powell retired and his daughter, Emily Powell, is now owner and president of the company. Earlier this year, Seale sold Country Flowers to Jeremy Kirby, who had managed the business for more than two years before purchasing it in April and renaming it the Condon Local. The Powell's Books outlet remains a big draw, and he plans to move the books to a more prominent location at the front of the store.

"When people find it, they're usually pleasantly surprised," Kirby said. "They spend a bunch of time going through books. They get coffee and food and make a day out of it. And usually, they fall in love with Condon."

This looks like a great movie with a wonderful cast...I hope that I'm able to see it.

Movies: Face

Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix franchise), Isabelle Fuhrman (The Novice) and Liana Liberato (To the Bone) will star in Justine Bateman's upcoming film Face https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAeIwb4I6alndRx0Tg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jAWsD2poMLg-gVdw, based on her 2021 book, Face: One Square Foot of Skin.

Written by Bateman, the movie "consists of 14 vignettes, both comedic and dramatic, which look at women's faces getting older, and why that makes people angry," Deadline noted. "While much of society appears to assume that women's faces are somehow broken and need to be fixed, Face reveals some of the many ways in which women, and those around them, allow this idea to take root at all."

The project will begin production in Los Angeles in late fall, with Bateman producing under her Section 5 banner, along with Veronica Radaelli (Violet, 9 Bullets). Cassian Elwes (Mudbound, Dallas Buyers Club) is exec producing. Bateman is also the author of Fame.

 I love kitty cats, though I'm allergic to their dander. But I love that many bookstores now have cat mascots or employees who help people find books and are generally there to be soothing and seek scritches.

Bookstore Cats

"Cats and books are a comforting match," Catster noted in the piece headlined "Page-Turning Bookstore Cats https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAeJke8I6alndRAlSQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jAW5CnpoMLg-gVdw." "The combination drums up idyllic thoughts about sun-dappled afternoons spent in the company of your faithful feline while relaxing in a comfy chair and leafing through a captivating tome. So, it's no surprise that a growing number of kitties have decided to further their literary ambitions by taking up residence at independent bookstores across the country. Here's a spotlight on a highbrow clowder of cats who love nothing more than lounging on a pile of your favorite author's latest release."

More and more books are being put on "banned" lists by small minded people who generally don't read anyway, but are afraid of new ideas and diverse people. Texas has come under fire, too, for abortion bans that are medieval. So that booksellers and libraries are fighting back is a heartening thing.

Cool Idea of the Day: Special Banned Books Week Donation in Texas

"During this #BannedBookWeek, it's come to our attention that some school libraries in town have refused to add https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAeKlboI6almIx12HA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jAWJTypoMLg-gVdw the award-winning and Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee, Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by @caroleweatherford to their collections," Nowhere Bookshop , San Antonio, Tex., posted on Instagram. "One @northeastisd elementary library went so far as to censor the book from a list of Bluebonnet Award finalists provided to students claiming they did so because the book was not in the library. We offered to donate two copies to the library and the library declined.

"This picture book tells the history of the Black community of Greenwood and the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, a story that has been obscured from history for the past 100 years. We believe elementary students here in San Antonio need access to this important work and we'd like to see this book in as many elementary school classrooms as possible.

"So, we're donating up to 250 copies of Unspeakable by @caroleweatherford to educators in our local school districts. If you want a copy for your classroom, just fill out the form linked in our bio and we will contact you when your free book is ready for pickup at our store. A special thank you to all of our local educators who believe books should challenge you and change you."

Book Bans 'Should Alarm Every American'

"The wave of book bans that has swept across our country in recent years is a direct attack on First Amendment rights and should alarm every American who believes that freedom of expression is a fundamental pillar of our democracy. The efforts to remove books from schools and public libraries simply because they introduce ideas about diversity or challenge students to think beyond their own lived experience is not only anti-democratic but also a hallmark of authoritarian regimes. During this Banned Books Week, we must call attention to these threats to freedom of expression, reaffirm our commitment to protect First Amendment rights, and, most importantly, read banned books." --Rep. Jamie Raskin (D., Md.), chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Though  I've read only two of her books, I did love her elegant prose and felt she was a remarkable writer for making history so sexy and dark that even non readers read her books or watched the movies based on them. RIP.

Obituary Note: Hilary Mantel

Hilary Mantel,author of the Wolf Hall trilogy and twice the winner of the Booker Prize, died yesterday at age 70 of a stroke https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAeKn-gI6almIxFzTA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jAWJ6gpoMLg-gVdw, according to the New York Times.

She won the Booker for the first two books in the trilogy, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Bring Up the Bodies also won the Costa Award. The third book in the trilogy, The Mirror & the Light, was published in 2020, was longlisted for the Booker and won the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. Her many other titles included Learning to Talk: Stories, Giving Up the Ghost: A Memoir, A Place of Greater Safety, Beyond Black, Fludd, An Experiment in Love and The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher: Stories.

Mantel's longtime editor Nicholas Pearson, former publishing director of Fourth Estate, said, "The news of Hilary's death is devastating to her friends and everyone who worked with her. Hilary had a unique outlook on the world--she picked it apart and revealed how it works in both her contemporary and historical novels--every book an unforgettable weave of luminous sentences, unforgettable characters and remarkable insight. She seemed to know everything. For a long time she was critically admired, but the Wolf Hall Trilogy found her the vast readership she long deserved. Read her late books, but read her early books too, which are similarly daring and take the reader to strange places.

"As a person Hilary was kind and generous and loving, always a great champion of other writers. She was a joy to work with. Only last month I sat with her on a sunny afternoon in Devon, while she talked excitedly about the new novel she had embarked on. That we won't have the pleasure of any more of her words is unbearable. What we do have is a body of work that will be read for generations. We must be grateful for that. I will miss her and my thoughts are with her husband, Gerald."

"E-mails from Hilary were sprinkled with bon mots and jokes as she observed the world with relish and pounced on the lazy or absurd and nailed cruelty and prejudice. There was always a slight aura of otherworldliness about her, as she saw and felt things us ordinary mortals missed, but when she perceived the need for confrontation she would fearlessly go into battle. And all of that against the backdrop of chronic health problems, which she dealt with so stoically. We will miss her immeasurably, but as a shining light for writers and readers she leaves an extraordinary legacy. “

The Ability by M. M. Vaughn is more of a middle-grade than a real YA novel, but my husband found a copy of this fantasy fiction at a garage sale and immediately bought it for me because he knows how much I enjoy Harry Potter style stories. It's apparent that Ms Vaughn has read Harry Potter series, because there are several stylistic and plot points that are similar to JK Rowling's epic tales. But Vaughn puts her own spin on things, stripping down the narrative and using clean prose to make the character's stories take center stage. Here's the blurb:

Delve into the extraordinary abilities of the twelve-year-old mind in this “fast-paced, superhero-tinged spy novel” (Publishers Weekly), the thrilling start to a middle grade series that expands the possibilities of power.

No one has any confidence in twelve-year-old Christopher Lane. His teachers discount him as a liar and a thief, and his mom doesn’t have the energy to deal with him. But a mysterious visit from the Ministry of Education indicates that Chris might have some potential after all: He is invited to attend the prestigious Myers Holt Academy.

When Christopher begins at his new school, he is astounded at what he can do. It seems that age twelve is a special time for the human brain, which is capable of remarkable feats—as also evidenced by Chris’s peers Ernest and Mortimer Genver, who, at the direction of their vengeful and manipulative mother, are testing the boundaries of the human mind.

But all this experimentation has consequences, and Chris soon finds himself forced to face them—or his new life will be over before it can begin.

For a middle grade novel which is for tweens and early teens, this book deals with a number of adult themes, including a parent brainwashing and abusing her children for her own use as a weapon against those whom she perceives have wronged her. These wrongs, which were not the fault of most of the people the parent is after, seem to have turned her from a regular person to one who will accept nothing less than lifelong torture as payment. I've seen this trope in many movies and TV shows and books, and it's always a woman who is at or near middle age who suddenly becomes obsessed and crazy, while men of the same age are still spritely and sane, I guess because they're men. This misogynistic trope of being afraid of women of menopausal age because they're wise and often widows or divorcees goes back forever in history, but was very evident in the Salem Witch trials. Men seem to fear women who don't need them anymore, and women who have agency over their reproductive systems because they can no longer be forced to bear children. At any rate, I did enjoy this book and the world building, but the sexism will keep me from reading other books in the series. I'd give it a B- and recommend it to Harry Potter fans who are teens or tweens.

Flame Kissed by Annie Anderson is a fantasy, paranormal romance novel that I got for a great price from the publishers website. Anderson has another series that I read 7 books or so, the Arcane Souls/Grave Talker series, and though I enjoyed them they all began to sound/read the same, with half the book being taken up with explaining what happened in the last book. Still, I enjoyed that series enough to give this one a try as a cheap ebook, and was surprised at the low quality of the novel as a whole, considering the stout prose from the other series. Anyway, here's the blurb:  

You can’t outrun fate.

As a phoenix on the run from her Legion, I’ve done my best to stay one step ahead of the hunters on my tail. So far, I’ve managed to hide from everyone—everyone except Rhys.

Bonded against my will, I’ve avoided my mate for the better part of a century—hating him for the life he stole from me. But he’s always there. Waiting. Watching.

When I’m found, it’s my mate who saves me from a fate worse than death. It’s the mate I rejected who keeps me free. But being this close to him comes at a price—one I don’t want to pay.

Because if we’re going to survive, choosing him may be the only option I have left.

If you love strong heroines, scorching hot heroes, and non-stop action, then check out Flame Kissed, the first book in the Phoenix Rising series.

I actually didn't find the heroine all that strong...I mean she was a warrior, which is great, and she loves to kick butt whenever she can, but though the man who she was bonded to
against her will (kind of like a rape situation, but instead he just pervs on her for over a hundred years, watching her every move...yikes! So creepy, but of course we're meant to think all that possessiveness and horny commentary is not abusive, but romantic...blech...misogyny much?) has murdered her husband and stabs her in the gut killing their unborn child, somehow she accepts, in record time, his version of the story that it is, of course, all the fault of this psychopathic evil seer who wants the protagonist and everyone around her dead. We're never given a clear reason why she feels the need to cause them pain and suffering, but again, she's a woman, so the ultimate evil is of course bound up in her mad mind. And our protagonist, meanwhile, forgives her "bonded" soldier and they have wild sex every spare moment that they're not fighting the forces of evil. She, of course, just can't get enough because she's been in love with him for so long! EWWW. Why would you be in love with a murderer who killed your husband and child? This is where I found the protagonist to be weak sauce. No one would find that guy sexy in real life. It strains the reader's credulity. I don't care how good looking he is, he's an asshat. Anyway, there was too much sex and not enough background or  females kicking arse action. So I'd give this book a C, and recommend it only to those who find killers irresistible. 

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting is a cozy rom-com of a book, with a lot more emphasis on the romantic than the comedy. Here's the blurb:  

Avery Spark is living her best life. Between her friends, her sisters, and Spark House, the event hotel her family owns, she doesn’t have much time for anything else, especially relationships. She’d rather hang out with her best friend and roommate, Declan McCormick, than deal with the dating scene. But everything changes when she is in a car accident and needs someone to care for her as she heals.

Declan avoids relationships, giving him a playboy reputation that he lives up to when he puts a one-night stand ahead of a promise he made to Avery. While he may not have been the one driving the car, he feels responsible for Avery’s injuries and is determined to make it up to her by stepping into the role of caretaker.

Little did they know that the more time they spend in compromising positions, the attraction they’ve been refusing to acknowledge becomes impossible to ignore. When they finally give in to the spark between them, neither is prepared for the consequences. Their love is fragile and all it will take is a blow from the past to shatter it all. 

This is a sort of fun book, however, once again readers have to wade through a lot of cliches and tropes, and with that, a lot of sexist BS that will rankle anyone with even a smidgen of feminism in them. Poor Declan, he lets his jealousy about his best friend Avery going out on a date, and when he doesn't help her drive to where she needs to be (ever since her parents were killed in a car accident, she's had trouble driving, which is fair) she gets into a horrendous accident, and Declan, out of guilt, insists on helping her recover, since half of her body is encased in casts. All of which is great, except suddenly Avery becomes aware of the fact that she can't masturbate without her dominant hand. Suddenly readers are supposed to imagine that a young woman with multiple fractures and bruising all over her body is more frustrated by lack of sex than by not being able to go to the bathroom by herself or having a ton of pain (I had a small broken bone in my ankle and I was howling in pain for weeks) every time she moves or is moved. So guess who comes to the rescue?! Of course, it's her friend Declan, who enjoys getting her off, and she returns the favor, of course, and then we're lead to believe that because she's involved in sports, she has a "high sex drive" and wants sex all the time. WTF? So running around a field kicking a ball makes you a horndog? Really? Declan also, unsurprisingly, has a high sex drive, so apparently for awhile they're going at it like bunny rabbits. For Declan this is seen as "normal" because he's secretly in love with Avery, and men are all supposed to be big sweaty horndogs, right? But now he's found the perfect woman, one who loves sports and is just as horny as he is, and then, because he can't admit his feelings for her, he tries to ruin their relationship, mainly because his parents are divorced assh*les whose sexual dramas ruined him, because now he can never build trust in relationships. Again, WTF? My parents divorced when I was 18, and yes, there was infidelity on both sides. Did I become a massive ahole and never trust anyone in a relationship because of it? No, I did not. Since 50 % of marriages end in divorce, I suspect I'm not alone. All that sexist nonsense and tropes about guys being commitment phobic and "damaged" by their parents wears really thin, really fast. Also the sexist BS about women's sex drives was irritating. So I'd give this book a B-, and recommend it only to those who don't mind a bit of sexism in their romance novels.