Viva la Bookstores!

For me, being able to visit a bookstore is a treasured experience that online book buying will never be able to equal. (What's Harvey got to do with it? Nuthin', 'cept he's a local landmark at a marine supply shop. No idea.) A few days ago, Evil Wylie (@EvilWylie, aka Andrew Shaffer) tweeted out a …

Patrick Rothfuss Sings!

Yes, it's true. But first, I totally underestimated how many people were fanatical enough to drive out to Beaverton last night to see Patrick Rothfuss in person. One person raised his hand when Patrick asked who had driven more than 3 hours to get there, while many hands went up for one – two hours. …

Cherie M. Priest at Beaverton Powells tonight

She just tweeted she's on a prop plane, coming down from Seattle. I've never been on one myself, but when I set up travel for the guys in the office here, they often catch the hop up to Sea-Tac, and on to Asia. If you're a fan of Cherie M. Priest, and would like a …

Of Books and Book Signings

It seems Twitter is proving itself actually useful, after all. I follow the Science Fiction Writers of America (@sfwa), and caught a tweet yesterday for a book signing at the Powells Books in Beaverton by Dan Wells, author of I Am Not a Serial Killer and the sequel, Mr. Monster. I have to admit I …

Another Oregon Vortex — Forty Years Ago

Some of you may have heard of the Oregon Vortex, a place in Gold Hill, Oregon where the natural laws seem unable to hold sway. But this weekend marks the fortieth anniversary of a different Oregon Vortex, proving the counterculture of Oregon in 1970 rivaled even that of California. In late August 1970, President Nixon …

Six-Word Memoirs

You probably think I'm on the staff at Powell's by now, but I promise I'm not! I just love their Web site, I can never read even a tiny fraction of everything they have there. And I just ran across a fun little contest they're having, at which I think those of us of the …

Borders Books Dropping Some Sci-Fi?

I just found this article over at io9, and am dismayed by Borders decision not to stock some new titles and even debut novels in the genre. Gregory Frost discovered that his new book, Lord Tophet, follow-up to the successful Shadowbridge, is not being picked up by Borders. At all. Apparently it didn't "sell as well as anticipated." …