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I’m not a huge believer in new year’s resolutions — they always feel like set ups for failure and disappointment instead of the well-meaning self-bettering they’re intended to be. However, I do believe in the fresh promise of a new year and taking the opportunity to deliberately (and gently) think about your routines and what you might be missing.

I also believe in balance, and that for every good, new routine, you deserve to add in a little bad, too. Toward that end...

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to watch much TV, because my dad believed it would rot my brain. Still, he made an exception for the stuff he liked — noir, detective stories, Hitchcock. Even before I could understand the dialogue, I could feel these films in my body. The creeping scores and the dark shadows. A close-up of a face in terror and a sudden scream. They were visceral...

If you know anything about the booksellers at Powell's Books, you know we love books and you know we love getting excited about books. Our quarterly book preview is one of our favorite things to put together for the blog, because we get to be loud and enthusiastic about all of the great releases coming out over the next few months, and there are some really great releases...

For the fourth year running, we asked Powell’s booksellers to recommend the book that helped them the most through this past year — 2023 was another rough year in a long line of them, so it should be no surprise that the books that came in were escapist and heartfelt, redemptive and generous, wise and filled with the healing power of love. The books on this list nourished us...

For many people, the winter months feel like an especially magical time of year for a number of reasons — from family gatherings to icy, snowy weather to just the simple warmth and smell of cinnamon and pine that seems so emanate from every room. For witches, that magical feeling is often doubled. This is partially because the witch's new year is actually October 31, so there is a sense of renewal and starting fresh that can make the chilly winter months feel a little brighter, and also because...

2023 wasn't just a great year for books: it was also a great year for movies — we had movies that were grandiose and intimate, movies that made us yearn and movies that made us cringe (complimentary). For the second year in a row, we wanted to bring you a list of books to pair with your favorite movie from 2023. No matter what flavor you prefer — whether it be stories...

This month, the Rare Book Room Dispatch is featuring the legendary Robert Frost (1874–1963), the Poet Laureate of Vermont and four-time Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner. Perhaps one of the best known poets in America, we felt like it would be perfect to feature him during the month perfect for thinking deeply while ambling slowly along snowy forest paths...

Every December, when the Portland sun disappears, my mental health depends on a steady stream of sugary-sweet holiday rom-coms. While I love the low-budget movies (unlicensed new pop songs with auto-tuned jingle bells! Every scene obviously filmed in the same McMansion, even the ones that take place at "work"! Chemistry between romantic leads that lands anywhere between "wooden strangers" and "sizzling Christmas miracle"!), and while I love the high-budget movies (better music and settings, but chemistry can still be a struggle!), there's no replacing a holiday romance book. Nothing warms my heart more...