BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS
Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of going to Portland Oregon's Powell's Books for the first time. I've heard so much about it over the years but I'd yet to go for myself. A friend and I decided to rectify the situation so we specifically planned a drive down to Portland to go there. I knew it was going to be big but I don't think I could really imagine quite what that meant. It's a whole city block, 5 stories (I believe) with 8 color coded rooms (which helps a lot with the navigation) and just might be the biggest independent new and used bookstore in the world. In other words, it's pretty much paradise.
I bought 8 of books while I was there!:
Fucked Up And Photocopied is a book I found in the Graphic Design section (which they actually have and is pretty big). It's a collection of flyers from the punk scene of the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. I love this style, much of which looks hand drawn or patched together and then photocopied, and I wanted the book to see if I could Photoshop some of my own versions of these flyers and also just to look at.
Mind Wide Open: Your Brain And The Neuroscience Of Everyday Life in which the author subjects his own brain to tests wondering things like how do we 'read' other people, why does music move us to tears, or why do we sometimes smile inappropriately. There are certain areas of psychology, a subject in which I almost majored, which I find fascinating but don't understand that well (pretty much the parts that have to do with the science of the brain as opposed to people's behavior) and this book seemed like an interesting way to more easily explore interesting neuroscience topics.
Fans, Bloggers, And Gammers: Exploring Participatory Culture. Like the sociology graduate I am I explored the Sociology and Cultural sections from top to bottom (while being overjoyed at how copious those sections were) and decided upon this book. When I saw chapters entitled "Normal Female Interest in Men Boinking" and "'The Monster's Next Door': A Father Son Dialogue About Buffy, Moral Panic, and Generational Differences" I knew I had to buy it!
I also ended up buying 4 fantasy books while I was there too (and what glorious fantasy, sci-fi, and horror sections they have) and 1 book by Alexander Cockburn for my mom.
My only gripe is that they don't have a bookstore like this in Seattle.
I can't wait to go again!
I bought 8 of books while I was there!:
Fucked Up And Photocopied is a book I found in the Graphic Design section (which they actually have and is pretty big). It's a collection of flyers from the punk scene of the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. I love this style, much of which looks hand drawn or patched together and then photocopied, and I wanted the book to see if I could Photoshop some of my own versions of these flyers and also just to look at.
Mind Wide Open: Your Brain And The Neuroscience Of Everyday Life in which the author subjects his own brain to tests wondering things like how do we 'read' other people, why does music move us to tears, or why do we sometimes smile inappropriately. There are certain areas of psychology, a subject in which I almost majored, which I find fascinating but don't understand that well (pretty much the parts that have to do with the science of the brain as opposed to people's behavior) and this book seemed like an interesting way to more easily explore interesting neuroscience topics.
Fans, Bloggers, And Gammers: Exploring Participatory Culture. Like the sociology graduate I am I explored the Sociology and Cultural sections from top to bottom (while being overjoyed at how copious those sections were) and decided upon this book. When I saw chapters entitled "Normal Female Interest in Men Boinking" and "'The Monster's Next Door': A Father Son Dialogue About Buffy, Moral Panic, and Generational Differences" I knew I had to buy it!
I also ended up buying 4 fantasy books while I was there too (and what glorious fantasy, sci-fi, and horror sections they have) and 1 book by Alexander Cockburn for my mom.
My only gripe is that they don't have a bookstore like this in Seattle.
I can't wait to go again!