Portland Readers discussion

This is a thread for new members to introduce themselves.

My name is Bill and I live in southeast Portland. If I am not shopping at Powell’s on Hawthorne I am in the Belmont Branch Library, Powell’s main store on Burnside or the Powell’s Tech Books.

I used to read quite a bit of science fiction. I still read some but I read more fantasy literature now. My favorite author was once Isaac Asimov but how it is the late Robert Jordan. So I am eagerly waiting for the 12th book in Jordan’s Wheel of Time series due out on Oct. 27.

I love disaster stories about man-eating monsters like Jaws or natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanoes. I particularly like them if a nerdy scientist tries to warn people but a mayor gets in the way saying, “We can’t close this beach (or evacuate the town, etc.). We get half our yearly income from this festival!”

I read history, particularly European and American history from about 1750 to the present. I am currently rereading No Ordinary Time

I belong to one of the library book clubs, which keeps me from reading in a rut.

I also belong to the Jane Austen Society of North America and regularly go to the local chapter meetings. I devour anything that has to do with Jane, including all the corny sequels like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the sex loaded Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife or Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen mysteries. I am currently reading a biography of Jane and another book that is an analysis of her fame.

A few years ago I started to write a novel about Jane Austen. As the plot evolved, I realized it was mostly a romance. At that time the only romances I had read were classics like Jane’s own books and Jane Eyre, etc., and Jane Austen spin-offs. Of course most of the books I read had strong romantic elements, but few had a romance at the center of them. So I decided to learn more about the genre. I read a few Georgette Heyer books which I found very funny and delightful. Then I decided to read a book by a living romance author and luckily picked up More Than a Mistress by Mary Balogh. I was amazed at how imaginative the story was and how engaging the characters and their back stories were.

I have been hooked on these books ever since and Balogh is one of my favorite authors. Romance novels are just a different kind of fantasy. Instead of the end of an evil dark lord’s dominion, the goal is that the hero and heroine cut through all of the barriers that keep them apart and get to a happy ending. (Isn’t that essentially the plot of most books?} The best of the genre is equal to the best of science fiction (once my first love), mysteries, fantasy, and thrillers. Of course like all those other genres, there is plenty of rubbish that should never have been published. See Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels. But there are a lot of very good stories written by some of the best authors in the business.

I read quite a few books that are not so easy to categorize like Carl Hiaasen’s mad-cap books.

If you got this far, thanks for your interest. I am curious about the reading habits of other members of this forum.

Hi! I'm Laura. I live in SW Portland some of the time, and in Eugene the rest of the time. Powell's is indeed great (although I've begun losing interest as they've gotten severely picky about buying books back), but I especially like Smith Family Bookstore in Eugene. I enjoy reading all kinds of books, but I'm mostly into literary and historical fiction. Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite authors, and I've been slowly working my way through her novels. I'd like to join a good local book group--anyone have any suggestions?

Laura wrote: "Hi! I'm Laura. I live in SW Portland some of the time, and in Eugene the rest of the time. ... I'd like to join a good local book group--anyone have any suggestions?"

My wife and I go to one of the Multnomah County Library book groups. In our case we go to the Midland Branch because when she started going our local brance didn't have a book group. She and her girlfriend have been going about 10 years. I have been going about 7.

Each group is different depending on who is leading the group. The librarian at the North Portland Branch is really good but I don't know if they read the kind of things you are interested in. You can get the current book list for each group on line at the library site.

In a way Powells is so big that it can't provide the service that a small specialty bookstore can provide. But I still love walking in that store - both the main store and the Hawthorne Branch, which is my local bookstore.

Bill

Hey PDX Book Folk! This is Spencer with local Book Blog Reading Local. We're reaching out to you folks to make sure you know that Reading Local Portland is here to help build the literary community in Portland. We list all the events going on in the area, post Interviews with local Literary folk, publishers and bookstores, share our experiences at literary events, and pretty much anything else you could think of to help build the wonderfully rich literary community here in Portland.

We'll be rating and reviewing books from Authors, Publishers and Independent Entrepreneurs. We'd like to share our favorites with you, interact with you and basically build sturdy bridges in this literary location we call home.

Feel free to check us out on our website https://portland.readinglocal.com our Facebook Page or Twitter page.

Pleasure to virtually meet fellow book kin.

Best,
Spencer Newlin-Cushing
Editor
Reading Local

Greetings all,

My nom de guerre is Maphead and I reside in inner SE PDX. I tend to read a lot, especially non-fiction. My tastes run from history to comparative religion to international relations to science. And some literature thrown in for good measure.
While I have been known to visit the Belmont branch of the Mult. Co. Library, I grab most my books from the Midland branch and the Central branch downtown.
I just moved my book bog over to Wordpress. Come check it out if you feel so inclined. http://maphead.wordpress.com/

Hi everyone. My name is Stephanie and I live in Laurelhurst. I love to read and have for 50+ years. I love Jane Austen. I love biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. I love my Kindle. I read on the MAX and in whatever free time I can muster. I used to be the president of the Friends of Multnomah County Library and the library is one of my favorite things about living here. (Pardon me for a moment as I recommend the Friends' Library Store, just inside the front door of Central Library, to your left, for great used books and bookish gifts.)

It's nice to meet you all. I live in Vancouver, but can be found in Portland so often I may as well live there.

I'm an independent author. My edgy YA novel, Dream Smashers, was published in April, and my middle-grade novel, Land of Corn Chips, is due out the first week of June. Stop by my blog sometime and say hello! http://angelacarlie.blogspot.com

We are neighbors. I live south of Hawthorne. I am also a big fan of Jane Austen. Did you know about the Jane Austen Society of North America? It has an active local chapter her in Portland. You join it by joining the national organization and they send us the new members once a month.

vard wrote: "Hi everyone. My name is Stephanie and I live in Laurelhurst. I love to read and have for 50+ years. I love Jane Austen. I love biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. I love my Kindle. I read on..."

Hello all :) My name is Seth. I am a 20-year-old college student at MHCC (Mount Hood Community College) in Gresham; but I live in Milwaukie. My major is English. When I'm not in the Ledding Library of Milwaukie (or buried in textbooks at school), you can either find me at Jimmy Mak's Jazz Club, Waverley Country Club (where I work), or in my living room with a cup of green tea and a book. Favorite writer at this point is really a toss up - Ayn Rand, Raymond Khoury, and of course Tom Clancy.

Hello hello! I've been in Portland for the past year, but I am from Barcelona and I was in NY before getting to this awesome town. I love Spanish and everything created under this language. I love Latin America and I fantasize about changing the world.

:)

Hello all my fellow Portlanders!
My Name is Ell and I am a local indi writer . I write sci-fi and short fantasy fiction. I also have a facebook page to help inspire fellow writers. I have over 1,100 followers so we get some good discussions going. SO if you or someone you know is a writer, you might want to check it out
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elle-La...
I love being a writer in Portland and I am exited to see what local people are reading.
Elle

Hi, everyone! My name is Amy and I live in outer Southeast. I moved to Oregon from California last year, and absolutely love the rain.

I always have trouble describing what I like about a book, but I tend to read authors whose language fascinates me. I just finished reading Nights at the Circus, by Angela Carter, which I couldn't put down--she uses so many adjectives, and each one is perfect. I would love to be able to write like that. I read fiction and poetry, and some of my favorite authors are William Blake and Flannery O'Connor. I just received an advanced reader's copy of Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot, and can't wait to get started on that!

I'm also a library science student, and will be graduating this fall. I'm excited about being a public librarian, and about the prospect of having time to draw and write again ;)

Eva wrote: "Hello hello! I've been in Portland for the past year, but I am from Barcelona and I was in NY before getting to this awesome town. I love Spanish and everything created under this language. I love ..."

Eva - I visited Barcelona twice. It is one of my favorite European cities. Las Ramblas, the fountain that puts on a show each evening, Gaudi's cathedral and park, it is all wonderful.

Enjoy Portland. - Bill

Elle wrote: "Hello all my fellow Portlanders!
My Name is Ell and I am a local indi writer . I write sci-fi and short fantasy fic..."

Elle - I checked out your Facebook page and enjoyed it.

Your name was used in a movie but it was short on "L" and was an abbreviation for Extinction Level Event. - Bill

Hi all,
I own a web site based in Portland that is dedicated to helping self-published authors. We hire experts in the field of self-publishing, to write about what is going on in the industry. We have several contributors right here in Portland. I am looking forward to this group because I think that Portland is such a great place to be a writer and we should all stick together in this town.
If you’re interested in any of our articles, check them out at
Self-Publishing

Hi everyone!

Thanks, Bill, for nurturing this thread! I love reading (pretty much just about anything, although I am currently on probation with Scientific American since I get depressed about the future of our planet and then make things sad for my husband) but have a terrible habit of forgetting what I read. I'm trying to use Goodreads more consistently to track what I'm reading. It's great to see what folks are reading (and writing) in Portland.

I am also a comfort reader, and I will return to some books over and over again -- including Jane Austen, Laurie King, LM Montgomery, some Nick Hornby, Catch 22, Neal Stephenson (seeing him tomorrow night at the Bagdad!), and more.

A particular hello to Amy finishing up her library science program! I am an MLISer who has gone into the land of things digital.

Hope everyone is enjoying this surge of warm weather again!
Cat

Catriona wrote: "Hi everyone!

Thanks, Bill, for nurturing this thread! I love reading (pretty much just about anything, although I am currently on probation with Scientific American since I get depressed about th..."

Hi Catriona. As you can see I am a very bad nurturer of this thread.

I also read Nick Hornby and Neal Stephenson.

Bill

I am working on moving to Portland where I plan to adopt the neighborhood public library as my best friend when I am not walking curiously through the streets. I expect to visit PDX sometime soon to network employment opportunities.

Editio wrote: "Hi all,
I own a web site based in Portland that is dedicated to helping self-published authors. We hire experts in the field of self-publishing, to write about what is going on in the industry. We ..."

Well I have to agree on that. I love the IPRC and all the literary events that go on in Portland. It's a great city and I'm sure I'll be able to flourish as a writer here as I plan on making this my permanent home :) Welcome to the group!

Reading wrote: "Hey PDX Book Folk! This is Spencer with local Book Blog Reading Local. We're reaching out to you folks to make sure you know that Reading Local Portland is here to help build the literary community..."

I LOVE what you guys do. A lot.

J.R. here, originally from the midwest. Been out in Oregon for about three years now.

Big fan of Palahniuk and the Northwest author scene.

p.s. (shameful, shameful plug): my self-pub'd novel, Opposite Day: A Political Satire, is available free on Amazon for the next 48 hours:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006VACT8Y

Hi Everyone! My name is Rachel, I live in Beaverton. I am in a Book club and we are currently reading CHOKE by Chuck Palahniuk. We have read The Help, Room by Emma Danahough, And Skin by Ted Dekker. I am a young mother of 2 young boys (7 Months and 2 years old).. This July It will be 3 years of marriage for my husband and I. Ummm... I don't know what else to say :)

Hi, I am Alberto. I am a local author, originally from Venezuela. 10 years in PDX and loving it.
Just published a historical/political novel and working on a fantasy novel...
Here is a link of my novel in case anybody is interested:
www.hightreason-novel.com
It has a very good review from a top 50 reviewer at amazon. Hope you like it.

PS: Can anybody recommend recent fiction by a local author? would love to discover new things to read...
THX
A

Hello Portlanders!
Just joined this group and GR. I live southeast of Portland, in a small rural town. Born and raised in the Portland metro area, I couldn't think of a better place to live.

I read a wide variety of books-enjoying fantasy, sci-fi the most. I've never written anything, yet, but I have a few really good (I hope!) ideas for a book and I'm hoping to find my inspiration here. Any suggestions, ideas from authors would be appreciated!

hello! one year since someone has posted here. anyone left?

I moved back to Portland in November 13' and now reside in the Kenilworth neighborhood. We lived in the greater St. Louis area for 7 years. Before that we lived in Hawthorne and Sullivan's Gulch area.

I've crossed off two of my 2014 books so far and I'm always looking for suggestions. check out my reviews and profiles and add me if you think we'd be good friends.

-Jen

Jen wrote: "hello! one year since someone has posted here. anyone left?

I moved back to Portland in November 13' and now reside in the Kenilworth neighborhood. We lived in the greater St. Louis area for 7 y..."

I'm actually from Joplin. One of my favorite writers lives in St. Louis though (and some extended family that I don't talk to).

I used to live in Creston neighborhood when I first moved here. I'm in outer east Portland now. It's an interesting city, but I'm not sure how much longer I can take the winter. I've been here for a few years.

I just moved to SE Portland from Boston in July and love that I'm living in such a literary hub! I'm hoping to be involved with an active group of fellow readers and writers in the area who might be interested in doing occasional meet-ups.

Hi, relatively new to the area, I'm a fan of epic fantasy with my first book published in 2014.

I've lived in California for most of my life, explored Dallas, TX for a year and when the mountains and the ocean called us back to the West Coast we came north. Loving the Gorge, the rivers, the people, I think we have found home. Coffee is decent too.

Any other local epic fantasy fans? Writers? Would love to connect.

Best regards and happy reading!