Customer Reviews

The Powells.com Interviews: 22 Authors and Artists Talk About Their Books

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When writers stop by Powells, a large, independent bricks and mortar bookstore in Portland, Oregon, to read and sign books, employee Dave Weich interviews them for Powells.com, the Internet side of the business. Weich does his homework, reading (and comprehending) each author's works in advance and skillfully drawing them into discussion. The results are highly engaging, informative conversations that compare to Terry Gross's interviews on NPR. This volume gathers 22 interviews that largely took place in 1999 and 2000. It is interesting to read a rather prophetic exchange with David Brancaccio about e-commerce that took place before the bubble burst, or to check in on Helen Fielding between the Bridget books. Pico Iyer has some cogent observations on globalization, while Bill Bryson, William Least Heat Moon, and Paul Theroux talk about travel and place. Weich is a charming host who gets his guests to reveal the realities of publishing and how they got started in addition to talking about how they create. This is time spent pleasurably and money very well spent--the proceeds benefit the Literacy Volunteers of America.

Powells.com is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon and online bookseller that operates like Amazon. I get their monthly newsletter, which has reviews of the latest books as well as interviews with authors. Sometimes I read the interview, depending on who the author is. This book, however, is all interviews. All kinds of writers and artists talking about their books. Bill Bryson, Mary Higgins Clark, Roddy Doyle, Ian Frazier, A.M. Homes, Anne Liebovitz, Paul Thereau, and others. It's well done. Weich keeps the interviews interesting. And although I enjoyed some more than others, I read a lot of interviews I would usually pass on, and found some of them surprisingly interesting, even added some of their books to my wish list.