Eric Arthur Blair better known by his pen name George Orwell, born this day in 1903
was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is marked by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism.
Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction, and polemical journalism. He is best known for the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
Animal Farm
Rated 4.5 on amazon.com
Down and Out in Paris and London
Rated 4.3 on amazon.com
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
Rated 4.4 on amazon.com
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Have you read Orwell, has he influenced you in any way?
So I thought I’d put together a list of Oregon books. Whether by a local author or set locally, these Oregon rooted reads are sure to entertain, amuse, and/or inspire readers of all varieties. Just like the state itself. I’ve also included a few special Book
Chuck Palahniuk provides answers to all these questions and more as he takes you through the streets, sewers, and local haunts of Portland, Oregon. According to Katherine Dunn, author of the cult classic Geek Love, Portland is the home of America’s “fugitives and refugees.” Get to know these folks, the “most cracked of the crackpots,” as Palahniuk calls them, and come along with him on an adventure through the parts of Portland you might not otherwise believe actually exist.
but the Café De Olla won.
From award-winning author Megan Chance, Bone River is a haunting tale of passion and identity. This beautifully written, lyrical literary novel engages with the themes of the despoliation of the Pacific Northwest’s native culture, and 19th-century concerns about race, degeneration and miscegenation.
Book Bean: Orange Mocha
An eerie, quirky, strange, and unique ambiance fills this old pdx style house turned cafe, and it is an experience you will not forget. You’ll wish you hadn’t gone to the bathroom alone (inside joke, sorry you’ll just have to visit to understand 🙂
In the tradition of The Lost City of Z and Skeletons in the Zahara, Astoria is the thrilling, true-adventure tale of the 1810 Astor Expedition, an epic, now forgotten, three-year journey to forge an American empire on the Pacific Coast. Peter Stark offers a harrowing saga in which a band of explorers battled nature, starvation, and madness to establish the first American settlement in the Pacific Northwest and opened up what would become the Oregon trail, permanently altering the nation’s landscape and its global standing.
Book Bean: Homemade Ginger Lemonade
In 1911 two wealthy British heiresses, Claire and Dora Williamson, came to a sanatorium in the forests of the Pacific Northwest to undergo the revolutionary “fasting treatment” of Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard. It was supposed to be a holiday for the two sisters. But within a month of arriving at what the locals called Starvation Heights, the women were emaciated shadows of their former selves, waiting for death.
Book Bean: Shot In The Dark
Book Bean: Cascara Soda
A bitter strike is raging in a small lumber town along the Oregon coast. Bucking the strike out of sheer cussedness are the Stampers: Henry, the fiercely vital and overpowering patriarch; Hank, the son who has spent his life trying to live up to his father; and Viv, who fell in love with Hank’s exuberant machismo but now finds it wearing thin. And then there is Leland, Henry’s bookish younger son, who returns to his family on a mission of vengeance – finding himself fulfilling it in ways he never imagined. Out of the Stamper family’s rivalries/betrayals, Kesey crafts a novel with the mythic impact of Greek tragedy.
Book Bean: Dragonfly Chai
Set in a fictional Oregon town in the late 1960s, Cody’s superlative coming-of-age novel is the story of Wade, Lorna and Jesse–teenagers preparing to break out of their small-town lives. Wade is the local sports hero. Jesse is his friend, a mythical athlete and the Indian kid who applies his own rules to sports and life. And Lorna is Wade’s sweetheart who knows there’s no hope in Calamus for a bright, independent girl. The river rushes past the town, linking the three friends with their pasts, their plans and the world beyond.
Book Bean: Karkadeh
A girl and her father live in Forest Park, the enormous nature preserve in Portland, Oregon. There they inhabit an elaborate cave shelter, bathe in a nearby creek, store perishables at the water’s edge, use a makeshift septic system, tend a garden, even keep a library of sorts. Once a week, they go to the city to buy groceries and otherwise merge with the civilized world. But one small mistake derails their entire existence, ultimately provoking a deeper flight. Inspired by a true story My Abandonment is a riveting journey into life at the margins, and a mesmerizing tale of survival and hope.
Book Bean: Gassato
In addition to a regular iced Americano or latte, they also offer Gassato, an iced espresso with a little sweetened milk and a float of fizzy water, all made with Stumptown Hairbender.
Book Bean: Macciato
Sometimes called espresso macchiato,
Like Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood and Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, Brian Doyle’s stunning fiction debut brings a town to life through the jumbled lives and braided stories of its people.
I was drawn to this book because of it’s title, which is from my Longfellow favorite, the poem “A Psalm of Life”
Book Bean: Lavender Latte, Mocha, or Cocoa
When he saw that she was beautiful he wanted only to cage her, but when he understood her true eternal beauty, he set her free.
Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. Its first published version was written by French author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in the middle 18th century. It was a novel-length story intended for adult readers and addressing the issues of the marriage system of the day in which women had no right to choose their husband or to refuse to marry.
The visually new and unabridged edition of the classic. MinaLima, an award-winning design studio (Jungle Book, Peter Pan, etc.) re-imagined the beloved tale in this deluxe unabridged edition. It is illustrated with stunning full-color artwork and nine 3-D interactive features.
“With a dreamy far of look, and her nose stuck in a book.”
This is probably my favorite novel adaptation. Robin McKinley’s beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty and the Beast.
Alex Flinn’s contemporary retelling.
Now if you haven’t heard of Faerie Tale Theatre, check it out, because it’s amazing. It had the charm and richness of seeing a play, but with the uninterrupted smoothness of television. I grew up watching this show, and I LOVED the Beauty and the Beast act, staring Susan Sarandon, it was fantastic. Seriously if you haven’t seen these, you should. Deep, fun, dark, corny, classic!
An inventive and funny mystery with a dynamic lead, which will make you want to pick up the next book in the series.
An original addition to the beloved Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, Lost in a Book follows the lonely, bookish Belle as she finds an enchanted book in the Beast’s library called Nevermore that carries her into a glittering new world. Intrigued? I am, can’t wait.
Disney’s Belle is one of the best fictional bookworms around. But what exactly is on her reading list? In this unique literary journal, enjoy inspiring quotes from some of Belle’s favorite books, as well as her insightful notes and colorful drawings. I am in love with this idea, can’t wait to get my copy.
How about a little dark twist?
I am almost certain I will be adding Disney’s live action version to my list of favorites. There is so much talent invested in the project and so far it looks phenomenal. Thank you disney for taking the time to really put what it takes into this movie; I mean Emma Thompson! Ian McKellen! Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Kline, the list goes on! So tonight I will be dressed up and fully giddy as I watch this, and I will be sure to update anyone interested as to my end thoughts on the production.
Cafe Book Bean 