#powells books

City & the City by China Mieville

“We mourn the incomparable Ursula Le Guin, and it hurts. A writer of intense ethical seriousness and intelligence, of wit and fury, of radical politics, of subtlety, of freedom and yearning, Le Guin was a literary colossus.” - C.M.

Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky 

“Those who see science fiction simply as a way of writing novels welcome the more Tolstoyan approach, in which a war is described not only from the generals’ point of view but also through the eyes of housewives, prisoners, boys of sixteen, or an alien visitation is described not only by knowledgeable scientists but also by its effects on commonplace people.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

Strange Bird A Borne Story by Jeff Vandermeer

“I think the biggest thing I took away from her fiction, and her nonfiction, was the sharp thoughtfulness and humanity behind it all.” — J.V.

At the Mouth of the River of Bees Stories by Kij Johnson

“It’s just as good as I thought it was going to be, if not better … the variety is tremendous, exhilarating. The book definitely won’t do that short-story-collection thing to you where all the stories run together into a sort of depressing porridge in your mind.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood

“We can’t call Ursula K. Le Guin back from the land of the unchanging stars, but happily she left us her multifaceted work, her hard-earned wisdom and her fundamental optimism. Her sane, smart, crafty and lyrical voice is more necessary now than ever. For it, and for her, we should be thankful.” - M.A.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

“Ursula’s work holds a prominent place on the most cherished part of my bookcase.” - N.O.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss

“There is one thing I wish I could have told her, although she probably knew: that she has hundreds of daughters. All those teenage girls who also found her books in local bookstores or libraries and grew up to become writers. She taught them that women could write about other planets and political philosophy, with clarity, profundity, and grace. She gave each of us a little bit of her voice, and we are all better writers and human beings because of it.” - T.G.

The Ambiguity Machines & Other Stories by Vandana Singh

“A most promising and original young writer.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

“Ursula LeGuin was my first science fiction inspiration as a kid and she continued to inspire me throughout my adult life. Her stories are permanently installed in my mind.” - A.N.

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

“This was a subtle gift that Le Guin gave to a young person wanting to be a writer—the idea that there was more to writing fiction than ticking off plot points, that a rewarding story can be told without overt conflict, and that a world wide and deep can be its own reward, for those building the world and those who then walk through it.” - J.S.

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

“Whereas all my beloved P G Wodehouses and Philip Pullmans are neatly arranged on the bookshelves, my Pratchetts are strewn under the beds, in the bathrooms, the glove compartments. They have shopping lists, takeaway orders and Scrabble scores scribbled on the fly leaves. They were part of life.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link

Kelly Link has been hailed by Michael Chabon as “the most darkly playful voice in American fiction” and by Neil Gaiman as a “National Treasure”. If you don’t already know Kelly’s work, start here with her debut collection.

Blindness by Jose Saramago

“Blindness scared me to death when I started it, but it rises wonderfully out of darkness into the light.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

“… a tremendous human being and storyteller who helped make fantasy a more imaginative and humane genre.” - D.J.O.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

“She is willing to change the landscape of your head with her ideas and there’s such power in that. It is the power of … that things could be different.” - N.G.

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

“She’s a cornerstone of speculative fiction, and so much of our best storytelling traces its roots back to her. The more I write, and the more I think about fictional politics and societies, the more I find myself in awe of her singular powers. Nobody else can ever equal Le Guin, but many of us will spend our whole careers striving to build on her incredible legacy.” - C.J.A.

Little Big by John Crowley

“… a book that all by itself calls for a redefinition of fantasy …” - Ursula K. Le Guin

Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar

“And what a surprise it was to find as I grew up that the author of some of my favorite childhood fantasy novels was also a brilliant essayist, enlightened political commentator, a champion of feminism, and an activist for a more inclusive publishing industry. A true example of an artist who, both through her books and activism, changed the world for the better.” - J.K.

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf  

“It inspires me with pity, with terror, with awe at the mystery of human destiny, and the mystery of the art that can, for a moment, illuminate it.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon

“Of course if you haven’t read Kavalier and Clay yet, go read it at once, what on earth have you been waiting for? Then read this. It is even a little crazier, maybe. Crazy like a genius.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

Shades of Milk & Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

“I think she did a lot for science fiction and fantasy—not just for women and women’s roles because of her feminism but also legitimizing us as an art form. There are a lot of people who will read an Ursula Le Guin book and go, ‘Well, this isn’t science fiction, it’s literature.’ But of course, it is science fiction. A lot of times, she can be a gateway drug for people.” - M.R.K.

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

“More than anyone else, Le Guin showed me how to write SFF with an anthropological approach while interrogating the colonialist agenda and assumptions of the field itself. More than any writer of her stature, she constructed worlds in which I thought I could find and lose myself. I will miss her dearly.” - K.L.

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin

“I’d definitely still be a writer if not for her, but I don’t think I’d be as good a writer. Le Guin is one of the writers who taught me that beauty and fearlessness go hand in hand.“ - N.K.J.

Literary Witches by Taisia Kitaiskaia

The Juniper Tree by Barbara Comyns

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado

We Were Witches by Ariel Gore

Get in Trouble: Stories by Kelly Link

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

The Doll’s Alphabet by Camilla Grudova

Book of Mutter by Kate Zambreno

The Babysitter at Rest by Jen George

Large Animals: Stories by Jess Arndt

Black Wave by Michelle Tea

Mean by Myriam Gurba

The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera

Body Horror by Anne Elizabeth Moore

The Dark Dark by Samantha Hunt

The Merry Spinster by Daniel Mallory Ortberg

The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington by Leonora Carrington

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson

I’m Fine But You Appear to Be Sinking by Leyna Krow

The Changeling by Joy Williams

Fen: Stories by Daisy Johnson

Margaret the First  by Danielle Dutton

Aries (March 21 - April 19) pioneering, enthusiastic, outspoken, fearless

Recommended reading:

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

Taurus (April 20 - May 20) dependable, generous, persistent, sensual

Recommended reading:

Taproot by Keezy Young, Andrea Colvin

Reign the Earth by AC Gaughen

Gemini (May 21 - June 21) curious, communicative, charismatic

Recommended reading:

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo

Cancer (June 22 - July 22) sensitive, loyal, nurturing, domestic

Recommended reading:

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

Every Day by David Levithan

Leo (July 23 - August 22) humorous, creative, enthusiastic

Recommended reading:

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis

Virgo (August 23 - September 22) hardworking, practical, kind, meticulous

Recommended reading:

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Libra (September 23 - October 23) diplomatic, romantic, charming

Recommended reading:

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21) passionate, mysterious, deep

Recommended reading:

The Scorpio Racesby Maggie Stiefvater

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) adventurous, optimistic, energetic

Recommended reading:

The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Capricorn (December 21 - January 19) traditional, responsible, disciplined, wise

Recommended reading:

Genuine Fraud by E Lockhart

The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby

Aquarius (January 19 - February 18) Independent, original, aloof, intellectual

Recommended reading:

The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag

A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor

Pisces (February 18 - March 20) emotional, artistic, intuitive, sacrificing

Recommended reading:

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Like Water by Rebecca Podos