Thursday Themes

Bestseller Spotlight: Good Night, Goodnight, Good Night

On Wednesdays, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller List is published. Every week, we love to see what books have been most popular in independent bookstores around our region. As we peruse the list, we look for something special to showcase. Then we present this weekly feature: Thursday Themes. Look at the similar start to these bestselling Children’s Illustrated books. Also, they are all board books! Good Night, Little Blue Truck Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.) (#1 Children’s Illustrated) Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise …

Mar 26, 2026

what's new

Mar

25

2026

Face Out

Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane by Lindy West

Oh, Lindy. This is SO good! Laugh out loud funny, but also touching and insightful. Feminist and vulnerable, badass and brave. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. –Carrie K., Powell’s on Hawthorne, Portland, OR Explore different lives with books from Powell’s on Hawthorne and other independent bookstores.

Mar

24

2026

Borrowed Copy

Four Questions for Donna Barba Higuera

by Amanda Ramierez for Publishers Weekly Newbery Medalist Donna Barba Higuera retells the Aztec myth of creation, casting Xolotl, the dog-headed god of lighting, death, and misfortune, as the hero in her middle grade work Xolo, illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson. When all life on Earth perishes and the immortal gods must throw themselves into a …

Mar

23

2026

Face Out

This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman

Each chapter of this book is a glimpse into the Rubinstein family and how it works and sometimes doesn’t (see the feud started by an apple cake). It is full of heart, conflict, forgiveness, laughter, and the complexities of parenting. An authentic portrayal of enduring, messy love. – Julie, Browsers Books, Olympia, WA Have your …

Mar

20

2026

Face Out

Is This a Cry for Help?: A Novel by Emily Austin

How will Darcy — a public librarian — manage to reckon with her own personal woes when access to the written word hangs precariously in the balance? A wonderful, hopeful fiction for our trying times. —Celina Munoz, Brick & Mortar Books, Redmond, WA Find hopeful stories at Brick & Mortar Books and other independent bookstores.

Mar

19

2026

Thursday Themes

Bestseller Spotlight: Neighborly and New

Every Wednesday, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association publishes the regional bestseller list. On Thursdays, we celebrate Thursday Themes to shine a spotlight on some of the books from the list and give our brains a different way of thinking about books. This week, several books have a Pacific Northwest connection and are new to Thursday Themes. Whidbey T …

Mar

18

2026

Face Out

Tilt: A Novel by Emma Pattee

Annie is thirty-seven weeks pregnant and shopping for a crib when the Cascadia fault shifts, causing a devastating earthquake. Emerging from the ruins of Ikea with no keys, no cell phone, and no money, Annie starts on foot toward the restaurant where her husband, Dom, works. During the five-and-a-half-mile walk, Annie witnesses devastation, and death, …

Mar

17

2026

Awards and Honors

ICYMI: Oregon Book Awards 2026 Finalists Announced

Congratulations to this year’s finalists! Literary Arts announced this year’s Oregon Book Awards finalists and Special Award recipient. Thirty-five titles from Oregonians across seven genre categories were chosen as finalists by panels of out-of-state judges, from a total of 200 submitted titles. Winners will be announced live at the 2026 Oregon Book Awards Ceremony, hosted by …

Mar

16

2026

Face Out

Evil Genius by Claire Oshetsky

I’m obsessed with Oshetsky’s fiction like Celia Dent is obsessed with finding her way to a better life, and just like her mission, I’m always pining for the next tale Oshetsky will spin. [They are] a masterful writer of literary fiction. —Chelsia Rice, Montana Book Company, Helena, MT Find your next obsessions at Montana Book …

Mar

13

2026

Face Out

Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser

The sadness of the underlying story in this novel is only matched by the beauty of the art that connects a girl and her grandfather to their life together. As they race against time to fill her memory with the best of over 500 years worth of Western art, Mona learns what it means to …

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