"Whatever the lure is to this place, the writers working here share in their belief of what the world needs right now. Across memoirs and novels, children's books, a reported dive into wellness cults, a takedown of American mythos, and even a collection of New Yorker cartoons, Portland books this past year championed empathy and solidarity in the face of oppression, whether political or social, new or old."
"Over the past 15 years, Toro has honed his voice within the vaunted cartoons department of The New Yorker. Once comic relief for 10,000-word articles, the specific brand of illustrated jokes is today the intellectual-ish end of a spectrum in our memeified world. And to Think We Started as a Book Club... (Andrews McMeel Publishing) collects the best of Toro's work. In his biggest blockbuster, a man tells his kids about "shareholder value" while sitting in the shadow of Armageddon."
Many of the country's biggest writers live in and around Portland, producing a large overlap between Oregon lists and national best-books lists. Portland books in 2025 prioritized empathy and solidarity in response to varied forms of oppression. A prominent cartoonist compiled a collection that elevates illustrated jokes into contemporary cultural commentary, pairing everyday banter with apocalyptic and biblical motifs. A celebrated novelist produced a witchy Dust Bowl epic set in a fictional Nebraska town, using magical realism and wry wit within an ensemble cast and receiving major-award recognition.
Read at Portland Monthly
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