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      • Cultural Communities
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      • Sellwood-Moreland
      • Williams
      • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
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Emilly Prado

Emilly Prado

Emilly Prado is a writer, award-winning journalist and consultant living in Portland. Read More

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Powell’s City of Books occupies an entire city block in the Pearl District and houses more than a million new and used volumes.
Credit: Travel Portland
Things to Do in Portland / Shopping in Portland / Portland Bookstores, Beyond Powell’s

A Booklover’s Guide to Portland

Inspired by Portlanders’ penchant for independent bookstores and literary greats.

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Powell’s City of Books occupies an entire city block in the Pearl District and houses more than a million new and used volumes.
Credit: Travel Portland

While Portland is a city perhaps best known for its roses and stellar food scene, for the literary-inclined, we’re noted for our celebration of independent bookstores, presses and all things writerly. Portland is even statistically more bookish than most cities, ranking higher than average when comparing bookstores per capita across the nation. As a mecca for the literary arts Portland offers abundant opportunities to engage in the scene — we’ve carved out a few special stops to consider.

Breakfast for Booklovers in Portland

We begin our itinerary in North Portland at The Stacks Coffeehouse, where you can fuel up for your big day with your choice of Portland-roasted Pastime Coffee, Smith Tea or house-made chai and a plateful of breakfast tacos. With a menu and atmosphere inspired by co-owner Mary Milstead’s upbringing in Austin — famous for breakfast tacos and home to the University of Texas, where her mother worked and where she remembers being surrounded by books in the library — this airy café for booklovers is the perfect place to start your story. Pick a book from the sprawling community library to read while you chow down, and if you’re in town on a Tuesday, you can sign up to return for a free afternoon writing session and reading.

Shops & Stops for Booklovers

Choose your own adventure across Portland.

Next, choose your own adventure: Pick between parallel routes in Northeast or Southeast Portland.

A Literary Tour of Northeast Portland

When you see the turquoise neon lights, you’ve made it to Broadway Books, a cozy women-owned bookstore beloved since 1992. Special shelves are dedicated to Pacific Northwest authors, and new stock is showcased on tables when you walk in. Need something besides a book? Check out their sweet selection of puzzles and games.

A mere mile southeast is Outlet, a community maker space specializing in risograph printing, workshops and events. It also doubles as the studio space of illustrator-owner Kate Bingaman-Burt. If you want to take home a souvenir, Outlet hosts workshops and sells quirky zines, prints, buttons, stickers and more by local artists.

One of the best places to read in Portland, the Rose City Book Pub combines the city’s love of books with the undeniable pleasure of a craft brew. The floor-to-ceiling bookshelves boast a well-curated selection of new and used books for sale. Grab a glass of wine or a local beer and curl up on one of their comfy couches, and be sure to check the pub’s events calendar for readings, trivia nights, live music and more.

Throughout Portland, you can find many names and landmarks from the adventures of Ramona Quimby and her cohorts (like Northeast Klickitat Street, where Ramona and Beezus live), detailed in more than two dozen children’s books written by Beverly Cleary from 1950 to 2000. For more fun, visit the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden in Grant Park, near Cleary’s childhood stomping grounds.

A Literary Tour of Southeast Portland

a close-up of a hand holding the book “The Portland Black Panthers” with bookshelves in the background
Chat with Charles Hannah, co-owner of Third Eye Books just off Southeast Division Street, for his recommendations for your next favorite Black literature local read.

Credit: Jason Hill

Stop by Third Eye Books, Oregon’s only Black-owned bookstore, which specializes in Black-centered literature and invites readers to find their new favorite books. From lesser-known Pacific Northwest history books to graphic novels by the greats to children’s books and anti-racist reads, the collection is expansive and curated to perfection. You can even pick up a tarot deck!

Know Before You Go

For visits to the Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC), appointments are strongly recommended — reach them by phone at (503) 827-0249 or via email at info@iprc.org.

After your tote bags are packed to the brim, settle into a comfy reading nook at the Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC), a community print studio and proudly DIY space that provides artists of all mediums access to creative tools, workshops and events. The organization is especially known for its celebration of zines, which are typically self-made (or created with the support of indie presses and distributors) publications about innumerable topics the makers are passionate about. The IPRC’s zine library features over 9,000 catalog items and is open for browsing. There’s also often a small selection of merchandise and art available for purchase.

Bookish Spots in Northwest and Downtown Portland

Let your stomach guide you to the “Princess Bride”-themed Guilder Cafe, where you can pick from a simple but robust menu of aptly named bowls, sandwiches, burritos and toast, as well as an assortment of beers and cider on tap, wine and, of course, freshly brewed coffee. Since Guilder is tucked behind the Gold Room at Powell’s Books, you’ll also already be conveniently located inside the world’s largest indie bookstore. Must-see sections? We suggest weaving your way everywhere but don’t miss the small press section in the Blue Room, which showcases countless independent reads and micro-presses, including Portland-based gems like Forest Avenue Press, Hawthorne Books, Tin House and Future Tense Books. Then head to the Pearl Room on the top floor, which houses the rare book room and the rotating Basil Hallward gallery.

three people talk in a bookstore aisle; two are standing, one is in a wheelchair
Occupying an entire city block, Powell’s City of Books is the world’s largest new and used bookstore and offers frequent author talks, a rare book room and a coffee shop.

Credit: Celeste Noche

After lunch, it’s time to make your way to downtown and up the gorgeous marble steps of the Multnomah County Central Library in Southwest Portland. This light-filled three-story institution draws on Georgian architectural style and was erected in 1913 as the main facility for the largest public library system in Oregon. Visitors can peruse the library shelves, stop by the Collins Gallery, and soak in stunning details like pastel rose carpets and multi-story arched windows.

Escape Indoors

Reading is one of many ways to spend a rainy day.

More Indoors
two people and a baby stand in front of a round oil classical painting of a religious scene at the Portland Art Museum

Perfect Itinerary for Portland Indoor Activities

Whether you’re escaping the weather or just feeling “indoorsy,” here’s a guide to enjoying Portland’s dynamic cultural scene while barely setting foot outside.

two people smile while holding hands and skating across a classic wooden roller rink

Indoor Activities for Kids

Portland offers a broad array of indoor activities for kids and families, including story times, indoor playgrounds, arcades, skating and more.

white walled interior of an art gallery with 6 paintings hanging on three sides of an open room

Portland Art Gallery Scene

Art enthusiasts will find a dose of inspiration in Portland’s tight-knit independent gallery scene.

Exterior of a coffeeshop with two benches, hanging plants and a striped awning

Quiet Places Made for Reading

Pick up a winning read at one of Portland’s many independent bookstores and curl up in a cozy corner of one of these eight local coffee shops.

man and woman behind counter preparing espresso at a coffee shop

Portland Coffee

Explore our comprehensive guide to coffee in Portland, including our rich coffee history, Portland’s impact on the third-wave coffee movement, and coffee shop suggestions by quadrants.

two people eating food and drinking wine at a picnic table during a busy food festival

Portland Snacks and Where to Find Them

From small cheese plates to conveyer-belt sushi to spring rolls, find your next favorite craving at these Portland, Oregon snack spots.

Novel-Inspired Nightcaps in Portland

To end the night, top up on your pick from 36 rotating taps of Oregon beer and cider at the family-owned Treebeerd’s Taphouse. “Lord of the Rings” fans may recognize the nod to the series in the name, and although you won’t feel like you’ve traveled to Middle-earth, subtle nods are seen in the elegant wood-forward decor, live-edge furniture, and the generally inviting and inclusive atmosphere.

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If you’re craving a cocktail instead, consider a stop at the iconic Heathman Hotel, where the bronze bulldog statue dressed as a bellhop at the front entrance will let you know you’ve made it. The boutique hotel, built in 1927, isn’t just known for its extraordinary architecture, or even that it was mentioned 18 times in E. L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The enormous, two-story-tall hotel library, composed exclusively of authors who have stayed the night, is the true star. Over 2,700 signed, mostly first-edition titles are on display. The rest of the 4,000-and-counting collection rotates with picks from their basement archive and includes literary legends like Salman Rushdie, Cheryl Strayed, Seamus Heaney and former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Fun fact: That bronze statue is of a late Portland-born bulldog who was a literary sensation herself, having been the subject of many dress-up calendars and a 2001 book, “Zelda Wisdom.”

Know Before You Go

Looking for writing workshops? With advance planning, visitors can schedule craft and creative writing workshops with renowned faculty at local literary institutions such as Literary Arts, Corporeal Writing, IPRC, Tin House and The Attic.

Portland Books and Authors

What are some books by Portland Authors?

Fugitives and Refugees by Chuck Palahniuk
Geek Love  by Katherine Dunn
Heartsick  by Chelsea Cain
My Abandonment by Peter Rock
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Wildwood Chronicles by The Decemberists’ vocalist Colin Meloy
Wild by Cheryl Strayed

What are some Portland books for young readers?

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
The Ramona books by Beverly Cleary

What are some works by Portland poets?

Field Theories by Samiya Bashir
In the Pockets of Small Gods by Anis Mojgani 

Book and Literature Events in Portland

On any given night, there’s almost certainly an open mic, storytelling hour, reading or poetry slam somewhere in Portland. The Literary Portland calendar is one of the best sources for upcoming events, and we’ve shouted out a few options below.

Acoustic music sets and readings typically fill up the calendar Thursday through Sunday nights at Mother Foucault’s, a homey, plant- and book-lined shop focusing on rare, used and vintage stock.

Regular series of many genres also abound. Try One Page Wednesday and Slamlandia at Literary Arts, The Moth story slams at Holocene and the Constellation Reading Series at Tin House.

If you’re lucky you might just be in town for intermittent but stellar programming like Booklover’s Burlesque or poetry readings at Lan Su Chinese Garden.

“No lies. No notes. No memorization.” Those three simple rules guide the performances at Back Fence PDX, Portland’s flagship storytelling event. Expect an evening of polished stories from veteran athors, comedians and actors from Portland, New York, Los Angeles and everywhere. “Back Fence Roulette” challenges performers to spin a giant wheel of prompts and craft five-minute true stories based on their results.

Local storytelling collective Portland Story Theater gathers several times yearly to perform true tales on a common theme. Events often revolve around a holiday (like “Luck of the Irish” in March, “Spellbound” in October and “Kiss & Tell” in February). The group’s “Armchair Adventurer” series presents historical events personally, sharing the heart-wrenching sagas of Nantucket whaling ships and doomed Antarctic expeditions.

Finally, and perhaps most notably, each November Literary Arts hosts the Portland Book Festival, a day-long event featuring author discussions, pop-up readings, writing workshops for youth and adults, kids’ story time, an extensive book fair and local food trucks.

Arts, Literary

Portland Bookstores, Beyond Powell’s

Don’t stop with the largest independent bookstore in the world; these seven other shops offer an abundance of literary riches.

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