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  • Things to Do in Portland
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      • three women walk through rows of rosesView All Things to Do in Portland
      • Parks & Gardens
      • Kid-Friendly Activities
      • Shopping
      • Food Carts & Pods Finder
      • On a Budget
      • EVEN MORE THINGS TO DO
  • Culture
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      • a person in bright clothes and high-heeled boots vogues in front of a park fountain, surrounded by manicured rose bushesView All Culture
      • Arts
      • Beer
      • Biking
      • Cannabis
      • Cultural Communities
      • Craft Spirits
      • Food
      • Makers
      • Music
      • Nightlife
      • Outdoors
      • Sports
      • Weird
      • Wine
      • MORE CULTURE
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      • aerial view of downtown area with buildings and roadways, bridges crossing a river to a smaller set of buildings that expand into the distanceView All Neighborhoods
      • Alberta Arts District
      • Belmont
      • Central Eastside
      • Division/Clinton
      • Downtown
      • Hawthorne
      • Lloyd
      • Mississippi
      • Northwest / Nob Hill
      • Old Town Chinatown
      • Pearl District
      • St. Johns
      • Sellwood-Moreland
      • Williams
      • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Region
    • Close Menu
      • aerial view of the countryside and coastal range with an old rail bridge turned bike and walking pathView All Region
      • Near the City
      • Columbia River Gorge
      • Mount Hood
      • Oregon Coast
      • Willamette Valley
      • ALL REGIONS
  • Plan Your Trip
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      • Portland Visitor Center
      • Where to Stay in Portland
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Holly Feral

Exterior of a coffeeshop with two benches, hanging plants and a striped awning
i
The Dragonfly Coffee House in Northwest Portland serves delicious food and drink in a cozy, welcoming environment.
Credit: autumnal_hedge, via Flickr
Things to Do in Portland / Shopping in Portland / Portland Bookstores, Beyond Powell’s

Quiet Places Made for Reading

Pair the perfect brew with great reads at these neighborhood spots.

Updated Apr. 13, 2025 3 min read

Holly Feral

Portland’s love for books and local coffee is a year-round affair, but when the winter weather arrives, it’s hard to imagine a more enticing rainy-day activity than combining the two. Pick up a winning read at one of Portland’s many independent bookstores and curl up in a cozy corner of one of these local spots.

Southeast Portland

Oblique Coffee Roasters

Adorned with an antique piano and reclaimed wood furnishings, Oblique Coffee Roasters sports a cozy vintage vibe sure to resonate with that classic novel you’ve been meaning to read. Between chapters, be sure to inspect the German-made cast iron roaster, affectionately nicknamed “Bart.”

Find your book at: Powell’s Books on Hawthorne

Rimsky-Korsakoffee House

Rimsky-Korsakoffee House springs to life at 7 p.m., long after most other cafes have closed for the night. Draped with colorful lights along the walls and dangling from the ceiling, it’s like peeking inside a carnival big tent. Inside tip: For the best reading light, score a table by the piano.

Find your book at: Mother Foucault’s Bookshop

Weird Portland

In 1845, a native of Portland, Maine, won a coin-toss to name the new Oregon city — but the place has been an original ever since.

Get weird

Northwest Portland

Dragonfly Coffee House

A cozy little coffee shop on the northeast edge of the Alphabet District, Dragonfly Coffee House is tinged with gold and lined with mythical creature-inspired knickknacks. The whimsical atmosphere creates a sense of magic and mystery that makes for an opportune setting to bust out that Mystical Mandala coloring book.

Find your book at: New Renaissance Bookshop

Northeast Portland

Case Study Coffee

Case Study Coffee is the perfect place to hunker down with a great book. Not only will the beautiful wood-paneled interior and big glass garage door keep the place full of warm, bright light, but the in-house roaster and stellar gourmet mochas (with house-made syrups highlighting fine ingredients) will also pair well with any novel.

Find your book at: Monograph Bookwerks

Rose City Book Pub

The first of its kind in Portland, the Rose City Book Pub combines the city’s love of books with the undeniable love 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 weekly writers’ workshops, trivia nights and poetry readings.

Find your book at: Rose City Book Pub

A Booklover’s Guide to Portland

From coffee houses with community libraries to writing workshops and a book festival, bookworms rejoice; this is for you.

Read More

North Portland

Albina Press

Clean white walls contrast against dark, seasoned wood in minimalist North Portland café Albina Press. Once you’ve ordered a foamy latte or full French press from the award-winning baristas, grab a bright seat near the window and reach for your favorite minimalist prose or graphic novel.

Find your book at: Rose City Comics

The Stacks Coffeehouse

Last but not least, The Stacks Coffeehouse combines the best of two worlds, encompassing both a coffee shop and a community library. Anyone can get a library card; you just have to promise to bring back any books you borrow. But with an extensive book selection, locally roasted Roseline Coffee, breakfast tacos and plenty of seating, why would you ever leave?

Find your book at: The Stacks Coffeehouse

Food, Literary, Tours & Itineraries

Literary Portland

people at books shelves in a books store

Powell’s City of Books

Covering an entire city block, Powell’s City of Books is more than a great bookstore: It’s a microcosm of Portland, packed with smart and eclectic books, gifting options, and passionate people. And, like Portland, it’s open 365 days a year.

three people standing near a food cart carrying books

The Portland Book Festival

Portland Book Festival (formerly “Wordstock”) returns every November with an impressive (and extensive) lineup of local and national authors.

Three people sit and read a book at Mother Foucault\'s bookstore in front of a wall of books.

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.

Coworking Spaces in Portland

Whether you’re visiting Portland on business or just need somewhere to pen your next novel, quiet and unique coworking spaces abound around Portland.

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