California Livin' Series: Powell's Books (Downtown Portland)
Portland, here we come! From California (Livin') to its northern brother, Oregon, I present to you the epic book store that is Powell's, host to about a million books (no, seriously, a million - look it up). Just in time for holiday shopping! (Okay, a little late.) They also have a smaller location in the south-east, but trust... this one.
Portland's most notorious bookstore occupies an entire city block and includes all of three stories. They make sure to pack it in, too. Take a gander at these here shelves...
Of course I went straight to the cooking section. You know me, I like my food. Four whole aisles of cookbooks and food writing.
I found a few titles of interest, specifically detailing the cuisine of Southern California. (I bought the one in the middle.)
They have a bunch of memorabilia, of course, including clothes...
Several small sections with various merchandise ("Read Rise Resist" seems to be their slogan)...
Lots of reusable canvas bags...
And for some reason, a bunch of dorky socks stashed throughout the store.
They have several color-coded rooms with a plethora of different subcategories, all arranged according to the trusty Dewey Decimal system.
Don't you love how ghosts, UFOs and tarot cards are one shelf away from Christianity? Because I love it.
Plenty of options for the kiddos as well...
And yes that includes a whole section of tabletop games (two, actually).
Powell's buys and sells used books!
Don't forget to stop in their coffee shop while you're there. It's a good place to peruse their books while you eat plenty of delicious pastries.
Oh yeah, they also have drinks. We got a matcha iced tea and a chai iced latte. Meh. Pastries were probably much better.
We thought we were done so we went across the street to Buffalo Exchange. Having zero luck there, we returned. (This turned out to be a great idea... keep reading.) This time I went back to the cooking section with an emphasis on brunch. I know, so predictable. I found five books I liked and walked away with three (the pictured one is for Christmas...theoretically).
After our purchase and one trip to the bathroom, the universe's timing was on our side as I practically ran into Fred Armisen!
We had a stop-and-chat for a minute. He was buying a David Sedaris book as a gift. He lives here part-time to film Portlandia. Just as nice a guy as he is on TV and he was glad to pose for a couple pics.
Don't forget to grab some quirky souvenirs on the way out!
In conclusion: come for the books, then come back for Fred Armisen.
Portland's most notorious bookstore occupies an entire city block and includes all of three stories. They make sure to pack it in, too. Take a gander at these here shelves...
Of course I went straight to the cooking section. You know me, I like my food. Four whole aisles of cookbooks and food writing.
I found a few titles of interest, specifically detailing the cuisine of Southern California. (I bought the one in the middle.)
They have a bunch of memorabilia, of course, including clothes...
Several small sections with various merchandise ("Read Rise Resist" seems to be their slogan)...
Lots of reusable canvas bags...
And for some reason, a bunch of dorky socks stashed throughout the store.
They have several color-coded rooms with a plethora of different subcategories, all arranged according to the trusty Dewey Decimal system.
Don't you love how ghosts, UFOs and tarot cards are one shelf away from Christianity? Because I love it.
Plenty of options for the kiddos as well...
And yes that includes a whole section of tabletop games (two, actually).
Powell's buys and sells used books!
Don't forget to stop in their coffee shop while you're there. It's a good place to peruse their books while you eat plenty of delicious pastries.
Oh yeah, they also have drinks. We got a matcha iced tea and a chai iced latte. Meh. Pastries were probably much better.
We thought we were done so we went across the street to Buffalo Exchange. Having zero luck there, we returned. (This turned out to be a great idea... keep reading.) This time I went back to the cooking section with an emphasis on brunch. I know, so predictable. I found five books I liked and walked away with three (the pictured one is for Christmas...theoretically).
After our purchase and one trip to the bathroom, the universe's timing was on our side as I practically ran into Fred Armisen!
We had a stop-and-chat for a minute. He was buying a David Sedaris book as a gift. He lives here part-time to film Portlandia. Just as nice a guy as he is on TV and he was glad to pose for a couple pics.
Don't forget to grab some quirky souvenirs on the way out!
In conclusion: come for the books, then come back for Fred Armisen.
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