There is no better way to pass a rainy day than curling up with a good book. Bookstores hold a special place in the hearts of Portlanders. They serve as important community hubs, fuel our passion for independent thought, and have put Portland on the map as a literary destination. In case you didn’t know the Portland Book Festival is coming up on November 2nd! While Powell’s Books has risen to national prominence, we have a lot of other great independent bookstores around town. Here are some of our favorite book stores in Portland:
- Alberta: Green Bean Books is a wild and whimsical, community-based, independent, children’s bookstore. They have an ever-growing selection of board books, picture books, beginning readers, middle-readers (tween books), young adult, and even titles for adults. Art lovers rejoice at Monograph Bookwerks, which features a curated selection of books on modern and contemporary art and artists, architecture, graphic design, fashion, photography, artist biographies, countercultures, theory, and art criticism.
- Beaumont: Owned by Portlander Edee Johnson, Sunrise Books is a gathering place for all. This children’s book store has an incredible curation as well as regular events for parents and families.
- Belmont Area: Belmont Books has a small but curated selection of books that always aims to surprise and delight customers.
- Central Eastside: Mother Foucult’s Bookshop specializes in used, rare, and vintage books. They are known for their wide and eclectic selection of philosophy, foreign language, arts, fiction, and poetry titles.
- Division/Clinton: Check out Third Eye Books & Gifts’ extensive selection of African-centered books, accessories, and gifts; the largest in the Portland Metro Area.
- Foster: Perhaps one of the smallest (and cutest!) book stores in Portland, Word Virus Books might also be one of the most intentionally curated. Specializing in literature, poetry, and the arts, Word Virus sells new & used books and has the good fortune of being tucked between several sweet retail, dining, and drinking establishments.
- Hawthorne: Check out Backstory Books and Yarn! This independent, woman-owned, book and yarn store specializes in crafts, textiles, nautical, and African-American books. They also offer trade for books and yarn!
- Hollywood: Crooked House Books offers Portland beautiful and unusual books and ephemera online, at local shows and in their showroom. Their specialties include decorative bindings, books by, for, and about women, cookery, domestica, literature, and odd & unusual ephemera.
- Lloyd / NE Broadway: A Lloyd District destination since 1992, Broadway Books has been selling new and used books, as well as non-book items such as greeting cards, calendars, journals, games & puzzles, paintings, and holiday-specific items. This woman-owned shop is known for supporting local authors and hosting amazing events.
- Multnomah Village: If you live in Southwest Portland, Annie Bloom’s Books is your go-to spot for a large range of books across many genres, plus magazines, CDs, and cards.
- NW District & Mississippi Ave: Always ethically sourced, Paxton Gate has been offering taxidermy, butterflies, skulls, bones, fossils, crystals and other curious treasures for over 25 years. It truly is one of the most special shops in all of Portland and their book selection is as unique as they are!
- St. Johns: Revolutions Bookshop is a small, independent bookstore specializing in a curated selection of mostly used books, some new books, vinyl, and collectibles. Their academic and punk roots make for a bold selection in all genres, especially everything weird and wonderful. You’ll find yarn and books together at last at Two Rivers Books & Weird Sisters Yarn, a community-minded, general interest, new titles bookstore and yarn shop.
This list is non-exhaustive. If you have another favorite independent bookshop, be sure to support them. What are you currently reading? Show us on Instagram and Facebook. Venture Portland members can submit small business suggestions for future Wednesday emails here.