I’m re-posting this from January 2013 since I’m back in Portland and won’t be writing today. Why? Because I’m planning on spending another five hours at Powell’s …
It’s a tradition among my tribe members to spend Christmas Day going to the movies and eating Chinese food because nothing else is open.
Since moving from New York and becoming a member of the San Diego Film Critics Society, though, I’ve already seen every single movie by Christmas Day – and even the Chinese restaurants are closed.
So, this year, since both kids were able to come home, we decided to take a short family trip. Portland was on the top of all our lists and once I found out that Powell’s – the legendary bookstore I’ve been dreaming about visiting for years – was open on Christmas Day, that clinched it.
For three days, we ate our way through the Foodie City and every day, I checked the Powell’s website to make sure they hadn’t changed their hours. We walked by the store so many times and I was so tempted to go in but I waited (im)patiently until our last day in Portland.
On Christmas Day, as children all over the world were scrambling to open their presents, I was dragging my family in the rain to mine. When I finally pushed open the door, I could almost hear the angels singing, “Hallelujah!”
In case you don’t know Powell’s, it’s the largest new and used bookstore in the world. It’s called the City of Books for a reason. The main store literally takes up an entire city block (there are other branches in Portland, including one at the airport), and four levels offer more than a million books. I think I looked at most of them.
The store is divided into nine color-coded rooms, and the detailed map is a treasure in itself. After settling my husband and son in the big, comfy café, where Michael read his own books and Alex watched episodes of Lost, Sara and I headed out to the blue room to start with literature.
Within minutes, I myself was lost – in the endless rows of books beckoning me from the shelves. My daughter – who is also a reader – rolled her eyes at my constant “ooh”-ing and “ah”-ing, and asked if I was going to take this long in each section. “Duh,” I replied, and went back to collecting the free bookmarks which feature lists like Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century and the Pulitzer Prize fiction winners since 1918.
She went off to look at poetry and I started pulling books off the shelves. Now, as you probably know, the last thing I should be buying is books. I must have thousands in my house already, and I keep getting more to review. Buuuuut … they had used copies of older books I’d never read, and they were so cheap. And once I decided to buy one, the floodgates were open.
Two hours later, I met the rest of my family back in the café for a delicious lunch of grilled cheese, chips and iced tea along with the best chocolate croissant any of us have ever tasted. Fortified, Michael and Alex went out for a walk and Sara settled in to finish Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games series.
For the next couple of hours, I went around the world via the travel section, admired paintings and photographs in the gorgeous art books and got some decorating ideas in the home design section. Just being there brought back memories of all the hours I used to spend in the Strand bookstore in New York, and the great used books I’d come home with.
I left with seven books for a total of less than $50. My stash (which I then had to carry on the plane) consisted of paperback copies of Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton, So Big by Edna Ferber, The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty, Time Was Soft There [about the Paris bookstore, Shakespeare & Co.] by Jeremy Mercer, Wayward: Fetching Tales from a Year on the Road by Tom Gates, Steering by Starlight by Martha Beck and Loud and Clear by Anna Quindlen (which I scored for $2.50). I even got a free souvenir soda in honor of Powell’s 41st anniversary (which I had to drink before taking the keepsake bottle on the plane).
I don’t know about the rest of my family but I would love to make this an annual holiday tradition. Now, if they would just start serving shrimp with cashew nuts in the cafe …
I would have pointed you to some good Chinese food in walking distance!Did you go across the street for the sipping chocolate? Powell’s is great and next time bring some of your books you want to sell, they will give you cash or store credit.
Powell’s= the happiest place on earth! My younger daughter lives in Portland, and when I visit her there, I always make a pilgirmage to Powell’s–my favorite tourist attraction. Wandering its aisles always connects me to my youth, and all the pleasure I had roaming through bookstores with my family and friends growing up–Hunter’s Martindales, Dutton’s and Brentano’s in the Los Angeles area. It’s kind of like visiting old friends, recognizing the titles as I pass by!
Portland is amazing. Powells is such an attraction. It is not uncommon to spend an entire day browsing, drinking coffee and people watching. We feel really blessed to live here and so close to our kids and grandkids…glad you had a good time.
Hahaha!!! That is soooo funny! I thought that my husband and I were the only crazy “Powell’s campers”. We took a trip to Portland last year with one thing in mind…. Going to Powell’s! And go to Powell’s we did. We went early and camped out in one aisle using that as our home base. My husband went out and grabbed lunch from a nearby food cart. We took a “break” for dinner and then returned until they closed at 11pm. We are going again next month and I am in somewhat of a panic because we are meeting friends up there this time and I HOPE they don’t cut into my “Powell’s time”. Too bad we can’t seem to sustain an independent bookstore here on San Diego! (Warwick’s doesn’t count… Not cozy, not inviting.) The loss of “The BookWorks” in Del Mar still stings. At least we have the sign from the store…. which we proudly have hanging in our living room and it is the first thing you see when you enter our home! So thrilled to have “met” another Powell’s groupie out there!!! Maybe we will see you in the aisles next Christmas!!
Never been to Powell’s, but expect it would make me cry happy tears, as the Strand always did during my visits there. (Cry happy tears and hyperventilate slightly due to my book lust and inability to read all the books in one lifetime.)
My husband would go in to a store like that and I am afraid he might not ever want to come out.
I have never been to portland but I know we would love to visit that place if we were.
Yes, Powell’s is a favorite of mine. Love the bookstore, love the cafe, love the people there, love it all! Glad you made the discovery!
You got off easy! Of course, we drive to Portland, so I don’t have that restriction of having to carry all my purchases. Fabulous wonderful rewarding the best! Would love to get Haralee’s referrals for Chinese food and sipping chocolate! Since we’re tourists in Portland, we’re always on the lookout for good places to eat and drink!
I want to go! We used to have a Powell’s, though much smaller, in SF. Gone now.
There is nothing more fascinating than a used bookstore and Powell’s is the best. I volunteer in a used bookstore called The Booktique located in a suburb of Portland. All the books are donated and the proceeds go to support our local library. Let me tell you for a book lover, this is a dream job. We get the most wonderful books donated and you never know what treasures you will find. This is probably the only volunteer job where you pay to volunteer because there is always a “must-have” book in the donations. After reading the comments about Powell’s, it is reassuring to know there are still “book nuts” like myself out there.
Powell’s is a book lovers dream store. If I were ever to leave Portland I would miss it like a kind of dear friend. I would have withdrawals at the thought of going anywhere else where there was nothing like it. It stands as an ideal to what a bookstore can and always should be. Feeding one’s mind is important as feeding one’s body and Powell’s offers a place to tune in, turn on and drop out, so to say; to coin an old expression that I don’t think some of my old compadres would mind me borrowing… Here’s to “real” books…! And Powell’s, of course.
my husband had a conference in portland a few years ago and somehow, i already knew about powell’s. he went off to meetings and i spent a wonderful afternoon in the perfect place. i picked up missing parts of several series of paperbacks i own, and when i got to the area where the older versions of classic children’s stories were, oh wow!!! my favorite to bring home was the golden book, the shy kitten. grandkids? nope, just me with a whole lot of wonderful memories any time i open it!
We do celebrate Christmas and I would give anything to just have Chinese for dinner instead of cooking a big meal every year. It gets old after a while lol.
I haven’t heard of Powell’s. We have a nephew you that lives near Portland. I need to ask him if he has ever been there.
We used to have an independent bookstore in our small town. I miss the ability to just browse and read a little without being hit by marketing.
Seems like such a cool place, and what a unique way to spend Christmas with your family! Will have to remember this if we ever get out to Oregon again.
I SO VERY MUCH want to go to this place!!! I had no idea such a beautiful place existed!!! I could get lost in there! Oh my gosh!! Have so much fun today! I hope you post about your 2nd trip. I’d love to read it!
Book stores like Powell’s are one of my favorite things. I love being able to get used books on the cheap. Plus, there’s just something so satisfying about browsing through a ton of books in an atmosphere like that.
I have never been to Portland, but I love book stores like Powell’s. It sounds like a great place to lose time in.
I love book store atmospheres, being in a book store just inspires the writer in me. I now know where I need to go when in Portland, thank you for the information.
First let me say, I love your Christmas Day tradition. Such fun!
Second, let me say that I think I need to plan a trip to Portland JUST to visit Powell’s. What an amazing place, it seems.
(Thirdly: I hear angels when visiting book stores, too, so that sentence made me smile… and brought joy to my book store-starved heart.)
Sounds like a dream store for me. Forget clothing stores, give me a book store any day.
That is a place I would call heaven. I love spending time in bookstores.
I’ve always wanted to go there. Some of my favorite authors say they find inspiration among the shelves.
I was there in June and it is overwhelming. I was with a young friend but I can easily see 5 hours if I were alone.
I would love to go there.. without my husband of course! Does it get over whelming though with all those books?
I love used book stores. You can find such literary treasures there! Enjoy our 5 hours!
And here I thought NYC had great used/new book stores. Powell’s blows NYC book stores out of the water! I definitely need to see and shop this store at least once in my life.
Heaven! I haven’t been, but as a retired English teacher, I would love it. Thanks for giving me a nudge to go some day.
Ok – this really sounds like my dream bookstore. I now want to go to Portland just so I can go visit the store. I would never be able to go in and not buy a book and likely several books. I’m a sucker for a book deal. 🙂 Love love it!!
If we went to that store, we would never leave! We love books. When we left we’d be broke for sure!
Powell’s sounds amazing! I love used bookstores and could spend hours in them if allowed!
Ha, ha, ha… I remember going to the movies and doing Chinese with my Gma on Christmas. Those were some awesome memories… though I wish we had just the same memories of going to a great bookstore, ha!
this sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Browsing through some awesome books
Sounds like a great bookstore to relax in and browse!
I would love to be able to lose myself in all those books too. It must be a wonderful place to enjoy some reading.
I think that sounds like a perfectly lovely tradition. You should make a go of it. I’ve always wanted to visit that store!
I have to go there one day or a week!
I can’t even tell you how excited I would be to go to a book store that large. I could stay there for days and days and never be bored.
There is something so exciting and thrilling about spending time at a bookstore. It has always been one of my favorite date destinations.
I would love to visit Portland! Also, I love the idea of having Chinese food on Christmas. Brilliant idea!
Great books to read and food that is great. What more could we ask for?
This place sounds amazing.
Fellow tribe member here! 🙂 But where I lived, even Chinese wasn’t open on Xmas day so we made BBQ at home. Great memories! I’m a danger in bookstores myself.. can’t leave without a few in my hands..
I’ve never been to Powell’s. It’s great that you had an amazing experience.
If I’m ever in the area I’ll have to check out Powell’s. I love large book stores.
How fun. Hubby and I would love to visit, and I’m going to tell him about it!
Oh, I would love to visit this store! It sounds great for bookworms like myself.
Oh my goodness I want to go! That sounds like one of the most amazing stores!
This sounds like a book lovers dream. I would love to visit it.
Not a place I could visit at the moment due to distance but I wish I could be there to see everything soon.
POWELL’S!!!! My happy place. Ohhhh my happy happy happy place!!!
For those of you who have never been, it takes up 5 city blocks when stretched out. They have maps – and you really need them! And you can’t do the whole store in just one day. If you can, you don’t belong there, lol. Although you can do some pretty phenomenal people watching while there.
I would love to attend something like this. I’m a huge book junkie and even though they’re mostly on my Kindle I would still love to get a few hardcovers.