I am visiting Portland, Oregon, this week for an academic conference and to receive an award for my dissertation (yay!). Yesterday, I visited Powell’s City of Books. It is amazing. It was my first time there! I can’t believe I haven’t been there before. Here are some scenes from this amazing 68,000 square foot bookstore.
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 
Fantastic place. I wonder if I could move there…
Right? I would spend all my time in this store if I lived here!
And congratulations, of course!
Thank you!
Emily, like you, I gain great comfort and excitement being in book stores and libraries. I especially love the locally owned book stores. My wife and I stumbled into on in San Marco, a quaint area of Jacksonville, FL the other day. Thanks for the pics. Keith
Locally owned stores are the best. So many treasures!
What a wonderful bookstore! I could spend hours in there.
Congratulations on the award for your dissertation. 🙂 I hope you enjoy Portland and the conference. I’ve heard it’s a lovely city.
Thank you! So far, the conference has been great and so has Portland. Food!
Congratulations on the award!
Thanks!
My biggest regret is visiting Portland but not having the time to visit this bookstore. These photos have cemented that regret 😦 .
Congrats on the dissertation award!
Oh, sad. You’ll have to come back and make sure you visit this store next time. And thanks!
Yes, been there, done that, and I want to go back again and again. So many books…so little time!
So true. There’s never enough time!
Hi Emily: First, congrats on your award. Second, thanks for the wonderful photos of the City of Books (surprisingly, there are few good photos of the interior of the store on the web). This is truly a bibliophile’s version of heaven. With the demise of so many great small indie bookstores over several decades, it is almost miraculous that the Titanic of Books continues to thrive. Thanks to your many photos, it gives those of use who can’t make the trek, a valuable virtual tour. Any time, I visit a store like this, I have to buy a book, so that I have a story to go along with the book. Did you buy a book there? Cheers, Alex
Thank you and you’re welcome! I had no idea there aren’t many photos of the interior online. I hope my taking the pictures doesn’t upset anybody! It is miraculous, and I love it. I did buy some books! I’ll post about that later. 🙂
Congrats on your award! And Powell’s is my cathedral, I’m so glad you had a chance to visit and enjoy. I’ve always wanted to organize my home bookshelves by room color & subject like Powell’s does. Blue Room, Gold Room, Pearl Room, Rose Room etc… Fun! Of course all my bookshelves are in the same room but whatever.
That would be such a dream, to have rooms of books organized like that. And yes, cathedral or sacred space it certainly is. 🙂
Ahhh, you’re at CCCC!!! I was part of a panel that got rejected this year and was so bummed to miss out on Portland (one of my favorite cities!). Congratulations on your disseration award, and maybe I’ll see you in Kansas City next year! 🙂 Don’t forget Voodoo Donuts, Stumptown Coffee, and if you like beer, Deschutes Brewery!
Voodoo Donuts has been done! I’m sorry you didn’t get in. To be honest, neither did I! But I got into ATTW the sister conference and I am here for the award. It is my first time and I am loving it! I hope to see you next year as well! I hope we both get in.
Awesome! Hope to see you next year!
Sounds good! We’ll have to make plans to meet up.
OH, Emily, I suppose every minute has been taken up, but I live only about a half hour away in southern Washington. I would have loved to meet you for coffee or something. Congratulations on your award!
Not again! Didn’t this happen when you lived in Austin. I really need to start reaching out before I travel so I can start meeting people!
Yep, it did!
I live five blocks from Powell’s, and am going over later for a quick purchase! And if I weren’t leaving town in the morning, I’d have insisted we meet. Next time, I hope.
(How you got so many pictures with no one in them is beyond me; Powell’s is pretty much packed all day and evening.)
Insider tip: if you still hanker after donuts, find Blue Star. They are the best in town.
Congrats on the award!
Oh no! I wish I had known this. I think next time I travel I need to put out a “travel alert” on my blog so my blog friends who live in the area can meet me. I would have loved to meet you!
Isn’t it the greatest?? Every time I go to Portland I go multiple times and spend hours there. They have an amazing non-fiction section! And all the bookish gifts! I would happily live there.
Yes! The bookish gifts were half of the fun. I can’t wait until I visit there again.
Beautiful photos….I missed the award part while reading…Congrats for the same and thanks for the photos…I am sharing!
Thank you, and thanks for sharing!
Wow, Emily! I’m still picking my jaw up off the floor in astonishment! How long did you spend in such a store. Hope the conference has been good for you. Congratulations on your dissertation award. Hope you celebrated. 🙂
I think I was there for about 2 hours. They were heavenly hours. 🙂
Oh, it would be so hard to narrow down the search!
Belated congratulations on your award! 🙂
Thanks!