Portland

Four independent bookstores worth finding in person.

PLACES TO WANDER · ISSUE 001

If you're looking for the best independent bookstores in Portland, Places to Wander's edited guide includes Powell’s City of Books in West Burnside, Broadway Books in Northeast Broadway and Mother Foucault’s Bookshop in Central Eastside. Explore the selected shops below, with neighborhood context, drawings and links to each shop's own website. The guide is edited, not numerically ranked.

Portland · The bookshop mapChoose a number

Open drawing & shop details

Map: Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap contributors and GIS User Community. Selected streets and water; numbered points use the existing address matches. Use directions for your visit.

The illustrated issue

Browse the drawings. Open a shop for visiting details.

01 · West Burnside

Powell’s City of Books

New books · Used books · Many directions

A full city block, sixty-eight thousand square feet and about a million books, divided into nine colour-coded rooms. Walter Powell opened it in 1971, and a Pillar of Books stands at the corner entrance.

The marquee is only the beginning. Powell’s City of Books puts new and used books together on a scale that rewards an unhurried visit. Choose one subject you came for and one you didn’t. Let the second have some say in where you go next.

One subject you came for, one you didn't. Let the second one drive for a while.

1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97209

02 · Northeast Broadway

Broadway Books

New books · Staff selections · Events

Opened on 15 May 1992 in a former furniture store on Northeast Broadway; Kim Bissell became its sole owner in 2024.

A window full of books beats a window full of promises. Broadway Books has been part of this street since 1992, pairing a changing selection with author events and neighborhood ties. Ask what the staff have been passing between themselves.

A recommendation gives you a place to start. The next shelf can change it.

1714 NE Broadway Street, Portland, OR 97232

03 · Southeast Portland

Third Eye Books & Gifts

Black literature · History · Children’s books

Opened in 2019 by Lewis and Hannah, an African-centred bookshop whose shelves include an Ethiopian Bible.

History, fiction and books for younger readers meet at Third Eye. Its selection makes room for Black authors and perspectives across generations. Follow one subject through more than one kind of book; a novel and a history needn’t tell the same story to belong together.

A novel and a history needn't tell the same story to share a shelf.

2518 SE 33rd Avenue, Portland, OR 97202

Follow a different
train of thought.

Choose a book outside your work. Notice how it makes its case. Bring one useful question back with you.

04 · Central Eastside · THE DETOUR

Mother Foucault’s Bookshop

Used books · Rare books · Literature

Craig Florence opened it in 2010 after a spell as a Tumbleweed at Shakespeare and Company in Paris, in a building on the National Register, with no wifi. Michel Foucault’s centenary falls in October 2026 and the shop is marking it.

Stacks gather on the table; shelves keep the conversation going. Mother Foucault’s is a used-and-rare bookshop on the Central Eastside. Let a title interrupt your plans. Some of the better ideas arrive without an appointment.

715 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR 97214

Questions about Portland’s bookstores

What are some of the best independent bookstores in Portland?

Places to Wander's edited selection includes Powell’s City of Books, Broadway Books, Third Eye Books & Gifts and Mother Foucault’s Bookshop. The guide is not numerically ranked. Each entry explains why the shop is included and links to the shop's own website.

What is The Detour in the Portland issue?

Mother Foucault’s Bookshop in Central Eastside. Craig Florence opened it in 2010 after a spell as a Tumbleweed at Shakespeare and Company in Paris, in a building on the National Register, with no wifi. Michel Foucault’s centenary falls in October 2026 and the shop is marking it. The Detour is an editorial designation, not a ranking.

Does the guide include used or rare bookstores?

Yes. Powell’s City of Books (new and used) and Mother Foucault’s Bookshop (used and rare). Used, antiquarian and rare books are not interchangeable labels; this guide uses each description only where the shop's entry supports it.

Which featured bookstores carry children's books?

Third Eye Books & Gifts.

Is there a map of the featured bookstores?

Yes. The Portland issue includes a map and shop index. Select a shop to open its entry, then use the shop's official link for visiting details. The illustrated map is an orientation aid, not a turn-by-turn route.

The Corporate Artist: The Art of Working Beautifully by Morgan Sage Norman

Bring your creative self
back to work.

The Corporate Artist: The Art of Working Beautifully is Morgan Sage Norman’s book about bringing your creative self to everyday work. It explores how the roles we play, the conversations we have and the decisions we make can become creative practice.

Find your copy ↗

The book on Bookshop.org ↗

Have the book with you?

Try Every Role Has a Medium (Your Craft) for a different way to look at what you do.

Or turn to Nothing Is Wasted and Rightsizing Importance. Begin with the title that catches you.

Looking for books about creativity at work? Visit the Reading Room.

Keep wandering.

Another city. Another way to look.