Powell's City of Books

Powell's City of Books

1005 West Burnside

Portland, OR 97209

9 am - 11 pm

www.powells.com

The CA Scotch Couple are bookstore fanatics. Trip planning always includes research into out of the way independent bookstores for a pleasant afternoon's perusal. Long before Powell's books became a new and used book Internet powerhouse, Powell's City of Books, the independent bookstore in Portland that sprawls across an entire city block, was one of the CA Scotch Couple's favorite places to pass the time.

Part of CA Scotch Chick's complaints against out of the way independent bookstores is that they often tend to be a bit musty and disorganized. Not so with Powell's City of Books. What could be a true labyrinth is broken into well organized color coded rooms. One could either wander the entire facility or pick up the handy dandy map upon arrival and focus on the areas in which one has an interest. And, although Powell's City of Books itself might not quite have the charm of a smaller bookstore, these rooms are intimate little browsing galleries with new and used books sharing space on the shelf.

The Handy Dandy Map

Since the CA Scotch Couple are mystery fans, they usually spend the lion's share of their time in the Gold Room. And, on the evening that the Chef and the Saint took them to Powell's City of Books, that is exactly what they did. The two couples split off and spent a leisurely hour before Powell's closed and they toddled off to bed in the company of the books of their choice.

The only caveat to visiting Powell's is that one must actually check the prices of the books one is scooping up. On that pleasant evening in Portland, CA Scotch Chick picked up a beaten on old book that was the first in a series she was contemplating starting, only to glance at the price in line and discover that it was a rare copy for sale for over eighty dollars. Such is the beauty of Powell's, however. What treasures those shelves contain!