A gazillion years ago when the HH and I were first married, my sister in law gave me a gardening book. The Book of Outdoor Gardening by Smith and Hawken. It was the first garden book I ever owned. Practically everyday for over a year, I would pour over the book, learning everything from how to grow vegetables to daydreaming about visiting all the fancy gardens in the front of the book {Monticello was one of them!}. And then one day, several years ago, I lost the book. And since the book was out of print, I was out of luck.
So when I had heard that no trip to Portland would be complete without a stop at Powell’s Bookstore, The Girl and I decided to put the destination at the top of our list {to find my book}. While Powell’s is a chain of bookstores, the headquarters {or Mecca, rather} is in downtown Portland. It. Is. Massive. And according to The Girl, it’s her new favorite store {mine is still Amazon}. 😉 I’ll admit, the used and rare books selections were pretty cool, though.
For those of you who don’t know, Powell’s was started in 1971 by Walter Powell. Walter’s son, Michael, had opened up a bookstore in Chicago {selling used, rare, and academic books}. Walter worked for him one summer and enjoyed it so much, he decided to open up his own bookstore. In 1979, Michael lost his lease in Chicago and joined his father out in Portland. They quickly amassed a HUGE selection of used books, by buying pretty much every title that came through the door.
Powell’s decided eventually to bring in new books as well. They mix the books, used and new, co-mingling on the same shelf, so as to attract any kind of customer. I don’t know about you, but if I am looking for a title and used is available, I am ALL over it.
With several floors of books, it’s pretty easy to grab a tea/coffee, slump down into a big over-sized chair and stay awhile. But I was on a mission and had no time for tea and over-sized chairs. No siree Bob.
After 20 minutes of searching, I finally found my book. I totally squealed when I spotted it and couldn’t handover the $6.50 for it fast enough. How cool is that?
Pretty darn cool if you ask me. 🙂
Have you ever lost a good book? If so, try Powell’s used book section online. Who knows, you might just get lucky.
~Mavis
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St.
Portland, OR 97209
Rebecca says
You know what is another fun thing about Powell’s!? They will buy your books back from you! It is VERY easy to do and the shipping cost is free or very cheap! I have done this before and it was a very easy process. You might want to check it out: http://www.powells.com/sell/
Deanna says
I hope you took time to go to Voodoo Donuts too!!
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes we did. 😉
Deanna says
Good kibble!
Patty P says
Awesome! Isn’t it amazing that in this Internet age it took walking into a bookstore to find the book you’ve been looking for for so long?!
ChrisM says
Don’t forget Half.com. It’s a great resource for new and used books (and movies, music, video games and textbooks). They have many copies of your book. Some are in like-new condition for .75!! There is a 3.49 shipping fee for hard-cover books. I always check Half.com first.
Some of my favorite purchases there: “The Complete Tightwad Gazette”, by Amy Dacyzyn
“Don’t Panic, Dinner’s in the Freezer” by Suzie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia
“Don’t Panic, More Dinner’s in the Freezer” by same authors as above
“The Make-A-Mix Cookbook” by Nevada Harward, Madeline Westover, and Kareen Eliason
Heidi P says
Over 25 years ago I took a budgeting class (I’m certain I failed) and they recommended “The Make-A-Mix Cookbook”. It still sits on my shelf to this day.
PattyB says
I bought both the Make a Mix Cookbook and the More Make a Mix Cookbook back in the late 70’s early 80’s. I was living poor in No. Idaho with my husband and 3 kids and desperately needed to find ways to feed my kids and save money. That’s when I learned to garden, can, freeze, and make my own mixes!
E in Upstate NY says
The ultimate net book seller is abebooks.com. Book stores all over list their books through this portal. It’s what I use to learn the current value of some of my books. Plus it’s cool to see my father’s books listed there!
Zoe says
Powell’s is the best. I was luckily enough to grow up in Portland, and many, many hours were spent at Powell’s. It’s actually not a chain, but a massive store with a few smaller specialty stores around Portland.
e says
Good distinction, Zoe. It’s definitely NOT a chain! I love the main store on Burnside and the Book for Cooks on Hawthorne. But, really, I love all of Powell’s.
Dena says
I am such a bibliophile, that my husband has banned me from going to Powell’s, unless I first hand over the check book & all my credit cards. One year though I did find (and purchase – pre check book handover days) a lovely little set of books, each known by the title of the color of their cover, e.g., “The Blue Fairy Book,” “The Olive Fairy Book,” etc., each with fairy tails from various countries. Powell’s is fabulous, & there’s a store in CO that comes close.
Mavis Butterfield says
I love that! 🙂 Tell him books are like blood to you… you need them to survive.
Brian says
I just purchased the New Self-Sufficient Gardener! Very excited to start reading it 🙂
On a side note, have you ever considered growing your own tea trees? From what I understand they stay nice and bush sized, and who doesn’t like tea? Would make good barter fodder, and they’re evergreens! 😀
Mavis Butterfield says
Tea trees? I love it! I’ll have to look into it, thanks Brian.