powell's books

We've had a lot of fun recently when we visited Portland. Portland is one of my favorite cities to visit. Even it was a 5-hour drive from Vancouver, I thought that it was worth the visit and it's a new experience every time.

One of the hot spots and a must-see place to visit and explore in Portland is Powell's Books. Call me crazy but that's my thing...every time I get to visit a new place, I have to find out and check out the city's public library or it's independent bookstore...aside from the usual things to do such as sightseeing, museums and their local dining cuisines.

Now allow me and let me indulge you..... you will be amazed of what you're going to hear or read! From a humble storefront beginnings --Powell's Bookstore turned into a booklover's wonderland. Or shall I put it this way -- A world's great mecca for booklovers! This is one of the biggest bookstores I've EVER seen. I think, this is the largest bookstore on earth as it takes up the entire city's block. Floor after floor of books shelved higher than one can reach, entire rooms devoted to a single topic, and not to mention their massive rare and antiquarian book collections...

This place feels more like a library than a bookstore to me. One must grab a bite first prior to walking in, because you may get hungry after walking/exploring Powell's bookstore. It's about three stories high and rooms are separated by colors which in turns tells you exactly what the room offers (i.e. sci-fi, arts, history, literature, biography, etc.)

When I walked in, I thought I'll be nuts! I wanted to stand there and throw my arms up, and spin in a circle while a triumphant music (maybe Tchaikovsky?) played. Instead I could only wander about with reverence, bug-eyed and slack-jawed, trying to take it all in and trying a little not to get lost. Did I mention that they have a gourmet coffee shop inside?

Aside from countless people who are serious book shoppers, some people come here are just watching, engrossly browsing, casually scanning, looking around, thumbing through, page flicking, book mingling, random finds, or just basically wasting away their hours in such an amazing place. Well, I am both – a serious shopper and a browser. And a very enthusiastic one! Every time I come to this city, I see to it that I must make a visit here or at least a few times in my life.

So okey...I'll be blunt and basic: I love not just books, but vast of varieties of it, and that's exactly why I love it here, there's an endless volumes of books here --an unbelievable and unbeatable wide array of it! Everything from used to brand new books. First editions, illustrated editions, signed editions, out-of-print, rare find, collectibles, hard bound, leather bound, soft bound, dust-jackets, paperbacks, award-winners, you name it!

I wish my house is surrounded with plenty of books.... and towering bookshelves, and maybe grow old with my books, until our pages are yellowed.....:-)

Oh, what a bliss that would have been!