The first time I went to Powell's City of Books was the summer of my eleventh year. My dad told me that we were going to visit the biggest bookstore in the world, and I felt like I had been handed a second Christmas. I saved my money for months, and the book I bought that day remains one of my favorite of all time.
Now that I live a convenient 45 minutes away from Portland, I have even more opportunities to visit my favorite bookstore. Whenever I walk through the glass doors into Powell's, I feel like a kid in a candy store, and I know that I'm not alone in this. Whether or not you consider yourself a bibliophile, Powell's is a magical place. Here are six reasons why you should plan a visit to Powell's sometime in the near future.
1. The MILLIONS of Books.
Powell's boasts more than 2,000,000 volumes in its inventory. Step into the store, and you'll find shelves packed with books, rooms stuffed from floor to ceiling with hardbacks and paperbacks, classics, comics, children's books, poetry, and everything in between. With 3,500 different sections of books, there's something for everyone from natural history to young adult.
2. The Organization.
Because Powell's is so immense, the owners and staff have kindly divided it up into color-coded rooms. Signs and maps (such as the one above) direct customers through the maze of rooms, so that one can easily find cookbooks in the orange room and Westerns in the gold one.
3. Used & Old Books.
Because Powell's offers both used and new books, you can often find multiple editions of the same work. Whether you're looking for a $27 hardback hot of the press or a well-loved, dog-eared paperback, Powell's has it all. Remember to check out the rare book room and the beautiful old hardbacks as well.
4. Its Sheer Size.
Powell's takes up an entire city block. That's about 68,000 square feet or 1.6 acres of books. Need I say more?
5. The Coffee Room.
What could be better than spending an afternoon with a cup of coffee or tea and a good book? The Coffee Room at Powell's allows you to do just that.
6. The Atmosphere.
Sometimes, as a bibliophile, it's easy to feel ostracized in a culture of Kindles, BuzzFeed and Netflix. Enter Powell's, and you'll feel at home among the hundreds of readers browsing shelves or sitting curled up in a corner, lost to the world.
