Powell’s: It’s an amazing store, but after semester upon
brain-wracking semester of college, an impromptu visit to Powell’s Blue
Room—which you had originally intended as a leisurely
outing—can wind up feeling like college all over again.
Highlighted copies of Candide fall off the shelves in front of
you. People discuss the symbolic role of sunrises in Their Eyes Were
Watching God. Suddenly you’re having flashbacks to Comparative Lit
302, and you mentally justify going home to watch Battlestar
Galactica instead.
What you need, my scholarly friend, is a place full of sweet books
that have nothing to do with a formal education. Lucky for you, you’re
in Portland, where there are more than a few sweet spots to catch up on
some non-required reading.
Reading Frenzy (921 SW Oak)—Reading Frenzy, is of
course, the mecca of Portland’s zine and underground lit scene.
Thirteen years old, this place is as fresh and exciting as ever. With a
fantastic selection of graphic novels, magazines, and zines, Reading
Frenzy should be one of your first stops upon arriving in Portland.
Tender Loving Empire (1720 NW Lovejoy, #109)—The newest
kid on the block out of this bunch, Tender Loving Empire does a whole
hell of a lot for occupying such a small piece of real
estate—they’re a screenprinting shop, record label, indie
publisher, and a boutique that sells, among other things, cool
self-published books. In addition to sweet TLE-published graphic novels
like Brian Oaster’s At Home on the Earth, they stock a carefully
curated selection of micro-published art and design books from all over
the country. Plus, they’ve just started doing zine consignments, so you
can pick up local titles like Chuck E. Cheese Please and We
Are on Our Mind.
Floating World Comics (20 NW 5th, #101)—Located in
Chinatown, Floating World is a far cooler than average comic shop.
Sure, you can get your Halo and Green Lantern fix there,
but the store is also stocked with awesome underground stuff, from Top
Shelf’s American Elf to Arkitip, a rare magazine made of
original artwork that packs limited edition pieces inside from artists
like “the fourth Beastie Boy,” Ricky Powell.
Grass Hut (811 E Burnside)—The reigning champs of
Portland’s lowbrow-ish art scene, Bwana Spoons and Justin “Scrappers”
Morrison, recently opened this gallery and shop on the hip East
Burnside strip. In addition to way cheap art, you can find a ton of
cool publications, from The Portland Funbook to Plazm to
Yeti, with absolutely no risk of hearing people discuss
Flaubert’s attacks on Romanticism in Madame Bovary.