Is your favorite indie bookstore missing from this list? Fill out this form or drop us a line at bookstores@altaonline.com to let us know whom we missed and why they should be included. Visit altaonline.com/bookstores for frequent additions.
1
BLOOMSBURY BOOKS
BLOOMSBURY BOOKS
Bloomsbury Books takes its name from a group of early-20th-century English writers and thinkers that included, most notably for this Ashland store, Virginia Woolf, who serves as a sort of patron saint. Opened by four women in 1980, the bright and cozy shop carries a large selection of fiction, nonfiction, and literary-themed gifts. Ashland
With its well-curated new and used titles, including a collection of hiking books and trail guides, and a first-floor coffee shop, Dudley’s already stands out in downtown Bend. Add to those features the store’s pine floors, Douglas fir beams, and Dutch door, and you’ve got what longtime owner Tom Beans accurately calls an “eclectic, cozy” atmosphere. Bend
Opened in 1974 and since relocated to a historic building in Eugene’s Market district, Smith Family Bookstore is a local institution. Carrying new and used books, the shop prides itself on offering a wide selection “for everybody, whether you’re pursuing a PhD in philosophy or you just want to fix your bike,” says owner Evon Smith. Eugene
Located in one of the whitest neighborhoods in the so-called whitest city in America, the Black-owned and -operated Third Eye Books provides a singular and essential service to Portland. Inside a small renovated house, you’ll find titles by Black authors or on Black subjects, from radical histories to children’s books to cookbooks. Portland
Powell’s needs no introduction. Though a couple of smaller outposts exist in the Portland area, it’s the flagship store, in the city’s Pearl district, that is world-famous as the largest independent new and used bookstore on Earth, with multiple floors occupying a city block. Portland
In a town with fewer than 3,000 people, running a great bookstore isn’t easy. Yet Rebel Heart celebrated its fifth anniversary this year by adhering to its maxim: “Be brave, be true, leave your mark.” This small establishment (625 square feet) is located inside a historic former blacksmith’s building, where a staff of three maintains the distinctive inventory. Jacksonville
In a residential neighborhood in North Portland, a small and beloved bookstore recently changed ownership and its name, but maintains a similar inventory of thousands of used, rare, and antiquarian books. Adam McInturf—a longtime bookseller and store manager at the former Windows Booksellers—took over ownership this summer and rebranded the shop as Arches Bookhouse, which focuses on “across-the-board humanities.” Portland
Santi Elijah HolleySanti Elijah Holley is the author of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Murder Ballads and the forthcoming An Amerikan Family, a biographical history of the Shakur family.
