Broadway Books

Nice little store. I went in the first time because I got their mailer and saw a book I wanted to get for a gift. Unfortunately, when I went in, they «didn’t have it stocked yet.» It’s pretty confusing why they would include a book in their mailer and then not have it in stock during the holiday season. They were nice about it and took my info to call me when it came in but it’s the holidays and I’m really busy so I ended up buying it on Amazon. So much for buying locally :/

I love this place! I’ve gone several times and although it’s small and at times feel cramped, they’ve got a really nice selection for a store of this size. The staff are absolutely wonderful and always willing to help. I am a faithful customer and fan for life,

Nice little neighborhood bookstore. Emphasis on neighborhood. If you don’t live around here, no need to go out of your way.

Broadway Books is a nice place. Small independent bookstores are difficult to find. These places are on main avenues that people outside of those neighborhoods don’t travel on. It is only by a pleasant surprise that a bookstore such as this exists.
The place is modern. The books are set near the door. Each section is labeled. It’s a very up to the date place that exists as an independent bookstore that hasn’t created a second branch or increased in size. There are postcards near the cash register. There is the usual meet and greet of neighbors that occurs near the front door. The place fosters a sense of community even though it is in a greater area of a city that is across the bridge, down the highway, and over the river. It really is a nice place to check out.

Popped in here to buy something for Rebecca for her birthday. It was early, so it was pretty quiet. I had a very nice conversation with the clerk. She loves short stories and that is what I was looking for. A conversation is a great way to buy a book. Glad I stopped in.

What a neat little gem! Great store, friendly & helpful staff. I can’t wait for my next visit to Broadway Books!

Love a neighborhood bookstore! Helpful staff, decent prices, good selection of sale books.
I also always buy my greeting cards here– they’ve got a great selection right in the front window so I pretty much pop in every time I walk by because it jogs my memory of someone’s birthday/​holiday/​event that needs remembering!

I know lots of people love this store, and I want to continue to buy books at the two small bookstores in PDX featuring new titles. However, every time I go into this store I find it distinctly unfriendly and cold. It grates.

One of the advantages of a small neighborhood bookstore like this is the fact the staff really know their stuff.
I went in today looking for very specific items and was given great recommendations.
The owners of this shop are very helpful and if they do not have what you are looking for they will get it for you.
Local businesses need our support and this is one I can get behind 100%

Not what i was looking for. I wanted a cute little bookstore full of surprises but the only surprise i got was the prices. I picked up a journal and almost threw it back on the shelf as soon as i saw the price. I found a cute book on clearance but it’s just like everywhere else, just not as big.

I can’t always make it downtown to Powell’s and sometimes I just want a little more intimate perusing experience. (Not often, I love Powell’s for there great selection and tremendous author readings.)
Being new to the neighborhood I wanted to pay more than lip service to the shops that make this a great place to live. Going in I wasn’t expecting much because I haven’t always had great experiences at small bookstores. Usually too focused on topics I care little or nothing about.
I was pleasantly surprised.
The used book section was the highlite for me with a petite but clearly thoughtfully curated mix of well know or interesting topics and authors. The new books were good I guess but not the authors I feel comfortable perusing without a how-​do-​you-​do book reading or such.
I left with a used book on the history and family squabbles in the Sweet-​N-​Low corporation that had catchy cover art for 7.95, and I was pleased.

The value of an independent bookstore in my neighborhood is found in its ability to offer alternatives to corporate giants (like the nearby Barnes and Noble), to build a visible local community of book-​lovers and to support local businesses (and keep money in our community!). This bookshop is small, but the women who run it are SO hard working and there is a great selection of both new and used books. If there is something you want that isn’t there, they are happy to order it for you. There is something special about this 4-​block area on Broadway: there, you can find an independent bookstore, a beautiful florist shop, a bakery, a nail salon owned by a husband/​wife team and a dry cleaner owned by a husband/​wife team. I love feeling that I’m supporting families, rather than a corporate giant, and the families who own businesses in this neck of the woods (Postal Annex aside) are SO friendly, caring and outgoing. I love it here.

I love this bookstore. They are extremely knowledgeable and if they don’t know the answer they find it for you. They are willing to order any book you can’t find there and are always willing to make recommendations if you don’t know exactly what you want. Their selection is better than you’d expect from such a small space. I live on the West Side of Portland and make special trips over to visit them. Please support independent bookstores!

I have recently joined a book club (because I am too lazy to finish a book unless other people expect me to), and one of the members said she received an email asking people to support this local shop during these economic times. So, next book I had to read, I went here.
It was curious to see so many customers after hearing that this little store may be in trouble, but it still felt like a good idea to shop here. I was pleasantly surprised to see a really great assortment of books on display at a table near the door. I wanted to buy at least 4 immediately, including 1 local cook book and 1 Portland breakfast reviews book. Beyond the foodie stuff, there were quite a few well selected books that caught my attention. I immediately found my book club book, which was also on the first display table and began to make my way around the store.
I found myself in the cookbook section (I know, I think I like food too much) and again located several books that I would like to own. Next, I made my way over to the political section and all though there may have been, I didn’t see any of those rude, pointless, preaching to the choir, right-​wing propaganda books from Coulter and Hannity. Which of course, I appreciate, now I may have purposely overlooked them and they are probably available — but I am glad that they weren’t prominently displayed.
They also had a display of graphic novels, which my sister is into right now, and I have a hard time locating at most book stores.
Now, for the Powell’s argument. I do enjoy Powell’s, but I have to say that I have gotten lost there and always need help figuring out which color room I am supposed to be in. There was plenty of staff available at Broadway Books, and the size was much less intimidating. There were plenty of books to select from, and I overheard several customers ordering their books that weren’t available, which frankly wouldn’t have bothered me to do if my book wasn’t there. I think there is definitely room in Portland for this place, and I will check here first before crossing over to the distant west side.
I left with my book club book (Listening is an Act of Love) and a fancy new calender made from recycled products that gives you environmentally friendly ideas on each page. And then, I’ll have you know I crossed the street to the bakery and got a cookie, don’t judge!

Like Andy W alluded to, it’s too bad that a review about Broadway Books can’t help but include a mention of Powell’s Books. It’s like when two siblings — the Books, if you will — attend the same high school but have a few years of age between them. Younger Books walks into an English class and the teacher says, «Your sibling wrote such amazing essays. I expect great things from you.» Younger Books tries out for volleyball and the coach is like, «Elder Books made the all-​star team when h/​she was just a sophomore. No pressure.» Classmates who knew Elder Books can’t help but talk up Elder Books’ awesomeness.
Broadway Books deserves more than an automatic comparison. Small, independent bookstores are not easy businesses to keep alive. This one uses its handy Broadway location to sell best-​sellers, children’s books, cookbooks, magazines, greeting cards, and fluttery reams of wrapping paper. The selection is not and simply cannot be as extensive as the darling independent city of books downtown. But if you tell the staff what you’re looking for and they don’t carry the title, they’ll gladly order it for you. You miss out on the instant gratification you might receive by dropping into the big chain at the mall, but unless a new and never-​mentioned Harry Potter book is miraculously released, how important is instant gratification to a reader? Be a good parent. Show love to both siblings.

Every neighborhood needs a coffee shop, a bar, a dry cleaner, a bakery, and a bookstore.
Unfortunately, the grandiose scale and instant gratification offered at Powell’s kind of make the little neighborhood bookstores seem superfluous. Invariably you’re going to go in looking for a book that they have to order, and you have to weigh a three day wait against going downtown or over to Hawthorne. More often than not most of us are prone to just going to a Powell’s.
But really: how soon do you need this book? Are you worried that some tragedy might befall you in the next three days that will prevent you from reading the book that could have saved your life? Oh, if only I could have bought this book three days ago, tragedy could have been averted.
I’m not going to tell you that Broadway books is the kind of place you need to travel across the city to visit. But if you’re in the neighborhood, check it out. They have a mi casa su casa, community oriented attitude and are always friendly and happy to help out.

It’s a pity I don’t ever buy new books. If I did I would surely buy them here. I always enjoy coming into this beautiful little independent bookstore. They have a good card and magazine selection and I often come here for that. I enjoy browsing here and the staff is really smart and nice.