Portland Bookstore Roundup — Pairing the Hunter with the Hunted
Title Wave Used Bookstore has 20,000 used books, audio books, CDs, DVDs and more at bargain prices.
“Searching is half the fun; life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.”
Jimmy Buffet may have been talking about the meaning of life here, but this quote could be applied just as easily to the plight of the common book shopper. While sometimes, a bestseller at a good price is the mission of the buyer, quite often half the fun of purchasing a book is the quest—the search through stack and shelf to find the perfect paper companion. The effort makes the discovery that much more rewarding.
Every quest needs a starting point, a place to pair the hunter with the hunted. While Portland may be home to the largest bookstore in the country, it also houses some lesser-known gems of the used and or specialized variety.
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One such place and a recent personal discovery of mine is Title Wave Used Bookstore on 216 NE Knott St. It’s housed in the original Albina Branch Library which was designed in 1912 in Spanish Revival style. Fifty volunteers run the store and the books are cast offs from Multnomah County Library’s collection.
Title Wave opened in March 1988 and carries 20,000 used books, audio books, CDs, DVDs, videos, magazines and cassettes. I purchased a Beirut CD for a mere .75 cents which is the going rate for most of the CDs. The average price for a magazine is $1, the majority of the books ring in at $2, and the inventory changes daily. It’s the perfect landscape for the hunter to score a random and or rare book.
Title Wave Used Bookstore
216 NE Knott St.
Hours: Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm
www.multcolib.org/titlewave
503.988.5021
Cameron's Books is a Portland institution. Photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk.
Cameron’s Books and Magazines located at 336 S.W. 3rd Ave. and established in 1938 carries a wide array of books, and the largest selection of used magazines I’ve ever seen. Whether you’re looking to get a good deal on a past issue of Art on Paper or a vintage Life Magazine, Cameron’s is your best bet. The store may be small, but it is brimming with books. With such a vast selection, shoppers are guaranteed to walk away with things they never knew they needed. Cameron’s is also a good bet for those looking to sell, especially for those whose books didn’t make the cut at Powell’s.
Cameron’s Books and Magazines
336 SW 3rd Ave.
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 11am-4pm.
www.cameronsbooks.com
503.228.2391
Ampersand is a great spot for art book lovers.
Both gallery and bookshop, Ampersand Vintage at 2916 NE Alberta St., Suite B offers a selection of new and used books and art with a focus on photography and art books. Their website describes the shop as “a project of sorts, an investigation into the colliding point between vintage visual material & contemporary works of art.” True to this description, the store stocks cameras–Diana Mini, Holga, Diana F+–to capture memories, books on artists and photographers from the past and present, broadsides, and old snapshots of unknown folks. Ampersand’s gallery exhibits change monthly. The last show that closed on April 25th was 52 Selects–an exhibition of photographs by world-renowned photojournalists. Below is a photo from the exhibit…
Ampersand
2916 NE Alberta St.
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday Noon-6pm, Sundays Noon-5pm
www.ampersandvintage.com
503.805.5458
From Ampersand's show 52 Selects.
4 Responses to “Portland Bookstore Roundup — Pairing the Hunter with the Hunted”
Jessica Thompson says:
April 27, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Lovely posting! I love the “hunt” and will certainly check out Title Wave!
Liz Crain says:
April 27, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Glad you like the post Jessica. I really want to check out Title Wave too. I only learned of it a few weeks ago. We’re going to make this a regular installment — roundups of PDX bookstores. So many good ones…
Omarie says:
April 28, 2010 at 8:43 pm
I totally love this post! It’s great to hear about Portland’s hidden treasures!
Katy Drawhorn says:
April 29, 2010 at 9:33 am
I’m so happy you enjoyed the post Omarie! I hope that you’ll be able to check out some of these shops and we plan on posting more in the future!