a magic book store. i feel right at home here. i always find too many books here and that's a good…read morething.

I can't give it one star because I love books, and the place was...interesting enough. There's a…read morebizarre little staircase that leads to nowhere but a little loft, which I honestly love, but it's just more messy books. I worked at a bookstore for years, so seeing the random leaning and stacked books hurt a little and I yearned to dive in and start straightening. The vibe was so off-putting and stale, it's hard to explain. Looking around, I could see some quirky things like a cool old cash register, a random typewriter on a cafe-ish table, and a sign that said "the use of mobile phones is prohibited." The only distinguishable sections were fiction, poetry, and Shakespeare. My kid love books and we can spend hours in bookstores. He walked in looking to find some Tolkien, but before we could figure out where it might be, he said let's get out of here. And after a few more minutes of struggling to make heads or tails of the jumble, I couldn't argue.

I went to 6 different independent bookstores on independent bookstore day and Spoke & Word was my…read morefavorite by far. They had such a great selection and the staff was so friendly and helpful. I hadn't really been to Milwaukie before but this Main Street area was really cute.

Absolutly adorable little bookshop! I love the warmth of the owner and all of the staff. They have…read morealways been so welcoming and helpful, never pushy. They have a great selection of books and lots of other items from local artists and vendors. They are very inclusive and welcoming and are a huge community-supporter. If you're looking for a Queer-friendly, BIPOC- friendly place to go, add Spoke and Word to your list!

Darling bookstore with a lovely arrangement of books, new and used. Creatively and lovingly…read morecurated, owner is very kind and knowledgeable! Great pricing of course. A must stop- found a book I've been searching for. Free parking on street:) under a publishing business. Cute art on the walls. You must stop by !.!.

Don't sleep on this bookstore. It's awesomely curated and lovely. Melissa -- the owner -- has great…read morerecommendations and is just so great to talk to. I live many miles away and have come here to order books and to shop many times. It's everything you want a bookstore to be. Our kids love it, too.

The selection of books was amazing! I had never been to a Powell's Books within all of my life…read moreliving in southern Washington. Due to an appointment in Oregon I got the pleasure to finally swing by and check one of them out... and WOW! I was in readers heaven. I felt like the pricing was a bit steep on some books but for the most part it's kind of worth it. The only weird vibe I had here was the staff. Yes, they were polite, but they were all so robotic. There was one lady who I swear asked me every four minutes without ever looking up at me "are you finding everything okay?" and even checking out the man at the counter hardly acknowledged me or spoke so much as the price my purchase was. Just a weird vibe to me, but then again, everyone has bad days.

I love this outpost of Powell's. It's a smaller (though honestly still pretty big) and more relaxed…read morecounterpart to the downtown "City of Books." They've got a curated selection of fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, kids books, and souvenirs/tchotchkes. These days I mostly borrow Kindle library books. If I'm getting a physical gift for someone, I'll come here, or if I want to see what their staff is recommending in any given category to figure out what to read next. There is free street parking in the neighborhood north or south of Hawthorne Blvd. Plenty of options to eat, drink, and thrift nearby, including the attached cafe Fresh Pot.

The staff here are lovely and the environment is light, warm, clean, and welcoming. I love their…read morecollection of books and gifts, especially the locally handmade gifts. They also host many cool events for the community like book groups and knitting groups. So grateful this sweet local bookstore is in my neighborhood!

My kid lives in St. John's, so one day during my recent visit, we walked down the main road in…read moretown, where all the shops and cafes are, to check out all the places she's been meaning to explore. And we came upon Two Rivers/Weird Sisters, a combined small, independent book store-slash-yarn and knit shop. We loved this store. The ladies who work here clearly not only know their stuff but they are passionate about their books and knitting. I overheard them talking books with customers, and it was so clear that they love reading and know what to recommend. It was also obvious that this book and knit store has a loyal customer base, as it seemed that all the folks who were there when we visited were regulars. The ladies who work here knew the customers - and their kids - by name. (This felt like the "Cheers" of book and knit shops lol!). They host book club meeting here and also "bitch and stitch" knitting groups. Heck, the name alone of the clubs makes me want to learn to knit! At the time of our visit, they were doing some sort of book promo where you get a bag of chips with certain book purchases. (This may be a YA promo, I'm not sure). But they had a lot of "Potato Chip Books" on display, and it was super cute and super clever. (There were some teen girls there with their moms at the time, and they were all really into this "potato chip" book thing). There's a section devoted to Portland gifts and local, gourmet fare. I got a locally made Bloody Mary mix that looks amazing, and the lady who works here told me the backstory, how she knows the family who makes this mix, and it was so interesting, hearing about the personal connection they have here to the various products they carry. Super store, with a variety of local goods (in addition to books and yarns). Love this place!

I needed a gift the next day for my niece who lives in Portland (I am in NY) and wanted to…read moredesperately avoid ordering from Amazon. They were so very helpful on the phone, walking me through their availability and helping me put together the perfect gift. And the most incredible part was the offer to drop off the gift so I did not need to use a courier service. Local bookstores are the best and A Children's Place will now be my go to spot for future gifting.

I will sadly not be shopping here again after experiencing blatant racial profiling during my last…read morevisit. I was followed throughout the store aisles while perusing items that my daughter and I were interested in purchasing. It was obvious what was going on because other shoppers who were white were greeted warmly and allowed to shop in peace without being treated with suspicion. I will be taking my business elsewhere to stores that treat all customers with dignity and respect.

Lovely little used bookstore, particularly great selection of poetry, good selection of art and…read morephoto books, and a little of everything else that interests the proprietor. He enjoys talking about poetry and books, and is a poet himself. They host occasional live events/readings. Nice reading-table for browsing books you're considering. Hours/days open are a bit sporadic, and the outer doors are locked until you're let in, so make sure to check in and call when you want to visit. Glad to have this shop in town.

There's some secrecy to this--the outside door is locked and you have to phone David in the shop…read more what a special place: books for booklovers, authors I've known about and couldn't find elsewhere, interesting writers I've never heard of, artists' books, rare editions. A bare bones atmosphere cause it's the books that matter. And David Abel has a national (if not worldwide) reputation as a book collector and evaluator, and is very generous with his knowledge.

Microcosm Publishing published my book for me and I am very pleased and satisfied with how the…read moreproject went and with my resulting zine.

Great people, ground-breaking books…read more In complete transparency, I worked here for a while. I feel that this give me deeper insight into the business, though, and I can say with certainty that this publisher means what they say with their words and in their books. Not only are they a bunch of rad punk-loving bookworms, but they truly care about giving voices to those otherwise without them. Which, obviously, leads to some of the most interesting books/zines you can imagine!