Every once in a while you hear about a product that you just know is going to make a great gift -…read morefor yourself or others. And Im always looking for a fun gift idea. So when I heard Dave from 33 Books being interviewed on NPR I just knew I had to check it out. It's a great story too, which I condense below, and I promise is directionally correct if not totally exact. Man likes beer. Man decided to try a different beer every day for a year. Man forgets which beer he likes most (maybe testing too many?) Man creates a small "beer book" (as opposed to "black book") that he carries with him and makes notes on each beer in. Man gets requests from friends for their own books. Man can't get a smaller printing than 500 (? 1000?) Decides to go for it and print large number. Man gives some to friends and puts the remaining on-line for sale. Man finds sales go well and people ask for books for wine, cheese and chocolate too. And other things. Meanwhile man keeps day job. And wife. After a few years and other 33 books, many sales, and even some maps (wines of France) he takes the plunge and quits his "day job" to focus solely on 33 Books. Still has wife too. Sales continue to go well. He gets on NPR. Sales see big jump. Including from me. I got my books today. Yeah! I can't tell you about all of them because some are slated as small gifts for some select fellow Yelpers. But here are some specifics. Each book fits in your pocket easily. Or purse. You will need a writing utensil though. Come to think of it, be great if these came with one of those super thin pens you can get these days. Dave - hope you already thought of that. I added some pics so you can get an idea of what the booklets are. You can put in start and end dates. Each page is for a different beer, with different rating options - sweet or sour, malty, toffee, citrus etc. and how did it come - draft, bottle, can etc. and of course name and price. And section for notes, where, if you are like me and remember places by meals you add in that type of info. Or perhaps who you were enjoying it with. And of course a 5 star rating system (Yelp probably influenced that). The books are made from recycled paper and use soy based ink. The beer books all have a touch of California Common Brewed beer too. The wine books have a few drops of wine. You get the idea. This is a fun and creative product that's sure to please any recipient. Even if they won't use it they are sure to know someone who will. Go visit 33books.com and check out your options.

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.

This Kinokuniya is the best option for Japanese stationary products in greater Portland. There's…read moreanother much smaller one embedded in the Uwajimaya Asian Market in Beaverton. My Son led me here last weekend when I was in town. There was lots of notebooks, pens, and other stuff to consider, and having a Kinokuniya membership (10% off) was a bonus. David was more interested in the manga books, and we were happy browsing in our own little corners. We both happily came away with a small collection of treasures and a promise to return. There were lots of folks here, making the aisles a little tight. But checkout moved quickly and efficiently.

I'm not the target audience for this store, but I stopped by when shopping for a gift…read more Located off Director's Park, in the historic Guild Theater. It's cool that they kept the sign but it is a little hard to realize this is now the Kinokuniya. They've got a wide array of items - including movies and books/manga, pens and stationary, stickers and charms, mystery boxes of various kinds, items related to popular media, decor, etc. It's fairly narrow aisles and a lot to look at. They have another location in Beaverton.

Hard to say anything that hasn't been said. This place is way bigger than most libraries and the…read morelargest independent bookstore in US. Maps are key to finding anything, sadly no used board games. The kids section is great for how to draw books, love used books stocked next to new. The catalogue computers (just like a library) were helpful - told you both what section, shelf to find your both, and number of both new and used copies available which is fantastic (just make sure to write down more then section number if that exists, it still took a while to find a specific book - a obtuse and somewhat arbitrary categorization (ie a book we wanted was under mental games) Their summer reading program was amazing for $5 coupon to be used on purchase of anything.

Powell's City of Books is HUGE. I knew it was supposed to be one of the biggest independent…read morebookstores in the world, but I don't think I really understood what that meant until I walked inside. The Burnside location takes up an entire city block and has SO many different sections. There are new and used books, gifts, and basically every genre and random little category you can think of. The different rooms even have their own names, and the whole place feels like a giant book maze. You could easily spend hours just wandering around. I loved browsing through everything. Even when I wasn't looking for anything specific, I kept finding things that caught my attention. The color-coded sections and maps definitely helped because otherwise I probably would have just gotten lost somewhere in the shelves and never been seen again. Definitely one of those Portland places I'd recommend even if you're not a huge book person. It's just really fun to walk around and explore, and I can totally see why Powell's is such an iconic part of Portland.

My partner got a Barnes & Noble gift card for the holidays, so we stopped by here to check it out…read more It's been years since I've been in an actual bookstore (besides Powells) and it was pleasantly nostalgic. Located inside Lloyd Center mall, the store does have its challenges. It seems easy to access from the parking lot, BUT their exterior doors do not open - I think due to issues of theft. They have security, which isn't the most welcoming. But once you're inside, the store is quite large with plenty of genres. Books are more expensive I think they should be (shoutout to libraries), but if you have a gift card or an author you really want to support, I think it can be worth buying. I wish I could say it's a nice place to sit and read or write - unfortunately, I have to give two stars for the cafe. They have Starbucks branding but aren't an actual Starbucks. They cannot accept Starbucks gift cards or rewards program. And the drinks are not quite right - I requested my peppermint mocha be remade but it came out with a chemical flavor both times.

Nice Barnes & Noble inside Lloyd Center! Staff members who I encountered were all friendly. The…read morestore is organized and neat, with an open layout that's nice for browsing. Inside there is also a Starbucks with some seating if you want to work there or enjoy a coffee and/or snack. Glad to see B&N is one of the thriving businesses inside Lloyd Center.

Free monthly-sometimes-quarterly magazine. It focuses roughly 80% on Vancouver, with 20% about…read morenearby photogenic destinations. The articles are well edited, with lots of glossy pictures. It can be found in local paper machines, or signup online and have it delivered for free. Nice web site too, informative without clutter.

Someday I hope to be able to revise this rating upward…read more Quite frankly, Salem Monthly sucks. The writing is tired and uninspired. Since it only comes out monthly, its "news" topics fade quickly. I will continue to read it, hoping it improves - mostly because there's nothing else in town to counter the similarly lame Statesman Journal.

This is a free weekly local paper and it's fantastic. One of the best parts is the reader…read moresubmissions, typically it's the assinine rantings of the local puritanicals, angry hipsters, you name it and its represented in this section and published in its entirety. It's hysterical, and made even funnier by the staff writers responses. The articles are light reading, but entertaining and informative. Revenue for the paper is generated by advertising so you'll see a lot of that. But it also has a pretty decent local calling (Not that anything ever really goes on here) a good way to keep up on local music and such. Hey, its FREE! How can you complain about something someone is just giving you?

Just Out is a very well put together bi monthly magazine that caters to the LGBT community in the…read morePortland area. It covers topics going on in the city as well as performance arts and design. A well put together magazine!

Just Out is a bi-monthly (no pun intended) local newspaper here in Portland that emphasizes GLBT…read morenews and issues, but is a great read for anyone who enjoys great writing and (occasionally) risk-taking journalism. My company (a high-end car dealership) has advertised with Just Out for several years, and this review is limited to my experience advertising with the paper. I love reading it too, but that's another review.... What we sell, primarily, is the high end of mid-range cars. BMW 3 series, Audi A4's, Volvo's, C-Class Mercedes, etc. We've tried several ad venues over the years; what we've found is that in addition to the flexibility, attention to our needs, and on-the-spot professionalism we've experienced with the Just Out staff, the return is simply unbeatable. Every time one of our Just Out ads comes out, our phone rings -- and we are able to connect with people who want to buy our cars. I think our success with Just Out has a lot to do with their demographic, which is both relatively better educated than average and relatively wealthy, and our style -- Just Out's readers are smart and looking for both value and quality -- but if you can please their readers consistently, they will send you more business than you can handle. When you're considering the circulation vs. $$, they seem a bit pricey, but if you look closely at the return (as all of us business owners have done these last two years, if we're still business owners) you'll see that they're the most effective and cheapest way to get your name and your product/service out there. We'll continue to advertise with Just Out as long as they continue to rock like they have for us. Personal props to Larry Lewis, the sales director, for all the time he's taken to give honest feedback on our ads, and his staff who have helped him make our relationship so successful. Oh, and if you're wondering if you have to be a gay business to advertise, the answer is no. You should know a guy who knows a guy who knows how to speak "gay", though.