Portrait of a Bookseller - Powell's Books

Dana P.

”I love the feeling of just starting a book, when it holds so much potential, so I'll often have about six books I'm in the middle of — but I'll bounce back and forth between them so none of them feel neglected.”
Brianna B.

”If I read a book and find myself thinking about it for days on end and talking about it to everyone I know, that's a good book.”
Paul S.

”[A]t Powell’s, we’re...surrounded by and have easy access to one of the biggest and best collections on the planet. It’s a fantastic place to be steeped in, and then you get to filter all that info you’ve absorbed and find a way to release the bits you like best back into the world.”
Madeline S.

”No algorithm, no matter how detailed, can beat the random kismet of a personal recommendation, especially from someone who’s trained and practiced in making them.”
Andre S.

”I don't collect anything in particular, but I can't seem to stop buying old pulp sci-fi books with crazy artwork on the cover. They really just don't design books the way they used to.”
Dawn L.

”I love a good puzzle. I get to spend my days problem-solving as issues arise and developing new processes to get customer orders out the door swiftly.”
Adam P.

”My father and grandfather are/were Lutheran pastors, and growing up I thought I would be a pastor as well, but instead books turned out to be my calling, and bookstores became my sanctuaries.”
Haley B.

”I prefer to listen to music while I read. Quietly of course, but I don't avoid music with lyrics....I can't tell if I enjoy it merely for the ambiance or if it acts as an audible barrier...but in any case, it's my favorite way to read.”
Erin K.

”The best part of my job is making people happy and forging true connections. Not every customer is here to be your best friend, but sometimes, for the moment in time, it just clicks.”
Dianah H.

”If I can get someone excited about a book, it is really, truly rewarding. Hopefully, it will instill, or reignite, their love of reading.”
Kate J.

”There are checks and balances and a more thorough guarantee of authenticity with a physical book than with something found on a screen....It’s just a different experience both intellectually, and more importantly, emotionally. ”
Gordon P.

”I still feel like I remember every word of The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. ”
Bart K.

”Part of what makes reading so rewarding is that every book starts off as a mystery....As long as the mystery leads somewhere interesting or educational, I’m in.”
Miranda H.

“A good book either whisks you far away from reality, or takes you so close that you can see every wrinkle, crease, and pore. A good book thinks of an interesting way to get at something human.”
Lauren P.

“Readers...tend to be very introverted, but that doesn't mean we don't long for connection....So shopping for books can be a very emotional experience, a chance to be a part of a larger community.”
Ben T.

“As everyone else in my schools...decided to be nurses, police officers, engineers, etc., I realized the only thing that I could ever be happy doing was making stories of my own.”
Tim M.

“I think as a species we are fundamentally drawn to and even need stories, and a brick-and-mortar bookstore is a place to quench that thirst in person, immediately.”
Anna O.

“I just love a good story. But it helps if the ideas are so vivid and honest that they make your heart race.”
Gary L.

“In high school, I had a teacher recommend that I read Run Softly, Go Fast by Barbara Wersba. It was the first time I’d felt like a book or author was speaking directly to me and no one else.”
Katherine M.

“After the most recent election, my first instinct was to walk down to Powell’s...because I knew that I didn’t want to be alone, but I also didn’t need to actually talk to anyone. I just needed to feel safe. Bookstores will forever be a safe space.”
Jeffrey J.

“I...care about where my money goes and at indie bookstores you can see where your money is going....You can go speak to booksellers and know your hard-earned dollar is now going to be theirs in exchange for a great book!”
Eloise B.

“I don't know how odd this is, but I always smell books before I buy them. I also definitely judge books by their covers and will go out of my way to get my favorite cover of a title.”
Adrienne C.

“There are so many wonderful and interesting people who call about the many different books in the world.”
Stephen L.

“Walking through a bookstore is like walking through a magic shop. You’re surrounded by potentiality, by future circumstances.”
Tom L.

“Browsing shelves in your favorite section of a bookstore beats an algorithm any day. Being around other people who enjoy books as much as you do doesn’t hurt either.”
Jake A.

“A good book either makes you think a lot, or not at all, since you're too busy running around inside of it. A great book does both.”
McKenzie W.

“I like to have an ebook on my phone, an audiobook for the car, and paper books for any old time. I’ll mix genres and styles so that I don’t get them confused, but I’m rarely monogamous with my reading. ”
Angelo R.

“No day is the same; no cart of books received is the same. Every day I participate in my own choose-your-own adventure game.”
Jayne W.

“Walking into a bookstore, which is filled with such an immense quantity of creativity, is an irreplaceable feeling.”
Ronnie C.

“Most of my free time is allotted to music, whether I’m listening to a record from my collection or writing a song on my guitar. My songwriting is especially influenced by what I read.”
Jared B.

“I spend most of my time in the Pearl Room. I love art books.”
Miriam S.

“Bookstores are an incredible cauldron of serendipity. What comes next into your field of vision is a combination of randomness and curation by staff, a totally human and irreplaceable experience.”
Heather A.

“I love when the physical scars of my book tell a story. A coffee stain, a smudge of lipstick, cat bite marks... so, I'm not gentle with my books. Unless they're old and frail. Then they never leave the house.”
Myka D.

“Books offer a singular focus with which the Internet can’t compete, as everything is always a click away. But when you're reading a book? You're just reading the book.”
Kirk J.

“While I appreciate a good plot, I'm really interested in beautiful sentences and unexpected phrases and the way ideas are constructed with them.”
Sheila N.

“Books really are works of art. Nothing compares with the feeling of looking at a book, appreciating the art of the dust jacket, the feel and smell of the paper.”
Eva F.

“My favorite writers know and love every detail of the world their characters inhabit. It allows them to leave out the obvious, knowing that the reader can connect the dots. For me, the magic of a good book lies in what's not said. ”
Justin W.

“Having the opportunity to be a tribune of the curious and servant to the written word is a constant reward; being able to meet and interact with a slew of intellectually insatiable weirdos is just a bonus.”
Elizabeth N.

“Audience members are often dedicated, passionate readers, and they get all starry-eyed about their favorite writers. As do I.”
Sonja T.

“As a writer and someone who knows a smidge about the publishing side of the industry, it’s interesting learning about the bookselling side. Who knew selling books could be so complicated?”
Lori M.

“I’m at a point in my reading life where if I don’t love a book right away, I feel no compulsion to finish it, so the last book I loved is most often the last book I’ve read.”
Jeremy G.

“Despite the solitary nature of writing, many authors have an unassuming warmth that makes them seem less like unreachable literary titans, and more like the imperfect, striving people we all are.”
Douglas C.

“I’ll let my eye get caught by books that are faced out, that have shelf talker recommendations, and I’ll judge books by their covers, allowing myself to be lured by the lurid.”
Michael S.

“Certain rooms at Powell’s may feel like home to some people. Each room is unique and has soul and history. You can’t feel that with the cookie-cutter layouts of the big corporate stores.”
Kirsten B.

“A good book is one that makes me say, 'Go away. I’m reading,' at least under my breath, when something or someone tries to pull my attention away from the book in front of me.”
Emily F.

“Shopping for books feels so luxurious, and it's an experience you can't have clicking through a website. But I also think people love the life raft of being able to ask us for help and suggestions. It can be wild out there without a bookseller.”