Hawthorne Books Reviews

I love this place so much I made my mom come here twice when she visited.

If you don't already love Powells and are reading this as a newcomer to Portland, you've just stumbled upon one of the city's treasures. Powells on Hawthorne is not the same as the city of books in terms of magnitude, but it is still one of the best book stores in SE.

Cozy little book shop! There is also a home and garden book store a door or two down. It has a great cookbook/food section

A must-see for visitors and tourists, Powell's is a massive new and used book store taking up an entire city block with multiple floors. You WILL get lost on your first visit. I love that this place exists but the crowds are overwhelming if you go during tourist season (summer) or on any weekend. The missing 4th star is due to their prices which are typically high even for their used books.

What a great book store. Helpful staff and the staff recommendations were quite welcome.

Mostly new books for sale, some used mixed in, small gifts section. Line to get in went quickly. Helpful staff.

Grew up with this bookstore. No as an adult I take my kids. Absolutely a must if you visit downtown!

Powell's Books is the best bookstore on the planet!

AMAZING place for books. I feel like it caters a little more to older books instead of newer publications but does not detract from the experience at all. I could live in this place!

Great selection and service. Sold books there as well.

More approachable size than downtown with great selection.

A book lover's paradise. It's a little overwhelming with how large of a bookstore it is, but take your time to explore it and find some great books!

What can be said about Powell's that hasn't already? It has multiple locations, but the main one is a full city block and larger than many libraries. The selection is unbelievable and they shelve used books right next to the new ones. Buying or selling, it's an amazing experience. The staff is extremely knowledgeable with information booths stationed all over the place.

It's a tourist destination as well as a book store. If you make it to Portland, try to drop in.

If you don't know of Powell's, then you don't know books

It's a classic. Coffee and books? How much more Portland can you get?

This is the most amazing bookstore I've seen! It is the biggest too, it is around a hole Apple. It has like a ten different rooms of category books. You can buy souvenirs too, there is a coffee shop inside, tables for read a little because there is a lot of people and everyone wants to keep but aren't enough tables. I am still surprise!!

I like the coffee shop that it's connected to so then I can grab a book and read or even do work

Decent sized bookstore lots of good books and graphic novels

Great locally owned bookstore. The staff is a bit pompous, but whatever...

Nice store with reasonable prices! Always has a person standing outfront with newsletters

I've been shopping Powell's for a few decades now. The downtown location is the big store, but they have lost some of the charm that also made it Powell's. Thus, Powell's Hawthorne is my preferred book browsing destination.

As a youth with little spending money, being able to find a good deal on a used/newer book was something I found joy in. Powell's Hawthorne seems to be a place to do so with more frequency. Also, as a smaller location, there seems to be special care taken for an interesting distillation of titles.

Love it there; can spend way too much time looking up about just anything I can think of.

Great selection. Most of the people were nice but the lady who rang us up completely ignored the dozen attempts my children made to say hi to her. Other than that its a great place

You can never go wrong with a visit to Powell's. If you like books...this is a book heaven!

This is a great bookstore. It has nowhere near the selection of their downtown location, but there are still plenty of books, and I actually managed to find some things I couldn't find in the downtown store. Parking is a lot easier at this location as well.

Powell s in an amazing book store with a cozy setting and has just about everything you could be looking for

Huge variety of books and merchandise in a compact space.

Always an adventure! Wide selection of new and used books. Great for gifts.

Scandalous offer on buying some paper backs, and won't buy hard cover first editions in mint condition? Lame

Great selection of books in a store that is easily accessible from one of the more pedestrian-heavy Portland neighborhoods.
If they don't have what you are looking for then you can have books shipped to this store from their other locations.
I see many people selling their used books at this location which provides a decent selection of more affordable used options on the shelves as well.
There is a nice little coffee shop attached to the book store, there isn't a ton of room inside however it's a good place to grab a nice warm beverage after picking up your books and take a walk around town.

Lovely spot, lovely customer service. I've sold a number of books to them, and I did take the time to understand why they choose what they choose (mainly about inventory already in stock in store, not quality of book itself), and have had nothing but good experiences with the book-selling end of things. When I called yesterday looking for a specific title, Cody was pleasant and helpful, locating the book in their computer. Several minutes later, I received a phone call from a young woman whose name I didn't get, also happy and upbeat, to tell me they had physically located the book and that I would be able to pick it up this morning. On my way out the door now!

A smaller version of the classic Powell s, but worth the visit.

This is the top notch bookstore they have everything you can go in there and get a book on anything and everything all the staff of well trained and know right where to get your book that you're looking for if you can't find it two thumbs up for Powell's Books

This is where I pick up all my online orders. Sometimes they have good author events.

I love this bookstore - much smaller than it's westside counterpart, but terrific selection. Coffee bar. Really helpful staff - occasionally snooty-ish.

Awww! The very kind, sweet, attentive joyful book buyer Melinda, really helped the experience be very positive for me. Her smile made my evening brighter. The store wasn't so busy around 645. I was pleased.

Awesome bookstore, coming from Vegas where a bookstore is more of a memory than a neighborhood staple it was great to see a bookstore filled with people actually interested in literature!

It's just terrific!! I live in Albuquerque, NM, and if I ever decided to move to Portland, it would be because I wanted to be nearer to Powells.

Do I really need to tell you how awesome Powell s is? Go on a week night because daytime and weekends are a madhouse.

Spectacular library
Excellent service.
You breathe joy and tranquility

By any measure this would be a flagship bookstore in any major metropolitan area, but its thunder is somewhat stolen by its big brother downtown. All of the qualities of its larger compatriot, less a few acres of books on site, but in a more manageable neighborhood size. Excellent selection, and quick ordering if they don't have it there!

Very big selection of books very selective on only buying books they are in need of due to space

Great little Powell's. Definitely a top feature of the Hawthorne neighborhood.

Lots of events, good selection (both new & used), solid kids & games sections, and a cafe where you can read your books. A great store, bigger than most other stores, only 'small' when compared to the City of Books downtown.

Overall pretty good selection, staff was friendly and helpful. Would recommend

So many books! New and gently used books as well as calendars, games and other bookstore goodies

Great selection of books. I found 3 I liked within 10 minutes of entering the place.

Very helpful. Sold some books and they were very friendly.

Friendly staff, great selection, and helpful recommendations.

One of the best independent bookstores in the US! Huge selection, super helpful staff, and great (free) events.

Lots of books, this place is famous so no need for detailed review

It's so small yet so big at the same time. They have a bit of everything here. Good alternative if you don't want to deal with heavy traffic downtown for the main one.

Nice place and its got a coffee shop and clean bathroom

HUGE! It s more of a palace than a bookstore. It would take someone days to really look through every aisle of this wonderful place.

I bought a few books and they were reasonably priced for what they were worth.

Friendly staff, and just a generally awesome place to go to

Extensive selection of New and used books. I was there to get a book from there "running" section. There were quite a few choices. I found one copy of an odd ball book my husband wanted.

Powell's Books - these two words say it all. Great selection in this location.

My favorite Powell's location. Small, adorable, less crowded compared to the downtown location, and there's an adorable cafe with awe-inspiringly friendly staff.

Every time I go to Powell's I aim to go here first

Wow! What's not to love.....books... ..books .. ....books!!... Oh and yes there are other things for sale here too....cds...dvds... Cards....nicknacks...ect...

Smaller selection than the Burnside location, but still a nice bookstore.

Nothing compares to the downtown location but this does the trick when I don't want to travel as far.

Powells is Powells no matter where, always amazing!

Give yourself hours and hours and bring some bags because you're going to want to bring everything home with you. New books. Used books. Books you didn't know you needed. Gifts. Omg and the shop just down the street.... So many great gift ideas for just about everyone in your life.