Powell’s Books
Image courtesy of the store.
In the words of bookseller Katherine Morgan, Powell’s Books is “big as fuck.” She compares the store (located straight down from Providence Park in downtown Portland, Oregon) to a Macy’s: someone greets you at the front door amidst ever-present background chatter, before leaving you to browse three jam-packed, brightly-lit floors of new and used titles. You may smell a book-scented candle or spritz yourself with the store’s unisex cologne, or perhaps you’ll stumble into people reading in the aisles—trying on a book, so to speak.
Image courtesy of the store.
“It’s overwhelming if you’ve never been and don’t know what to expect,” Morgan says, noting that many customers utter a “wow” upon entering. “Once you get your bearings, though, it’s easy to navigate, almost comforting.”
Powell’s has become a top tourist destination in Portland, as well as a supporter of community artists and vendors (most recently, the store teamed up with Ex Novo Brewing to create a City of Books IPA). But its origin is in Chicago, where fifty years ago, Michael Powell opened his first bookstore—after spending the summer with his son, Walter Powell was inspired to return to Portland and open a bookstore of his own. By 1979, father and son joined together in Portland, creating the Powell’s that, three generations later, remains family-owned and book buyer-beloved.
Image courtesy of the store.
Morgan began working at Powell’s after applying via Craigslist in 2017. Like much of the staff, she was laid off in March, 2020 at the start of the pandemic, but was recalled eleven months later.
“It was this weird experience,” Morgan admits, “and it definitely feels weird being back. It’s very different vibes.” Powell’s process to rehire staff has been highly-contested. “One co-worker who got laid off had been there for forty years, and Powell’s is only fifty,” Morgan adds, “so that was hard to swallow. I had a lot of mixed feelings. I obviously want people to support Powell’s because it’s still a great place to be, but it’s kind of frustrating.”
Morgan is thankful, however, for the work the booksellers’ union is doing to hold Powell’s accountable. “When you get to be a business as large as Powell’s, the decisions are going to be about doing what’s right for the business,” Morgan says. “But my co-workers are some of the most passionate, creative people in the world, and I think the union reminds corporate that they hired us for a reason, and that they need to acknowledge them sometimes.”
Image courtesy of the store.
On top of re-hiring issues, other pandemic challenges arose as Powell’s opened back up. The store temporarily stopped buying used books, which—when combined with supply chain issues for new titles—contributed to bare shelves. Cash payments also weren’t accepted until this past July, and many employees had to retrain after the long time off.
Morgan had the added challenge of working through 2020’s boom on anti-racism books, a topic she wrote about last November for LitHub.
“When George Floyd was murdered, it definitely set a different tone in the country,” she says. “He wasn’t the first Black man to die at the hands of the police, but he was the first where people didn’t have other things to do, so they could finally pay attention to what was happening. I think with good intentions, they were then storming bookstores. The funny thing was, of course, that many of these books that were now selling out had been available the whole time. People just didn’t buy them the first time they saw it on the shelf, and then this happened.”
The unexpected demand for certain titles created supply and stock issues, which subsequently led to frustrated customers voicing their displeasure at Morgan. “I had one customer yell at me personally over email that they couldn’t read these books, that they couldn’t learn about racism, that they could’ve gotten the book from Amazon, which—no they couldn’t have, because Amazon was also sold-out,” Morgan says, admitting that day was one of the only times she’s cried at work. Writing the LitHub piece on the subject was cathartic for Morgan—speaking with Black-owned bookstore owners, she learned that she wasn’t the only person feeling so low.
Even though the past year has been difficult as a bookseller, Morgan still loves her job, especially talking to people in person about books. Her newfound Twitter fame during the pandemic often leads to her being recognized at Powell’s, which is an interesting oddity in itself. She also appreciates what her job has taught her in relation to her writing career.
“I have to figure out how I’m going to sell each book to a customer based on what they tell me that they like, which helps me figure out how I’d want a bookseller to sell my own book eventually,” Morgan says. “Sometimes a customer buys something just because they heard about it on NPR or because the cover looked cute or because it was $8.99, but I’ve also thought about what makes people interested in the book that they have never really heard of before.” She also believes that writers should be more aware and considerate of booksellers, adding, “I don’t think people realize that once it’s out of the hands of publishers, booksellers have to get it into the hands of consumers.”
Image courtesy of the store.
Morgan feels that independent bookstores will continue to exist in communities, but wants people to remember to support them in whatever way possible, even if that’s just going to one event a year or taking their child browsing one afternoon. As for Powell’s specifically, she feels confident that no matter the ups and downs, the story will carry on.
“It’s too big of a landmark not to make it. A lot of people come to Portland just to see Powell’s,” Morgan says. Even when the store shut down at the beginning of the pandemic, online orders flooded in helping to keep things alive. “I also don’t think the city would be the same,” Morgan adds. “I love Portland, but without Powell’s and a lot of the other cool, quirky things, it’s just another place that has food.”
Image courtesy of the store.
Recommendations from the Booksellers
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké Íyímídé
Pitched as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, this debut YA thriller lives up to its lofty promises. “Usually when people say Get Out, it’s just because the author’s Black,” Morgan says, “but this was very much Get Out.” The novel follows two teenagers who, upon becoming part of their elite academy’s senior class prefects, also start receiving text messages from an anonymous source, revealing secrets that threaten to ruin their lives. “I was sitting in a bar reading it for a book club at Powell’s, eating my chicken fingers, and kept going ‘Oh my god!’” Morgan adds. “I was actually scared.”
Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
“I’ve been an Ashley C. Ford stan for a few years now,” Morgan says, admitting she would love if Ford blurbed her own book in the future. “After she announced this book, I knew I would order it as soon as it came out.” It’s a shorter read, “but it packs a fucking wall up,” Morgan notes, warning that the memoir—which explores the difficulties of Ford’s childhood (the most prevalent being the absence of her father due to his incarceration)—might be upsetting for some readers. But in its darker themes, wonder and beauty can also be found.
Queer Love in Color by Jamal Jordan
This photobook featuring pictures and stories of queer couples and families around the world, all taken by a former New York Times multimedia journalist, makes for a fantastic Christmas gift, as attractive as it is meaningful. “I think a lot of times when you hear about queer love, it’s white queer love or cisgender queer love,” Morgan says. “When it comes to dating, there are a lot of times when being a person of color sucks. You get a lot of fetishizing messages, people saying they want to sleep with you but that they wouldn’t take you home to their parents. So it’s great that this book showcases beautiful love between people of color in color.”
Since publishing almost a decade ago, this book—written by a psychiatrist/neuroscientist and a psychologist—has hit the New York Times Bestseller List and continued to be requested by Powell’s customers. Levine and Heller’s work introduces readers to the history of attachment theory, helps them to identify their own attachment style (secure, anxious, or avoidant), and then provides guidance on how to navigate different styles in order to build stronger, more fulfilling connections. “I’ve definitely felt with past partners that I’ve been too needy or wanted too much. I thought I just had to calm that part down in me,” she says, “but I read this book and was really enlightened, because it’s like, no, your expectations aren’t too much. You just have to learn how to communicate them.” She’s been giving that a go with her new partner, and so far, it’s going great.
