Portland Book Culture Is Awesome

There are plenty of writers and readers in Bridgetown, as well as several independent bookstores not including Powells. The place is deep in book culture.

I’ve been going to author events recently and one of my favorite places is Annie Bloom’s Books in Multnomah Village.

What I like about these things at Annie Bloom’s is there is no format. Whatever it is, it starts at 7:00. The author may read a lot or a little from the book, interspersing remarks, or none.

The above photo is from the Cindy Brown event. She brought along three voice actors and turned one of her chapters into a radio play. The performance was exceptional with different accents and corny jokes.

At the end of the Gretchen Van Lente event she invited the audience to have a beer with her. For Cindy, she brought wine and a sheet cake into the bookstore.

Of course, there is a bookstore cat, who somehow likes to walk down the center aisle when a reading is underway. I always hope to be acknowledged by the cat, but this hasn’t happened yet.

Here it is, your rat moment of Zen.

Irving the therapy rat looking philosophical in his space pod.