Powell's Books, Portland

Sure, you could order online from this store, but you would miss seeing the largest independent bookstore in the United States. With 1.5 million books in 3,500 different sections, this shop covers a city block and offers new, used, rare and out-of-print books. Open every day of the year, this is the place many Portlanders consider their spiritual home. Many come to browse, get out of the rain, drink coffee in the coffee shop and pontificate. Authors read their works several evenings a week.