xtal:
Sorry, I live in Atlanta. But I’ll be visiting San Fran in a month or so to visit my past (and future?) girlfriend. Maybe we could hook up then.
And you called my bluff, so I should admit I’m really vegetarian for the conventional reasons. But when I’m in coastal cities (read: not Atlanta) I do make the occasional exception for seafood. So maybe we could get together near Fisherman’s Wharf.
Howdy Humble Servant,
Sorry to bump this thread back to the top, but I need yours and Mr. HS’s advice (I tried to send you mail, but your address is not public).
I’m going to be in Portland over Memorial day weekend and I need to know what the best bookstores to visit. I’ll be traveling with people mostly interested in medieval and renaissance arts and crafts.
I’ve culled a list of Portland bookstores from various websources, if you would like it to jog your/his memory please let me know. I know a trip to the big Powell’s and Powell’s’ Books for Cooks is already part of the itinerary.
Thanks for any help.
Does Powell’s have a separate cookbook store now? That must signify some kind of demographic trend. Actually, I believe there are other Powell’s locations in the Portland suburbs too, but I’ve only been there on visits, so I can’t give you the read 
on anything but the main store. Here in Chicago, we make do with 3 locations.
According to Mr. S, the second best used bookstore in Portland for scholarly books is Great Northwest, which he says is also quite excellent. Book City Paradise, Morrison Books and Thaddeus Books are also worth visits.
He also insisted on giving me his opinions of the stores in Portland, Maine, even though I insisted that really wasn’t necessary. 
Anyway, enjoy your trip!
Five, when you come to SF, may I recommend a trip to City Lights Bookstore? I just made my first pilgrim… er, trip there recently, and I want to move in. Their fiction section is just incredible. My own bookshop is a quite nice, general bookstore, one floor of new books, one of used, that tries to appeal to a very general market. We simply don’t have the room to carry every book by every author. At City Lights, they do. Mmmm…
Thanks for the tip, Kyla. As it is, I already try to manage a visit to Comic Relief in Berkeley every time I go to the Bay Area; it’s one of the five best comics shops in the country. Where is City Lights?
City Lights Bookstore
261 Columbus Ave,
San Francisco, CA 94133-4519
Phone: (415)362-8193
New and Used books, an excellent beat-poets section. They used to have a magnificent collection of various mythologies, but it’s been slightly less in recent years. Cookbook section is fair to middlin’ but their Asian fiction rocks.
It’s also near North Beach which has some great restaurants where I can buy you that meal I promised.
If you are going to Berkeley to buy comix, go a few extra blocks to Moe’s Books. (Moe’s Books 2476 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704-2392 Phone: (510)849-2087) They have an excellent used/rare room, good cookbooks and art books and a huge fiction/religion section. Across the street from Moe’s is Shakespeare books (Shakespeare & Co 2499 Telegraph Ave Berkeley, CA 94704-2395 Phone: (510)841-8916) lots of good weird stuff. For new books and magazines (and the really good-looking counter help) you need to go to Cody’s (Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave Berkeley, CA 94704-2391 Phone: (510)845-7852). There’s more, but you need to get in the car and drive.
Hey Humble Servant,
I am sorry for the confusion, I read “powells” and just assumed you were in Portland, Oregon. Thanks for the advice, and please thank Mr HS for me too.
Kyla, next you come to SF, go down the Peninsula to Kepler’s Books & Magazines. It’s one of the best things that can happen to you with clothes on. Bigger than City Lights, better lighting and organization. More mainstream fiction, unfortunately. I’d agree with you that all the good liberal/radical fiction is at City Lights.
xtal:
That puts it near the Vesuvio, right? Cool! I could buy something by Jack Kerouac, then go read it in the same bar where Kerouac used to drink.
(I once spent 13 hours straight in the Vesuvio aggressively damaging my liver. That was during my Navy years. I think.)
Even better.
Male or female?
Does it matter?
For the record, however, I was thinking a one particular woman who worked there last year and I have been able to forget. She had dark hair and I cannot remember her figure, but she had the most perfect jawline and ears I’ve ever seen (yeah, I’m a weirdo). And she smiled at me.
City Lights a block away from Vesuvio Cafe (255 Columbus Ave) but if it is where Kerouac used to drink it has changed considerably.