Major chain bookstores in Portland include Barnes & Noble at 1231 NE Broadway (tel. 503/335-0201) and 1720 Jantzen Beach Center (tel. 503/283-2800), and Borders at 708 SW Third Ave. (tel. 503/220-5911).

If you have a special child in mind, try A Children's Place, 4807 NE Fremont St. (tel. 503/284-8294), a this small independent children's bookstore, which has a wide selection of books, tapes, and CDs. Besides author signings, there is a Saturday-morning story time.

The City of Books--Portland's own Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St. (tel. 800/878-7323 or 503/228-4651; www.powells.com), is the bookstore to end all bookstores. Powell's, which covers an entire city block three floors deep, claims to be the world's largest bookstore. Those books, roughly three-quarters of a million at any given time, are shelved side by side--well-thumbed old paperbacks next to the latest hardcover books--which is why browsing is what Powell's is all about.

Once inside the store, be sure to pick up a store map, which will direct you to the color-coded rooms. In the Gold Room, you'll find science fiction and mysteries. The Rose Room has books on ornithology, the outdoors, and sports, among other subjects, as well as children's books. In the Orange Room, there are books on cooking, gardening, business, and crafts. Serious book collectors won't want to miss a visit to the Rare Book Room.

One warning: If you haven't got at least an hour of free time, enter at your own risk. It's so easy to lose track of time at Powell's that many customers miss meals and end up in the store's in-house cafe.

Believe it or not, City of Books is even bigger than what you see here; it has several satellite stores. There's Powell's Technical Bookstore, 33 NW Park St. (tel. 503/228-3906); Powell's Books for Cooks and Gardeners, 3747 SE Hawthorne Blvd. (tel. 503/235-3802); Powell's Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd. (tel. 503/238-1668); Powell's Travel Store, Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Sixth Avenue and Yamhill Street (tel. 503/228-1108); Powell's Books in Beaverton, at the Progress exit off Ore. 217 in Beaverton (tel. 503/643-3131); and Powell's Books at PDX, Portland International Airport (tel. 503/249-1950).