Great bookstores make great destinations

Powell's City of Books: 1005 W. Burnside, Portland, Ore.; 800-878-7323. The Gold Room, the Rose Room, the Purple Room — even with a color-coded map and signs, it's easy to get lost in the labyrinths of Powell's City of Books. And "it's hard to walk out with less than 10 books," said marketing coordinator Kim Sutton. She added that locals love to bring their out-of-town guests in: "They'll say, 'This is my bookstore,' and show them around with a lot of pride and ownership." Powell's claims to be the world's largest independent used and new bookstore; its other locations include three other general bookstores and two specialty stores (Technical and Home and Garden).

Prairie Lights: 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, Iowa; 800-295-2665. Thanks to the University of Iowa's famed Writers' Workshop, which has given Iowa City a vibrant literary scene, you never know who you're going to see at a Prairie Lights event. Could be a Nobel laureate like J.M. Coetzee; writer Michael Pollan promoting his new best-seller, "In Defense of Food," or even a presidential candidate like John Edwards, who was in town for the caucuses. "Right place, right time," said Jim Harris, the store owner, when asked to explain how the store has attracted so many bigwigs over the years — from Raymond Carver to Toni Morrison to Junot Diaz. Store events also air on WSUI, a National Public Radio affiliate.

Tattered Cover Book Store: 1628 16th St., Denver; 303-436-1070. Visitors to Denver often go to 16th Street, a mile-long outdoor mall through the heart of LoDo, historic Lower Denver. There, amid breweries and boutiques, near the arenas where Denver's major league teams play and across from the train station, you'll find the Tattered Cover. "We get a whole lot of tourists, along with people waiting for trains and fans hanging out until game time," said spokeswoman Patty Miller. The store has two other locations, but the LoDo location is especially inviting, with cozy nooks, overstuffed chairs and a gas fireplace.

That Bookstore in Blytheville: 316 W. Main, Blytheville, Ark.; 870-763-3333. It's located in an out-of-the-way small town, but That Bookstore in Blytheville has become famous thanks to Grisham, who grew up nearby. "He comes here all the time, every time he has a book," said Mary Gay Shipley, the store's "manager, founder, owner and janitor." While Grisham no longer greets the public during his visits, he does sign books, and his association with the store gave Shipley the clout to get other big names in — from Mary Higgins Clark and "Cold Mountain" author Charles Frazier to Bill and Hillary Clinton. The store is located on Interstate 55 between Memphis (an hour away) and St. Louis, so "we get a lot of customers traveling from the Midwest to Florida," Shipley said.

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The Strand: Corner of 12th Street and Broadway, near Union Square, Manhattan; 212-473-1452. Founded in 1927 by the Bass family, which still owns it, The Strand is a New York legend, offering "18 miles of books," including used books for a buck, new best-sellers, rare books and collectibles in every price range, and an entire floor of art books. It's as much a scene as it is a bookstore; customers range from Japanese tourists and East Village hipsters to New York University students and crusty intellectuals who quiz the staff on their literary knowledge. The "treasure hunt" is part of the allure, said Christina Foxley, director of store events. "Our stock is constantly changing. One hour we might have a book, one hour we don't. You never know what you might find."

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