Yesterday Reading Local, a blog that covers the Portland book scene, posted a list of 10 books from local authors that will get you caught up on all the things you should know about Portland then and now: Portland 101-Learn About Portland In 10 Books
I’ve read most of them, and plan to follow the rest of their recommendations. I would like to expand their list a bit though, and recommend these too:
- An Architectural Guidebook to Portland by Bart King. Exactly what the title says, and it’s well written and researched. (Also the author is responsible for two of the more entertaining local blogs: Unexpectedly Bart! and El Ilusorio Blog de Rudy.)
- City Limits: Walking Portland’s Boundary by David Oates. Read my review: Portland’s real edge.
- Red Hot and Rollin’: A Retrospection of the Portland Trail Blazers’ 1976-77 Championship Season Edited by Matt Love. Read my mini-review (second one down): Harry Potter free zone; some books for the rest of us.
But do any of them tell you that Portland is built on an ancient unicorn burial ground?
Thanks for the link, and great picks on adding to the list.
Red Hot and Rollin made me think of Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam, which has just been re-released.
I’d like to suggest my novel, The Mission of the Sacred Heart, about hipsters and gutterpunks in Portland. It’s been reviewed as capturing the city well!