Books

What better way to get acquainted with Portland than through novels set in the City of Roses? There are also dozens of classic and contemporary nonfiction books about the metropolis, known worldwide for its urban livability. Following are a few titles to get you started. For an extensive listing, pick up a copy of City of Readers: The Book Lover's Guide to Portland in September 2006 at your neighborhood library or bookshop.

Novels set in Portland

• Geek Love (1989), Katherine Dunn
• The Lathe of Heaven (1971), Ursula K. Le Guin
• Gone, But Not Forgotten (1993), Phillip Margolin

Fiction by Portland authors

• The Farthest Shore (1972 National Book Award winner), Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Sky Fisherman (1995), Craig Lesley
• How to Make an American Quilt (1991), Whitney Otto

Nonfiction about Portland

• An Architectural Guidebook to Portland (2001), Bart King
• Portland Names and Neighborhoods: Their Historic Origins (1979), Eugene E. Snyder
• Portland: People, Politics, and Power, 1851-2001 (2003), Jewell Lansing

Nonfiction by Portland authors:

• Lifesaving: A Memoir (2000), Judith Barrington
• Counting Coup (2000), Larry Colton
• Fire at Eden's Gate: Tom McCall and the Oregon Story (1994), Brent Walth

Poetry by Portland authors:

• The Moment's Equation (2004 National Book Award finalist), Vern Rutsala
• Traveling Through the Dark (1963 National Book Award winner), William Stafford
• Blood Silk: Poems (2003), Paulann Petersen

Children's Literature by Portland authors:

• Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1982 Newberry Honor Book), Beverly Cleary
• Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (1990 Caldecott Honor Book), Eric Kimmel
• Blue Skin on the Sun (1993 PEN/Norma Klein Award), Graham Salisbury