Local Bookstores to Feed Your Soul

Cozying up with a good book, a hot drink and a blanket is something of a lost art. So too is turning to books for education and research. In a world where there are so many books but so little time, this art is more than attainable in Eugene. We are a small town with so many independently owned bookstores that each has something to make them unique. The power of the written word is that it will always be there for you, should you go looking for it.

A great bookstore for both modern classics and classic classics is Hodgepodge Books and Taps (158 East 14th Avenue, BooksAndTaps.com), which is a very new — yet instant — Eugene staple at just over a year and a half old. Hodgepodge is the lovechild of a bookstore and a bar, meaning that anyone is welcome to walk into the sunlit store, buy an alcoholic drink (or soda or hot tea), and browse through the wide collection before taking their new purchases upstairs to the cozy reading area.

Hayden Fulfer is a bartender at Hodgepodge who has worked there since opening day in April 2024. Fulfer, who could not imagine tending a “normal” bar after working at Hodgepodge, says, “I love when people sit at the bar and we talk about books.” Fulfer says that book recommendations and chatter fly from across the bar as fast as the drinks do, with the regulars always coming to report back about their latest reads. If a drink gets spilled on a book, Fulfer says they simply get discounted. Also like a bar, Hodgepodge holds regular events, such as book trivia and poetry readings.

Another event-oriented bookstore is Tsunami Books (2585 Willamette, TsunamiBooks.org). For 29 years, Tsunami has been a magical bookstore — most days, it’s a quiet and cozy place for reading and browsing. But when a blues, bluegrass, jazz or any other talented musician comes to Eugene and takes Tsunami’s tiny stage, the room gets rearranged and the books are moved to fit over 100 chairs around the dance floor. Suddenly, Tsunami is a concert venue supporting artists of all kinds, apparent from the hundreds of promotional posters that adorn the ceilings.

“Billy Strings played here three times,” owner Scott Landfield says. “This historically was kind of a final step for him.” As the now-famed bluegrass musician decided to embark on a solo career, he called Tsunami, requesting to play there for one of his first shows on his own. “He knew he was going to hit some dud notes and he knew it was going to be a friendly crowd,” Landfield says.

As far as the book selection goes, Landfield says Tsunami’s focus has always been curating “used, new and remaindered books for the progressive mind.”

If the modern bookstore is not for you, and you instead prefer to feel like a researcher with a monocle, exploring a vintage, dusty library with a modern flair, J. Michaels Books (60 East Broadway, JMichaelsBooks.com) is where to go. Though it has a collection of new books, J. Michaels has books covering the world, religion, science and old literature. It’s a brightly lit space with an organized and sophisticated selection for every bookworm. Go to J. Michaels to learn about society and the world you live in, and also to browse its selection of rare, antiquated, first editions and signed copies.

If you’re just looking for books on books on books, check out Smith Family Bookstore (525 Willamette, SmithFamilyBookstore.com). When you initially walk in, you’ll typically find a mountain of unsorted books among the sky-high bookshelves that span the length of the store. Though this mountain is not to be touched, it’s a testament to the truly wide and perpetually growing selection that Smith carries. If you come in with another person, you’ll instantly lose them (and yourself) in the large maze of books. This is enhanced because the store is multilevel, meaning that if you’re ever able to clear the bottom floor, you’ll climb to the second story and find almost as many books. At Smith Family Bookstore, you’ll never run out of options.

Another bookstore to get lost in for the better part of a day is Black Sun Books (2467 Hilyard Street). Though it is a much smaller building than Smith Family Bookstore, don’t let that fool you. With floor-to-ceiling bookshelves packed in as much as possible, Black Sun makes the most of its space by absolutely filling it to the brim. Though it doesn’t feel claustrophobic or overwhelming in there, it is truly a book jungle, with plenty of little corners and nooks full of ravenous books ready to swallow any reader who dares approach.

There are also a variety of themed bookstores in town. Books with Pictures (296 East 5th Avenue, Suite 224, BooksWithPictures.com) carries as many new comic books from local and indie authors, as they do the biggest Marvel and DC Comics. Star Gate (1374 Willamette, Suite 1, StarGateEugene.wixsite.com/star-gate) is a spiritual self-help bookstore meant to help its patrons become aligned with their innermost selves.

Daffodil Books (27 West 5th Avenue, Daffodil-Romantasy-Books-And-Gifts.square.site) is a dark academia romantasy bookstore and coffee shop, focusing on “feminine” books, according to its owner, Bailey Prusz. Prusz’ favorite part about Daffodil Books applies to all of these eclectic bookstores in town. “The main thing that is so special about this place is the community that we’ve created. I think a lot of people have made friends and found a community of people that they otherwise would not have.”

Fight the power, consume literature and shop local.

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