Mother Foucault's Bookshop

Lovely store! Looked so pretty during golden hour and the cozy vibes were great

A wonderfully authentic bookshop filled with classics, philosophy, fiction, and history. Portland's very own Shakespeare and Company!

Best book shop I’ve ever been too. Incredible writings. Impeccable vibes

If you're reading a review about a book store... just stop, and go. There's nothing that I can say to fully describe how movie-esc Mother Foucault's is. You walk in and it's less bookstore and more... like home. Now this place won't be for everyone. If you're looking for a prim and proper, organized sort of layout - you know where to go in the city for that.

Here you're destined to find books you never imagined would interest you... a hundred plus years worth of knowledge and romance, and science, and law; it's like the Thesaurus of Bookshops, if that could be a thing.

I'll leave you with this: as a child I wanted to be a librarian when I grew up, and this is the closest I'm ever going to get to roleplaying as one because I do not have the financial backing or patience to commit to that level of education.

We bought some books from this eclectic shop over the weekend, and were pleasantly surprised with the interior ambience of Yesteryear and the friendly salesman. We would highly recommend to all Morrison St. Perusing folk, Portland natives, transplants (and visitors alike) will enjoy it :)

Beautiful book store. Great variety of non-fiction that makes you think! And very welcome to visiting authors! Including Dr. Guy McPherson! Thank you Craig for all you do to enlighten our fellow human animals!

I begin with a brief bit of necessary digression, all apologies. I am professional "homme de loisirs" ("man of leisure"). It is forgivable that one may inquire, what, exactly, is a professional "homme de loisirs"? Certain socially necessary positions (e.g. Secretaries of State, Advertising Executives, CEOs of Snack Food Conglomerates, Celebrity Lawyers, etc.) are populated by individuals who lead lives much too hectic, much too important to afford themselves Leisure Time. Thus, mon liege, ma vie.("my liege, my life"). Which is to say, these important individuals with lives much too frantic to enjoy even a single moment of leisure, hire my services. They employ me, in a sub-contractual capacity, to satisfy certain tax necessities, to leisure for them All day I perch in coffee-shops, slither through book stores, gawk into the dancing light of bubbling brooks, then craft a memo or two of my day’s leisure, and send it off to my clients. The checks are automatically deposited.

As such Mother Foucault's Bookshop is the precise experience I seek. A bookshop so timeless, so profound, so very crammed full of books (books here, books there, books everywhere!). One could spend the whole day drifting, languidly, pleasantly, like a massive whale, through the depths of this wonderful and beautiful bookshop. For those peeps who care, I purchased, a bit ironically those peeps may surmise, some writings by Marx.

Wonderful store, great energy. Don't go in the back and no phones. Didn't realize that when I got in, so highly recommend not doing that. Lots of philosophy and poems. Also works in French, Spanish, Russian and other languages I'm sure. Great place to find when walking alone at night. Made my friends' week.

Cool bookstore, absolutely packed with eclectic selections. I imagine something for everyone. I recently saw a little acoustic show there, and I hope it continues to be a cozy venue for music and creative performance!

Best book store in Portland, no contest. Excellent philosophy, literature, poetry sections, plus a lot of foreign language and events. Readings etc. usually posted on Insta, but when in doubt, just call.

Great philosophy collection with a lot of books in original language.

Bring cash. Silence your phone and put it away. Be prepared to explore and discover your next read. This isn't your big box store. It's way better.

Portland's quirkiest bookstore by far. Run by seriously anarchic book lovers for seriously anarchic bibliophiles. This place admirably keeps the city far weirder than most via piles of essential texts. Superb runs of modern Euro-lit and philosophy plus unpredictably fabulous caches of history and art history tomes on a global scale. Always best to call ahead since posted opening hours here are a concept but never a rule. Once inside, budgeting time to shop just exiles you from civilization. Browse aimlessly and discover! Besides, the surrounding neighborhood sports enough dive bars, beer halls, and cheap eats to sustain you before return to the Mother Ship. As Foucault himself would say:"Go and do more than just lick the windows!"

One of my favorite bookstores in Portland. They offer many hard-to-find books at reasonable prices. They are especially strong in foreign language, literature, and philosophy. The store is in a really nice space and is the perfect size for browsing. They also host many readings.

This show reminds me of a more spacious Shakespeare & Co, an awesome little shop in Paris. The old creaky floors, books tucked away everywhere, a treasure hunt... Despite their no-cameras policy, I may have to sneak a few photos just to entice people to go into this shop. Get down on your hands and knees and you'll find books under things and tucked behind other stuff, in addition to what's on the shelves. It's like a treasure hunt! Which is what I call hunting for old books to add to my collection of rare and old books, but aside from even that, it feels like a literal treasure hunt! Prices are shockingly good, and I found quite a few foreign language books on the shelves with the English books, almost as many books in French as I find at Powell's on Burnside, which I check a lot.

I'm lamenting only discovering this shop today. I'm having surgery on Monday and will have limited mobility for several weeks (surgery on both feet), and I'm antsy to go back and to take my best friend, who won't be home until Monday. ARGH. Not getting to Powell's on Burnside will be bad enough (the Cedar Hills location is spacious enough that I might be able to manage it, and screw Hawthorne), but not getting to this shop will be painful!! There's so much I didn't get a chance to see today. Yes, Powell's still has a larger selection, but this shop may now be my favorite. The treasure hunt aspect of it, finding literature under tables or in cabinets, the old creaky floors the incredible atmosphere... Absolutely amazing and I can't rave enough.

My favorite bookstore in town for unique, quirky, vintage, rare and cool books. Lot's of philosophy, poetry, psychology and foreign language titles. They also graciously host poetry readings and other cool events.

The best place to shop for used books in Portland, even better than Powell's. Also they host really intimate readings which are great. The employees are extremely knowledge and a joy to listen and learn from.

Lovely book shop that is a cozy place to settle down with a good book. I love their passion for exposing up and coming artists as well. My cast and I had our first table readings there!

This place is magical!!! Do yourself a favor and 😍😊🥰

Lots of interesting and unique books that you may not be able to find online or in larger bookstores. Mother Foucault has an excellent selection of philosophy and fiction books, and even has many books in a variety of languages. I was able to get a to get a Dutch verison of Sartre's "The Roads to Freedom."