Join us for the annual Trick-or-Treat on Denver Ave! Small businesses will hand out treats and trinkets for kids (and sometimes the grown ups too). Second Shapes will have some special gifts to give away to anyone in a literary costume!

Please email hello@secondshapesbookstore.com to RSVP! Please note the time change for this month. We’ll be meeting from 4-6pm.

We’re debuting a new poetry reading and open mic night! This one will be hosted by local poets Diane Corson, Bruce Parker, and John Miller.

Bring three poems or read for three minutes. Sign ups begin at 3:30pm. All genres welcome!

August is back! The best bread, cookies, scones, and treats around! 12pm until sold out.

For October, we’re reading Boo Stew and making potions. Come prepared to get messy!

This event is sold out! Join our email list for updates on when Eva’s next workshop will be.

—

Join us for an autumnal dried flower arranging workshop with Eva from Backyard Bannan! Every participant will leave with a pumpkin bouquet. Sliding scale, $35-$55.

This collaborative writing workshop invites members of the queer community to come together to share writing and build an affinity space. We'll meet weekly to share writing that draws (directly or indirectly) from the queer experience, raise questions about our work, offer feedback, and discuss writing we admire. Creative nonfiction and fiction are both welcome.

When: Wednesdays, 6-7:30pm, October 22-December 3 (6 weeks, skipping Nov 26)

Cost: $200 for six-week session; sliding scale down to $50. Please reach out to the workshop facilitator (elizabeth.weinberg@gmail.com) if $50 poses a barrier to your participation.

About the workshop facilitator: Elizabeth Weinberg is an essayist, science communicator, and nature nerd. They are the author of Unsettling: Surviving Extinction Together, and their essays have appeared in Identity Theory, The Rumpus, The Toast, Buckman Journal, and elsewhere. She lives in Kenton with their partner Leslie and their two dogs. Weinberg is currently at work on a book about urban animals.

Accessibility details: Second Shapes Bookstore is wheelchair accessible. Masks are encouraged for this workshop, and may be required. The workshop facilitator will contact participants prior to the start of the workshop about other accessibility needs. 

Join us for the release of Ariana Rivers’ Perfect. Pre-order the book: https://www.arianarivers.com/

After years of enduring abuse and control, Alex Shearer takes her chance and runs. Determined to live life on her own terms, she escapes to a quiet town on the Oregon coast and starts over.

Alex wants Theo Anderson to be part of her fresh start. Charming, attentive, and handsome, Theo seems like he’s exactly what she needs. Luckily for her, Theo’s already decided that Alex is his. Fresh from prison and struggling to control his impulses, Theo has been watching her for weeks. In his mind, they’re already together - she just doesn’t know it yet.

What Theo sees as making their relationship official, Alex sees as being trapped in a connection she can’t escape. As Theo sinks deeper into his obsession and Alex’s grip on reality begins to blur, she fights to outmaneuver him, desperate to prevent her captivity from becoming the connection he insists it is.

Free and open to all! Register by emailing hello@secondshapesbookstore.com

Local kids story book expert Madeline will be sharing I Am We by local author Leslie Barnard Booth which focuses on themes of inter-dependence and resiliency. Free to attend! Best for ages 3-6, but you know your kid best.

When: Thursday, September 25 | 6–8 PM

Where: Second Shapes Bookstore, Portland, OR

Investment: Sliding scale $55–$88 (all supplies included)

We know how hard it can feel to be in a body in the world right now, and we want you to know: we’ve got you.

Come spend a couple of hours painting with Emily Rose, surrounded by community and care. We’ll have custom music and subliminals playing in the background + an intentional painting process to help your nervous system soften and settle.

Our goal here is to help you come back to your body, to your breath, and to that feeling of connection we all need right now. No painting experience needed. Just bring yourself exactly as you are.

Free to attend! No experience or expertise necessary. Many supplies included. Register by emailing hello@secondshapesbookstore.com

Each month, the group chooses 2-3 plants to discuss the following month (like a book club). Discussion includes plant identification, habitat preferences, and sharing stories of growing or observing the focus plant.

Sat. 9/20: Mock orange & spirea (non-natives)

Join us for a flower arranging workshop with Eva from Backyard Bannan! Every participant will leave with a bouquet of locally grown flowers.

Sliding scale, $35-$55

Feat. Bentabia Beacon Bezalel, Billie Jane, and the Throw Spuds

Come help us warmly welcome our new community room with a beautiful, free, all ages folk music show!

3:30pm DOORS / 4:00-6:00pm MUSIC

We’re stoked to host August Artisan Bakery for a sourdough pop-up on Sunday, August 31! Loaves, cookies, buns, and scones will be available 12pm until sold out.

Learn more here: https://www.instagram.com/augustsartisanbakery/

Join instructor Edie for a comic workshop for kids & teens (ages approx. 8-16) on Sunday, August 24 and Sunday, August 31 from 10am-12pm! Come to one or both workshops. No prior drawing/comics skills needed. All supplies included. Workshops are $20-$40/each, sliding scale, no one turned away.

Sunday 8/31 from 10am-12pm

We’ll focus on drawing and panel composition and create plans for final products.

REGISTER FOR WORKSHOP TWO

This month Madeline will be reading Hum & Swish by Matt Myers and then we’ll have some fun sand and water sensory play on the back patio! All ages welcome.

Email hello@secondshapesbookstore.com to RSVP

We’re honored to play host to the North Portland Queer Book Club! This month’s book is Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist. Find more information and connect with the organizers by visiting https://www.instagram.com/npqueerbookclub.

Join us the last Wednesday of each month from 6-8pm for zine & collage night! Bring your own supplies or use what we have (and there’s always a lot). Light snacks and drinks are also usually available. This is a casual hang out and everyone is so kind and supportive. Beginners very welcome.

Email hello@secondshapesbookstore.com to RSVP

Join instructor Edie for a comic workshop for kids & teens (ages approx. 8-16) on Sunday, August 24 and Sunday, August 31 from 10am-12pm! Come to one or both workshops. No prior drawing/comics skills needed. All supplies included. Workshops are $20-$40/each, sliding scale, no one turned away.

Workshop One: Comic Storytelling

Sunday 8/24 from 10am-12pm

We’ll focus on writing, putting together a mini zine, and talk about structure and panel transitions.

Workshop Two: Comic Design

Sunday 8/31 from 10am-12pm

We’ll focus on drawing and panel composition and create plans for final products.

All ages, all fun! Join us for the annual Kenton Street Fair! We’ll have a tent in front of the bookstore with a $5 and under book cart, $1 book boxes, and so much more.

Featured artist Mahma Jaguar will be joining us with hand drawn prints and zines.