From the writers of the sketch tv show "Portlandia," which skewers the culture of Portland, comes this fictional guide. This is really only for fans of the tv show as it won't make much sense if you haven't watched it. It's not hilarious but I did find it mostly funny and amusing.

Good for some laughs. Much of it is in reference to or a rehash of things they've done on the show. Highlights for me: vegan cupcake recipe from the feminist bookstore insert, first "Portland by car" guide (basically, don't drive here!), mayor's fave reggae joints. If you don't find the show funny, you're not the target audience for this book.

Alright, so first off, don't read this book unless you watched the show. It's honestly not going to make any sense otherwise. Secondly, it's a "guide book" for the city "Portlandia," so it's also not going to have funny stories, it's going to reference generally most things they have done on the show.

With that said and done, Portlandia (the show and this particular guidebook) is something that can come across hilarious, strange, and weirdly sad. It's one of the more culturally and socially in-tuned comedy shows I have seen in a long while, with a closer focus on the real-life city of Portland, Oregon. They take what already exists and make it a bit more extreme or exaggerated. It's guaranteed that even if you don't see in specifically in Portland, you're bound to find hints of it in most major cities. There is also a lot of, what most people refer to as a general category at this point, "hipster" references made, although you have to understand that the hipster genre is so standard and generalized. The name has transformed, twisted, and distorted into something it never was, and now is something that isn't really anything at all. However, if you want, it's almost perfectly applicable to put this under a "hipster" type category.

It's a fictional non-fiction. It's a non-fiction guide book about a "fictional" town (that's based on a non-fiction town and it's non-fiction name, but this specific name is fiction). The fiction stems from non-fiction. The stories are truths with grains of non-truths. Everything is exaggerated that it's not real, but it is still very real. I think you know what you're getting into.

Thoroughly ridiculous additional material, including the brunch menu from the Fisherman's Porch (marionberry pancakes!), the Feminist Bookstore's in-store newsletter and a lot of recycling rules...

If you like the show, you'll like the book!

I enjoyed reading it, though it was mostly something I picked up to read when I was bored or waiting for something. I've only watched one episode of the show, but I love Portland, so I was able to still find it funny. It just wasn't as great as I expected and joked pretty much about the same stereotypical things the whole time.

some parts made me laugh but too much of it was just sketches from the second season, set to page. i did enjoy the feminist bookstore's zine and their disclaimer a lot, however.

For fun, I bought this book at Powell's City of Books and read it in Portland. Most of the material is directly related to the TV series of the same name, and the comments from the "Mayor" were humorous (especially the Portlandia suggested reading list). The observational humor is still spot on for Portland, and overall this quick read was a nice review and support to the TV show between seasons. There is not much original material, but for fans it is an addition to the body of work about Portland, OR presented by Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen.

Oh, Portlandia. So accurate. So frighteningly accurate.