“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.”
—
Jane Smiley,
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel
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Every Sunday night, my neighbor on the other side of Highland Park in Roxbury sets up on a janky sawhorse stage built on his front stoop and plays wedding staple cover songs with his band. A lot of the neighborhood comes out and sits at socially safe distances to listen and watch the sunset. Like the best of summer gatherings, there are children and plenty of dogs. But most importantly, for this story as well as for my personal happiness, there are tacos.
My next-door neighbor, an incredibly talented but currently out-of-work cook we've affectionately dubbed "Grill Daddy," is also there every Sunday, offering free or pay-what-you-can tacos. And sometimes grilled pizzas. All summer, he's used a charcoal grill that he's schlepped up to the park and spent at least an hour getting a fire ready before cooking can even begin. He puts in a lot of work, and a few weeks ago we realized we could cut back that work by surprising him with a gas grill. So a bunch of neighbors pooled some money together and that's what we did.
Grill Daddy almost ruined his own surprise. The gist of the plan was this: I went over to his apartment with a sample of the gimlet I'd made for festivities and to help shuck corn and keep him inside. Meanwhile, my roommates got the assembled grill from our back porch, out the front door, and across the street to the park where the grilling magic usually happens. But when I got to Grill Daddy's apartment, the corn was already husked and everything else was prepped, so I bought time by asking excruciatingly detailed questions about the new shelves in his kitchen. I came up short.
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Everything was mostly ready when I couldn't stall anymore and we went out to the park. He stopped as the black hump of the covered grill appeared over the crest of the park's rampart.
"What's going on?"
"Go see."
"But what
is that?"
"Just GO."
There was shock, excitement, some fist pumping, a jaw drop behind a mask repeated without a mask for full effect -- Grill Daddy was very happy about his new grill. His Grill Friend.
Lately, it's been hard to find empathy in the news, from our government, difficult to fathom how many people seem to find kindness difficult. It felt wonderful to do something kind, to try to repay all of his kindness. And let me tell you, we will be eating like kings for the rest of the summer.
--Meaghan
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Read our reopen policies and updated hours!
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Thanks to all our friends who've visited so far -- it's been wonderful to see everyone's face (well, the top half above the mask anyway) and we're so grateful to everyone who has been so respectful of our policies!
Starting Saturday, August 1,
we will be expanding our weekend in-store shopping hours.
Updated In-Store Shopping Hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 3PM-7PM
Saturday: 9AM-6PM, with 9AM-11AM set aside for vulnerable customers
Sunday: 3PM-7PM
We really appreciate your support.
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Join our next virtual events!
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Heroines, History, and Hope: Jennifer Rosner, Alka Joshi, and Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Heroines, History, and Hope,
Tuesday, July 28th at 7PM
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Please join Porter Square Books virtually for an event with debut authors Jennifer Rosner (
The Yellow Bird Sings), Alka Joshi (
The Henna Artist) and Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (
The Mountains Sing) for a panel discussion on their paths towards writing their debut works, the research process, and common themes in these three works of heroine-led historical fiction! This event is free and open to all, and is hosted on Crowdcast.
The Yellow Bird Sings is Jennifer's debut novel. It is being translated into more than a dozen languages and published around the world. Jennifer's previously published books include the memoir, If A Tree Falls: A Family's Quest to Hear and Be Heard, and the picture book, The Mitten String. Her short essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Massachusetts Review, The Forward, and elsewhere. In addition to writing, Jennifer teaches philosophy. She received her B.A. from Columbia University and her Ph.D. from Stanford University. Currently, she teaches the Clemente Course in the Humanities, a college-level course for women living in economic distress. She lives in western Massachusetts with her family. Learn more at
http://jennifer-rosner.com.
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*New date!* Virtual: J. Courtney Sullivan with Joanna Rakoff
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Porter Square Books is delighted to welcome J. Courtney Sullivan, author of
Friends and Strangers, to your computer screens for a virtual book talk and reading, in conversation with Joanna Rakoff! This event takes place on Crowdcast, and is free and open to all. This event was rescheduled from its original date and will now take place on Thursday, 7/30!
Elisabeth, an accomplished journalist and new mother, is struggling to adjust to life in a small town after nearly twenty years in New York City. Alone in the house with her infant son all day (and awake with him much of the night), she feels uneasy, adrift. She neglects her work, losing untold hours to her Brooklyn moms' Facebook group, her "influencer" sister's Instagram feed, and text messages with the best friend she never sees anymore. Enter Sam, a senior at the local women's college, whom Elisabeth hires to babysit. Sam is struggling to decide between the path she's always planned on and a romantic entanglement that threatens her ambition. She's worried about student loan debt and what the future holds. In short order, they grow close. But when Sam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Elisabeth's father-in-law, the true differences between the women's lives become starkly revealed and a betrayal has devastating consequences.
A masterful exploration of motherhood, power dynamics, and privilege in its many forms,
Friends and Strangers reveals how a single year can shape the course of a life.
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Want to show your love of Porter Square Books? Order your very own Porter Square Books T-shirt!
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...Or the Newport Folk Festival in Memoriam (Temporarily)
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As long as there has been folk music, there have been protest songs. From English trad folk strike songs like
“Blackleg Miner,”
to the body of Pete Seeger’s music, to crossover songs like Nina Simone’s
“Mississippi Goddam.”
As long as protest has existed in America, black women have been behind the scenes and on the front lines. Like all American music, folk has its roots in African American music, and folk as we know it today was built on the back of an immensely talented Black woman, Odetta, who has been largely forgotten in comparison to the acts she paved the way for. There would be no Joan Baez, no Bob Dylan, no Peter, Paul, and Mary, without Odetta.
The Newport Folk Festival, arguably the most revered American folk festival, was scheduled for this upcoming weekend. It was canceled, like everything else, because of the pandemic. Odetta's role in the festival has likewise been largely erased, but by a more insidious epidemic, white America's willingness to steal from and stamp out African American artists. She co-headlined the first Newport Folk Festival with Pete Seeger, but I had never even heard of her until Ian Zack's biography was galley auntied to me by Josh. Her story is necessary reading for anyone interested in the past or present of American folk music, or in learning how we can better support Black female musicians.
--Meaghan
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Visit your friends at Cafe Zing!
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Did you know our beloved Cafe Zing is open for customers? Now you know!
Open Wednesday-Saturday, 8AM-2PM!
See you and your extra-shot, biggest-size-you-have iced latte at the cafe.
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We really appreciate how patient and cooperative all of our customers have been as we've reopened, especially as they've waited in line outside the store. Waiting in line can be boring, we know, so here are some tips and tricks for passing the time.
- Pick a letter. List every word you can think of that begins with that letter. I'll go first. B: bonobo, beluga, banana, book, Brazil, balaclava, bicycle, baccala...
- Bring and read a line-waiting book while you wait to look at more books. (If you don't carry one with you already, you are missing out.)
- See that kid walking by? Try to imagine what they'll look like when they're 30. Weird, right?
- Don't think about food. I mean it. Don't. You'll just be bored AND hungry.
- Finally start memorizing the lyrics to "The End of the World as We Know It" by R.E.M.
- Try to picture what each person who walks past would look like if they were in the 19th century. It's fun, I promise.
- ...boil, blubber, bile, beans, bird, bilingual...
- Brainstorm infrastructure changes to improve the T. Or turn to your neighbor to complain about the T.
- Meditate, or work on your ability to sleep standing up. Soviet soldiers learned how to do it and so can you.
- Be very VERY nice to the bookseller at the door.
--Meaghan
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We want to hear from you!
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Re: our website, which page would you prefer was easier to access?
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Staff picks and recommendations
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Books from the future (aka pre-orders)
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Giving, donations, and charitable partnerships
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Porter Square Books is proud to partner with the
Prison Book Program to help provide access to books to people in prison. Order any title off this wish list and select the "Curbside Pick Up" shipping option and we'll give to the Prison Book Program to distribute.
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Antiracism Books: A Place to Start
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A Burning
by Megha Majumdar, featuring a cast of readers
For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise--to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies--and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India.
“Majumdar’s suspenseful narrative holds a mirror up to society at large, reflecting the lies people tell themselves to rationalize sacrificing morality for personal gain. Unintended consequences from an impulsive social media post explode against a backdrop of deep economic insecurities and centuries-old prejudices. A searing debut, this novel is timely and timeless. It packs a punch way above its weight. Brilliant.”
--
Lisa Johnson, Penguin Bookshop
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Digital Audio Books:
A terrific way to support local indies!
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Want book recommendations, personalized
just for you?
Fill out our form with your likes and dislikes, genres and favorites, and we'll crowdsource a bunch of great picks for you with our crack team of
real life
booksellers. Give it a whirl!
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Our 'get 3 paperbacks' bundle options have expanded to include Caleb, Meaghan, and Shana! Get 3 paperbacks handpicked by the bookseller that fit in with their theme. You can find all bundles.
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EXPANDED OPTIONS:
Journals, Stationery & Crafts
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Sometimes a new notebook is what it takes to get the juices flowing!
We have now made a much wider variety of notebooks, journals, and even calendars available for order from our website,
like this classic Moleskin
. Now, along with items with an inventory status of "On Our Shelves Now," you can order journals, notebooks, diaries, calendars, planners, and more with an inventory status of "Available at Warehouses."
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Face Masks
Face coverings are going to be with us for a while, so
we’re now offering non-medical grade cloth masks (including kid size) from a variety of makers. Right now quantities are limited, but additional styles are on the way. We’ll keep you posted!
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Book Bundle Offerings
Make your shopping easy by buying bundles, handpicked by our expert booksellers!
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Take a trip in the WayBack Machine and listen to Pete Seeger read his book
Abiyoyo
on
Reading Rainbow.
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Support Cafe Zing Baristas!
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Although Cafe Zing is its own business separate from ours, we really don't see it that way: Zing workers are part of the Porter Square Books family. They keep us well supplied - very well supplied - with caffeine, kindness, and some great tunes. Sometimes they give us staff picks; sometimes we give them exact change because we've bought the same, perfect, comforting, delicious beverage twice a day five days a week for how long, now?
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They're here! Check out our booksellers' favorite books this month, and enjoy that sweet, sweet discount.
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Featured Tasty Staff Pick
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There is a lot of African American history and culture packed in this cookbook and one of my favourite parts is the stories behind each recipe. Learning about cultures that provide us with our favourite foods today is necessary. The history and recipes are there, but it's up to us to put in the work. Recipes I recommend (so far): Baked Macaroni & Cheese, Hibiscus & Ginger Sweet Tea, and Sweet Potato Pie!
--Sinny
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I’ve picked up this book every weekend for the past few months as I check ratios or timing for one of the many ferments currently bubbling away. If you’re looking to use your radish and carrot tops, preserve your farmer’s market bounty, or make something salty for those hot, sweaty days, this is the fermentation handbook!
--Marika
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See you next time here at Shelf Stable!
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Did you miss an installment, or want to share with a friend? The Shelf Stable Archive has all our past issues!
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And don't forget to subscribe to our Events Newsletter for the full line up of events coming up, and our Kids Newsletter for
all the latest on events, new books, reviews, and more for young and young-at-heart readers.
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Looking for other ways to keep up with us? Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube:
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25 White St. Cambridge, MA 02140
617-491-2220
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