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Open for Shipped Orders!
Our physical store is closed, but you can still get many books shipped to you directly from our warehouse. Here's how:
1. Only order titles with an inventory status of "Available at the Warehouse"
2. Select the "
UPS/USPS Ground Shipping"
option
3. Pay with a credit card
We are happy to fulfill other orders, but will not be able to process them until at least April 7. Other options: try
Indiebound.org
or
Bookshop.org
- keep it indie!
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"
Books loved anyone who opened them, they gave you security and friendship and didn't ask anything in return; they never went away, never, not even when you treated them badly.
"
– Cornelia Funke
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Hello friends!
First off, my best wishes for the health and happiness of you and your loved ones.
Now, for your entertainment, I'd like to discuss a subject that we hear about frequently as book sellers: guilty pleasure reads. I propose that we all abandon the idea entirely; no one should feel guilty or ashamed about what they like to read. Certainly, if you're looking for intellectual or emotional development, you may need to push your boundaries in terms of reading level or genre. But we're all pretty pushed right now, as was the case even before the pandemic. It's not just about escapism, either.
Reading should be something to enjoy and reading for happiness is nothing to hide. I'm always sad when I hear someone say that they don't like to read, especially when the reason is that they feel they can't read the topics or genres they appreciate. I think a world full of book lovers is much better than a world full of book judgers. So please, reread that old favorite for the 101st time, grab that book you have hidden somewhere, sit back and enjoy a read. James Joyce will always be there for you when you're ready (sorry Josh). And as for the people who taunt your reading style, I promise there's something they like they won't tell you about.
Yours in books,
Stacey @ PSB
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Vamos! Let's Go Eat: Children's, Picture Book
Tonight we were supposed to launch Raul the Third's new picture book
Vamos! Let's Go Eat
. As a local artist and friend of the store it's been fun to watch his career grow and branch out, from his murals in the Painted Burro in nearby Davis Square, to his
Lowriders
, and now to his delightful new series of picture books.
In this new Vamos! title,
Let’s Go Eat,
Little Lobo is excited to take in a show with wrestling star El Toro in his bustling border town. After getting lunch orders from The Bull and his friends to help prepare for the event, Little Lobo takes readers on a tour of food trucks that sell his favorite foods, like quesadillas with red peppers and Mexican-Korean tacos. Peppered with easy-to-remember Latin-American Spanish vocabulary, this glorious celebration of food is sure to leave every reader hungry for lunch!
Jam-packed with fun details and things to see, the Vamos! books are perfect for fans of Richard Scarry and Where’s Waldo?
Raúl the Third
is the Pura Belpré Award–winning illustrator of the Lowriders in Space series by Cathy Camper. He is currently illustrating the fourth volume of the Lowriders series and Strollercoaster with Little, Brown and Company. He grew up in El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, México, and now lives in Boston, Massachusetts with colorist and collaborator Elaine Bay and their son, Raúl the Fourth.
Meet Raul the Third in the video below and order a signed copy of
Vamos! Let's Go to the Market
. Raul will select one lucky winner from everyone who orders a copy to win an
ORIGINAL DRAWING
of Little Lobo & Friends.
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Featured Staff Pick for Adults
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Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Sometimes, when the world seems hopeless and politics are getting you down, you just want to read about queer librarians taking down fascism and finding love and family along the way. This book will give you the catharsis you've been longing for.
--
Shana
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What have we been up to on social media?
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A few days ago (what even is a "day?") we asked you to share pictures of your doggos and other pets, since we can't see them with the store being closed. And you obliged! Today, we returned the favor, sharing our pets and, uh, "pets" in
this thread
.
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So, if you missed it on Twitter (and don't feel like clicking and scrolling I guess) we've made a slide show of all the pictures we shared today.
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Digital Audio Books:
A terrific way to support local indies!
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We have declared it so, and thus it shall be!
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On Saturday, send us pictures of you reading that book and tweet at us with the hashtag #StartThatBookDay. We'll celebrate our own impromptu bookish holiday.
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For all the latest on events, new books, reviews, and more for young and young-at-heart readers.
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Virtual Bookseller
Looking to get some good book recommendations, personalized
just for you?
Check out our Virtual Bookseller! Just fill out the 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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Preorders are a great way to support PSB while we're not able to actually be at the store for two reasons:
- They bring in income now while the store is closed.
- We can deal with them later!
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You can see all of the books from the future we're excited about here.
But you can preorder more than just what we're excited for. Any book with an inventory status (who knew you'd have to get to know our online inventory statuses so well) of "Coming Soon--Available for Pre-Order Now" or "On the Horizon--Available for Pre-Order Now," is, uh, available for preorder now.
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Being at home is a great opportunity to make some of those recipes that, though maybe not difficult, tend to take a long time. As hard New Englanders and fans of the local restaurant chain
Clover
, we thought we'd share their recipe for Boston Baked Beans and Brown Bread. Like many of us who've had to close our doors in some way or other, they're doing a lot of great outreach online, specifically through their YouTube channel
In Ayr's Kitchen
.
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(And the best thing about Boston Baked Beans is, well, they're delicious, but the second best thing about Boston Baked Beans is that you can read while they cook.)
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Don't miss our live bedtime stories!
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At around 8:45pm each night on Instagram Live, the PSB booksellers you know and love will be regaling you with renditions from some of our favorites. We'll do our best to save these and add them to our YouTube channel - but not going to lie, it's pretty lovely to have a live audience to enjoy it!
Tune in at 8:45pm weeknights on our Instagram story to be read to!
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Last night Kate was back with more "silly accents y'all" reading "The Green Stone," a fantasy short story by
Diana Wynne Jones
.
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There are a ton of great bookish podcasts out there. Here are a few of our favorites.
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books:
Smart Bitches Trashy Books began in 2005 as a community of romance readers eager to talk about which romance novels rocked their worlds, and which ones made them throw the book with as much velocity as possible. Since then our site has grown to include a community of incredibly smart and savvy romance readers, as well as folks who are curious about all those fuchsia books with the tangerine skies and turquoise ruffles they used to see in the drug stores.
Print Run:
Print Run is a podcast created and hosted by Laura Zats and Erik Hane. Its aim is simple: to have the conversations surrounding the book and writing industries that too often are glossed over by conventional wisdom, institutional optimism, and false seriousness. We’re book people, and we want to examine the questions that lie at the heart of that life:
why do books, specifically, matter? In a digital world, what cultural ground does book publishing still occupy?
Whether it’s trends in the queries from writers that hit our inboxes or the social ramifications of an industry that pays so little being based in Manhattan, we’re here for it. Probably to laugh at it and call it names, but here for it nonetheless.
Novel Class
We talk about novels! Nothing is off the table, and we’re mostly sober. If you’ve had the book club blues like us, then NovelClass is your newest, nerdiest friend. No rubber stamps, no shameless plugs, only friendly banter and constructive criticisms. And we want you to join along! At the end of each episode of NovelClass we announce next month’s novel. You can read along and send us your thoughts on social media. And if that is not your bag, simply tune in at the beginning of each month to hear our thoughts, critiques, and praises.
Two Month Review
:
Each “season” of Two Month Review highlights a new and amazing work of world literature, reading it slowly over the course of eight to nine episodes. Featuring a rotating set of literary guests—from authors to booksellers, critics, and translators—each episode recaps a short section of the book and uses that as a springboard for a fun (and often irreverent) discussion about literature in a general sense, pop culture, reading approaches, and much more. Talking about great books doesn't need to be deadly serious, and 2MR makes it fun to everyone (even if you’re not reading along)
.
Jay and Miles X-plain the X-Men
: A weekly podcast going through the history of X-Men comics. The hosts walk you through the ins, outs, and retcons of comics’ greatest superhero soap opera.
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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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Featured Staff Pick For Kids
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Of Curses and Kisses by Sandha Menon
Boarding school, scandal, royals, diverse characters, and a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast makes this book irresistible. Princess Jaya Rao is no Belle and Lord Grey Emerson is no Beast, which makes their story feel like a brand new one instead of a re-telling. If you're a fan of fun, you'll like this book.
--Sinny
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We want to hear from you! When you're not reading, what are you doing while you're home?
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Learning a new cooking/baking/food skill.
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Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
"
Oona Out of Order
is a work of fiction that genuinely encouraged me to reflect upon my own mortality and the trajectory of my life. Oona wakes up on her birthday every year in a different part of her life. The difficulty this imposes is fascinating. Pop culture and music is ever-present, as Oona is a musician and chapter titles are taken from song titles or lyrics. What would it be to live your life out of order? To instinctively want to second guess and redo what you saw as failures? At the heart,
Oona Out of Order
is about mastering the art of living in the moment and it is a terribly fun romp."
-Rachel, Avid Bookshop
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See you next time here at Shelf Stable!
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We'll get out our next issue as soon as we can. In the meantime, don't forget about all the other places you can catch up with us from afar, on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube
:
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25 White St. Cambridge, MA 02140
617-491-2220
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