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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. Five or fewer books per order if possible.
We are happy to fulfill other orders, but will not be able to process them until at least May 18. Other options: try
Indiebound.org
or
Bookshop.org
- keep it indie!
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“
Place in pets. / Night town. / Night town a glass. / Color mahogany. / Color mahogany center. / Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. / Loveliness extreme.
” –
Gertrude Stein
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Rosé is a Rosé is a Rosé is a Rosé
It has been interpreted that in 1913 when Gertrude Stein wrote the poem
Sacred Emily
and used the line “rose is a rose is a rose is a rose,” that she meant that things are basically the same/what you see is what you get/life is what it is and nothing more. However, I choose to believe that she simply forgot to put the accent
aigu
atop the “es”. Thus, in my opinion what she was really writing about was wine.
The Greeks were the first to produce rosé bringing grape vines to Southern France; eventually the Romans began to make “light” wine (the distinctive color comes from the skins of the grapes). In France, Provence in the south and Burgundy in the east central part of the country became the home to most rosé production.
There was a time when rosé was considered a second cousin to the more sophisticated whites and reds; however,
rosé has exploded in the US recently, especially in the spring and summer. Some claim in France, rosé has now become more popular than white wine.
Mon Dieu!
Perfect for sipping in the backyard, or on your porch on a slow summer day, a glass of cold pink rosé will take all your cares and woes away and you can transport yourself to 27 rue de Fleurus in the heart of Paris where Gertrude Stein often sat smelling her roses and sipping rosé.
Á Votre Santé, Nathan
To learn more about rosé I found a few very helpful books:
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This book, by Rutherford Winn, tells you everything you need to know about the history of wine and much more.
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This is a comprehensive guide to all things oenological.
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Join our next virtual event!
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Friday, May 22 @ 7pm
Welcome to the Neighborhood:
An Anthology Reading
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Welcome to the Neighborhood: An Anthology of American Coexistence:
Literary Collection
Join Porter Square Books virtually for a reading with contributors to the new anthology
Welcome to the Neighborhood: An Anthology of American Coexistence! Featured readers include Katherine Hollander, Aaron Devine, Sarah Green, Sonya Larson, Jennifer De Leon, Lynne Viti, and Lloyd Schwartz.
How to live with difference—not necessarily in peace, but with resilience, engagement, and a lack of vitriol—is a defining worry in America at this moment. The poets, fiction writers, and essayists (plus one graphic novelist) who contributed to
Welcome to the Neighborhood don’t necessarily offer roadmaps to harmonious neighboring. Some of their narrators don’t even want to be neighbors. Maybe they grieve, or rage. Maybe they briefly find resolution or community. But they do approach the question of what it means to be neighbors, and how we should do it, with open minds and nuance.
The many diverse contributors give this collection a depth beyond easy answers. Their attentions to the theme of neighborliness as an ongoing evolution offer hope to readers: possible pathways for rediscovering community, even just by way of a shared wish for it. The result is an enormously rich resource for the classroom and for anyone interested in reflecting on what it means to be American today, and how place and community play a part.
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American Inspiration: Virtual events with NEGHS
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Our friends over at the New England Historical Genealogy Society have partnered with the Boston Public Library and WGBH to offer a terrific line up of virtual events centering on American history and identity - books provided by yours truly!
Join NEGHS via Zoom on
Thursday, May 14 @ 6pm to hear from
Stephen Puleo, one of Boston’s best-loved historians. His new book,
Voyage of Mercy: The USS Jamestown, the Irish Famine, and the Remarkable Story of America's First Humanitarian Mission, casts light on the special relationship between Ireland and the United States, going back to 1847. Puleo is a historian, college teacher, public speaker, and the author of seven books including
Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. Free and open to all!
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Featured Staff Pick for Adults
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Between the Rocks and the Stars
by Stephen Daubert
Daubert’s new book is a collection of wonders. Each short chapter details the extraordinarily complex web of connections all forms of life have evolved to sustain themselves and reproduce, each more incredible than the next. --
Dale
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Caleb kicked off the Porter Square Twitter this morning with a Twos-day mashup tweet (complete with a great Sesame Street gif):
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Josh was even pulled in on his day off for his creativity (truly no rest for the bookseller).
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Bookseller Shana and bookstore friends also offered some suggestions.
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Bear's Wardrobe Update
Bear found Stacey's Dad (of blessed memory)'s belt. That's quite a look Bear. Truly bad to the bone (since they have none, this is accurate).
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Digital Audio Books:
A terrific way to support local indies!
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Events are back, baby! Want to stay up to date on the full upcoming line up of virtual happenings? Make sure you're signed up for our events newsletter!
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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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Make your shopping easy by buying bundles, handpicked by our expert booksellers. We'll be adding more of these so stay tuned.
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Are you missing out on our recommendations, pining for our Staff Pick display?? Our May crop of staff picks is now live on our website! We'll feature titles throughout the month, but you can browse the full list at the link below. As ever, all staff picks are 20% off - so go crazy!
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Sign up for Shelf Stable recently and want to catch up on what you missed? Or maybe you want to share this whole Shelf Stable business with someone in your life who hasn't signed up for it? Check out the full archive!
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The S-Files: On the Road Again with Shana Doing Deliveries
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Thank you all for letting us bring you books, being lovely, and keeping Somerville and Cambridge beautiful places to live. Here's a look at a 50-ish book delivery run.
(Center: Feline Friends)
(Right: Shana can't resist pictures of tulips)
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First things first: disturbing the cat's peaceful slumber, picking a
Red, White and Royal Blue inspired playlist, getting caffeinated at Flour (goodness do we all miss Zing!!!!)
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Headed to pick up the deliveries from the store (with fun new mask to boot).
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You all have so many beautiful flowers, trees, gardens, homes!
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Deep, velvety tulips, flowers that remind Shana of
Miss Rumphius, Shana's favorite: fragrant lilacs, and a wonderful door
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On the Occasion of a 33rd Birthday
Today is my birthday! I am 33 and have learned over the past few years that I enjoy making my own birthday cake (maybe chalk this up to a control over flavor rather than a mad love of baking). Today I’m making the Milk and Honey cake (with lavender) from
Simple Cake
by Odette Williams. I especially love this book because her recipes aren’t for occasions, but rather cake at any time, and who doesn’t love that! If there’s any good day to bake and eat cake, it’s definitely a random Tuesday in May (or maybe Wednesday by the time you read this). So join me! If you don’t have this book, the recipe I’m using is also available in the
New York Times
Cooking
online.
--
Heather
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Not only is Shana busy doing deliveries, they're doing bedtime stories too! Here's last night's reading from
Spindle's End
:
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And of course, don't forget to meet us over at our Instagram story at 8:45pm for tonight's live bedtime reading!
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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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Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
by Carlos Hernandez
It's rare that I find a book that so perfectly balances the drama of middle school and family problems with the drama of being able to break through the fabric of reality. Add to that the brilliant humor, a fascinating mix of characters, and the mouth-watering descriptions of Cuban food, and you've got this gem of a book. You won't soon forget it. --
Shana
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A Porter Square Books Choose Your Own Adventure!
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You pocket it - it must be some magic rum for the recipe. Back to the book!
You flip the book open and decide to read the first poem you see. Since only one is in any intelligible writing at the moment, there's not much choice. "Like a coconut, round the sand / Find the monkey, hold his hand / A tip of the hat, a flip of the phone / round and round you'll make it home." "This is the clearest one yet," you think to yourself. As if reading your thoughts, Summit says "Ah, most clear! Come, brethren, we must circle the island!" You and your new friends loop the island and pause. "But...where's the monkey?" you ask. Suddenly one of the other pirates lights up, "ah! yes, but of course! The monkey statue we acquired and hid amongst the brush!" You're all off running to the center of the island, stopping when you reach the location of the said statue. Summit clears away the brush, and nods. You grab the monkey's paw, thinking briefly about how many ways this feels cursed. You look down at your phone. It's not a flip phone, so you give it a quick toss in the air. Summit tips his hat, and the world slides apart.
Existence slowly starts to re-materialize, and you see that you're back in the witch's kitchen. "Um. I've got the rum?" You posit with trepidation. "FINALLY," they shriek. The cloaked figure turns but stops abruptly.
"You brought the pirates. And worse yet, YOU BROUGHT THE MONKEY! Useless! I should have left you where I found you!" they say sullenly, and then, "Give me the rum already!"
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Give the cloaked figure the rum and ask for some cake (you're hungry).
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Ask what they meant by leaving you where they found you...
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Try and throw the monkey at the cloaked figure.
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Hope that Summit will interject with something pithy.
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The Bird King
by G. Willow Wilson
“Fatima is a concubine of the sultan of the last emirate in the Iberian Peninsula to submit to the Spanish Inquisition. When her dearest friend, Hassan, a mapmaker who can map places he has never seen (and that do not always exist), is singled out by the Inquisition, she flees with him and a jinn, following the trail of the elusive and mythical Bird King, who may or may not be able to grant them sanctuary. Wilson’s latest novel is rich with the historical detail, lush description, and fantastical elements that we have come to know and love from her. A story of resistance, freedom, seeking, and strength, and a true fable for our times.
”
--Anna Elkund, University Bookstore
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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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