"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
―
Groucho Marx
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When I was a kid, my parents bought a sailboat that we would cruise the Maine coast in for weeks at a time. My parents still remember fondly how that first summer my two sisters and I -- all under the age of seven -- slept in the V-berth with room to spare, a space which would be tight for two adults! Nevertheless, it was a good lesson in small space living. Especially on foggy or rainy days, it was tough to find your own corner to read in!
The boat is long gone, and I miss it. Every summer we’d brush off the same paperback picture books, chapter books, and Gamewright games that were reserved for that space only. Most of the books were classic Maine children’s books like
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie,
Time and Wonder, and
Swallows and Amazons. (The latter is not actually about Maine, but is a great classic series for kids who are into sailing and adventures and pirates!) It was like bringing out holiday books in December - we got to spend time with our summer books again.
I’ve always been a revisitor. I like re-reading books and re-watching movies that made me happy - who doesn’t? And while right now I can’t physically go back to the islands and shores my family explored from the boat, I can page through photo albums and books for a trip down memory lane.
Many books from my adolescent years are still here, too. (With each visit my parents encourage me to take them back to Somerville, and I gently remind them they have a whole house while I have a tiny apartment.) I always bring a surplus of books with me when I come to stay, whether it’s for a week or a weekend, and then somehow spend a good amount of time skimming through books I’d forgotten about. Mixed in with the titles from my childhood are the fantasy books I devoured in high school and an eclectic collection of reading materials from college, making for quite an interesting bookcase. But not only does it bring back wonderful memories, picking these books up again is incredibly comforting.
--Heather
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Read our reopen procedures and policies!
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Dear Shelf Stable readers, we really feel we have gotten so close in the past months; you've been such an invaluable part of our quarantine experience and we hope you've felt the same! That's why you're the
first to know all the details of our reopening plan, which has not been publicly announced.
We've thought about, discussed, debated, planned, lifted, shoved, shelved, sanitized, repeat on this topic, and we've come up with some crucial guidelines on how to keep our employees and our community safe. A lot of that planning is made up of actions we're taking on our end, and we wanted you to know about them! But just as crucial is the cooperation of you, our customers. We know that coming back to the store right now isn't going to be the exact same experience you're used to, but we're determined to keep the safety and health of staff and customers in the front of our minds, and we gently ask that you respect our new guidelines and our booksellers. We're so grateful to be part of a community that we know will want to uphold the same values!
What We’re Doing to Keep Our Employees and Customers Safe
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We’ve moved some things around so it’s easier for things to flow in a single direction – we’ll give you a map
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We’re limiting the number of customers and employees in the store at any one time
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The furniture is gone for the time being
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Touchless hand sanitizer dispensers are available at the door and within the store
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Computers, registers and other surfaces that see lots of activity are cleaned regularly
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We’ve installed plexiglass shields in front of the registers and the information desk
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Receipts and coupons are now electronic
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We’re following applicable guidelines from CDC, Massachusetts and the City of Cambridge
What We’re Requesting of You: Some Highlights (please read the
full list
, too!)
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Ten customers will be allowed in the store at once. If a line forms outside, please observe the marks on the pavement for proper spacing.
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Masks, covering your nose and mouth, are required at all times.
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Enjoy your browsing, but please try to limit yourself to 20-30 minutes in the store and physically distance from others as much as possible.
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All pickup of online orders will still be curbside, outside the store.
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We still love dogs – but they won't be allowed in the store for the time being.
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Our restrooms will not be open to customers (sorry!)
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Most of all, please respect the health and safety of our employees and others in the store.
In-Store Shopping Hours, Starting
Tuesday, July 14:
Tuesday-Friday: 3PM-7PM
Saturday: 10AM-2PM, with 10AM-12PM set aside for vulnerable customers
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Join our next virtual events!
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Damien Echols
Angels and Archangels,
Tuesday, July 14th at 7PM
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Join us for a talk with Damien Echols, hosted on Crowdcast! This event is free and open to all.
“Angels do not belong to any one single religion, system, or dogma,” teaches Damien Echols. “They are almost pure energy—the very substance the cosmos is made of. They’re also incredibly willing to work with us if asked.”
With
Angels and Archangels,
this bestselling author presents an essential resource for understanding what angels are, how they make themselves available, and magickal practices to invoke their power to transform your life. In this lucid and information-packed guide, Damien shares his unique understanding and experience of magickal practices refined in the crucible of his wrongful death row imprisonment.
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J. Courtney Sullivan with Joanna Rakoff
Friends and Strangers,
Thursday, July 16th at 7PM
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Porter Square Books is delighted to welcome J. Courtney Sullivan in conversation with Joanna Rakoff for
Friends and Strangers!
Hosted on Crowdcast, this event is free and open to all.
An insightful, hilarious, and compulsively readable novel about a complicated friendship between two women who are at two very different stages in life, from the best-selling author of
Maine
and
Saints for All Occasions
(named one of the
Washington Post
's Ten Best Books of the Year and a
New York Times
Critics' Pick). 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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Mini Illustration Giveaway!
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The wonderful authors/illustrators
Ruth Chan
and
Elisha Cooper
organized #kidlitartsurprise. Through their efforts, we have received gorgeous mini illustrations (originals) by several illustrators who wanted to help support indie bookstores right now.
For every order with a hardcover kids picture book, you will receive one mini illustration (chosen at random - they're all lovely!). You can get an original by one of the following awesome creators:
You don't have to get a book illustrated by one of the contributors, though they'd surely appreciate it (several have new books! Each name above is linked to the illustrator's work on our website). Check out some of the awesome illustrations below:
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Want to show your love of Porter Square Books? Available for 2 weeks only, order your very own Porter Square Books T-shirt!
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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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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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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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Old Hollywood: From Page to Screen
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The Mysterious Mr. Poe
Born in Boston in 1809,
Edgar Allan Poe
was a writer, editor, critic and poet extraordinaire. Early on Hollywood found his work ripe for adaptation. His stories lent themselves to high drama, always with a splash of mystery and a tinge of gothic gore. He is credited with inventing detective fiction. There were nearly a dozen of his works adapted into silent pictures starting with a French version of
The Gold Bug
(1909), an Italian
The Pit and the Pendulum
(1910); and
The Raven
(1915), which was more of a Poe biography.
One of the first of Poe’s short stories to be adapted into a feature film was "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839). Hollywood made a short silent version in 1928 and in France the short story was adapted the same year as
La Chute de la maison Usher
. It wasn’t until 1960 that the definitive version was filmed and began the collaboration between director/producer Roger Corman and actor Vincent Price. Interesting trivia: This film was shot in fifteen days.
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Poe’s short story "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841) cast Bela Lugosi as a mad scientist and Leon Ames as the wily French police detective C. Auguste Dupin. The critical reception for this low budget Universal Pictures film was harsh. Interesting trivia: A young TV and radio personality named Arlene Francis, born in Brookline, played a sex worker.
"The Pit and the Pendulum" (1842) was made twice as a silent and in 1961 American International Pictures produced a version with Vincent Price, John Kerr, and British scream queen Barbara Steele. It was adapted as a movie by Richard Matheson and directed by Roger Corman. Three other versions were filmed, although none had the popularity or box office success of the 1961 film.
In 1935 Universal made a version of Poe’s 1845 homonymous poem, "The Raven"
,
starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi; the film was a flop. However, in 1963 Corman and his team at AIP made a comedy/horror film with Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and Jack Nicholson as Lorre’s son Rexford that was more successful. The reviews were negative, but the box office positive.
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At least seven films have been made based on Poe’s 1843 short story, "The Tell-Tale Heart." The first important version (1934) was British-made; the 1941 and 1953 versions were short films. The 1960 picture was adapted by author Brian Clemens and produced in the United Kingdom. A 2014 film starred Rose McGowan and was set in present day New Orleans.
Described as, “astonishingly good,” by the
New York Times
, 1964’s
The Masque of the Red Death
, based on Poe’s 1842 story, is considered one of the best Roger Corman/Vincent Price collaborations. English actors Hazel Court and Jane Asher co-starred.
Published in 1838, Poe’s benighted short story "The Tomb of Ligeia" was filmed in England in 1964 and adapted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Towne. The character of Verden Fell was aged 25–30, but played by 53 year old Vincent Price, who was heavily made up and given a wig to look younger. Interesting trivia: Director Martin Scorsese used clips from this film in his movie
Mean Streets
in 1973.
Sometimes considered camp and over the top, many of these movies have aged well and it is great fun to see Poe’s mysterious, macabre work come to life often in all the splendid glory of Technicolor.
--
Nathan
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Nathan with Vincent Price
Next Up -
Starring Stephen King
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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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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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I'm preaching to the choir here, but it's hot. (A thought: The phrase "preaching to the choir" doesn't really imply agreement, but the fact that the choir probably heard that same sermon 2 or 3 times in one weekend.) I hate feeling hot and sweaty, and the last thing I want to do when I'm already uncomfortable is cook over a hot stove and consume hot food. Let's explore some cool cookbooks together, shall we?
- Beautiful Boards and Platters by Kimberly Stevens - Cheese boards! Charcuterie! Dippins! In my book (heh), summer snacks for dinner is a solid option. But you could also practice making these beautiful plates so that when you can have people over again, your appetizers will be dressed to impress.
- The Soup Book - I know what you're thinking. "But Meaghan, you just got through telling us that you hate being hot, and now you're suggesting SOUP?" Reader, let me introduce you to the world of cold soup. This cookbook has recipes for each season and the summer section is full of gazpacho and summertime soups.
- Popsicle Cookbook by Kaitlyn Donnelly - I give you permission to have popsicles for dinner. It's OK.
Stay cool!
--Meaghan
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Enjoy
Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale, read by Book Twitter's latest crush (crowned by our friend at Wellesley Books,
Rachel Conrad), Chris Pine!
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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 bookseller's favorite books this month, and enjoy that sweet, sweet discount.
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In this relatable YA novel Ned Vizzini manages to take a heavy topic like mental illness and deliver it in an entertaining and comical way. This story follows a fifteen year-old boy, Craig, who is hospitalized for his depression. On his journey to recovery he meets a variety of interesting characters along the way. They are so well developed that it felt as though they might jump right out of the pages. This book gave me the best company in the days where I felt the most alone- it gave me a good share of laughs too. The intriguing setting as well as the electric character dynamics earned this book a forever place in my top 10.
--Hannah
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We Ride Upon Sticks
is one of my favorite releases of 2020 so far! Quan Berry’s characters are wonderful and real and she absolutely nails the dynamics of high school sports. Though the focus of winning a championship is one many of us can relate to, the thread of supernatural suspense holding this together kept me turning the pages faster than you can say Emilio Estevez!
--Caleb
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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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