Shelf Stable: August 14th
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“I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed.”
― A.S. Byatt, Possession
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Somewhere to start with the genre:
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When Drew and Alexa get stuck in an elevator together, he asks her to be his fake date to a wedding. But can this fake romance turn into a real one?
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An autistic woman decides to get “good at sex” by hiring a male escort. This is the book that sold me on romance.
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The son of the US president falls in love with the Prince of Wales—will the pressures of their public personas ruin their chance at love?
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When Hollywood showrunner Jo is photographed with her assistant on the red carpet, rumors fly about a possible relationship between them. But what if the rumors aren’t so off base?
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The son of an aging rockstar needs a nice, normal relationship to salvage his public image—and Oliver fits the bill. But soon a fake relationship starts to feel very real . . . (This one’s a current staff pick so it’s 20% off for the rest of the month!)
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Chloe is a chronically ill computer geek who decides to “get a life”—and enlists her sexy neighbor to help her do it.
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Lady Sherlock Holmes! What’s not to love?
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Pride and Prejudice retellings (sorry this one’s niche but I love them):
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Gender-swapped Pride and Prejudice retelling between Trisha, a high-powered surgeon, and DJ, a chef. As you might imagine, they get off to a bad start but then have to work together. Make sure to pick up the sequel, A Recipe for Persuasion, a retelling of Persuasion.
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Another P&P retelling, this one set in Toronto’s Indian Muslim community. I loved it and the characters drink so much chai that my mom started drinking chai because of it. (If that’s not a solid recommendation, I don’t know what is.)
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A whole series of romances starring women of color (including one queer romance) who either are or become entangled with royals who would rather not be royals.
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A fictional rendering of William and Kate’s courtship and romance. I read this years ago and still think about it. The sequel just released as well!
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And a bonus favorite from me:
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This is possibly my favorite romance of all time. Tiffy and Leon live together but they have never met. After they start communicating via sticky notes left around their apartment, romance blossoms.
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With love and a hope that I’ve convinced you to read romance,
April
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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!
Updated In-Store Shopping Hours:
Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday-Friday: 3PM-7PM
Saturday: 9AM-6PM, with 9AM-11AM set aside for vulnerable customers
Sunday: 3PM-7PM
Curbside Pick Up: Daily, 3PM-7PM
We really appreciate your support!
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Join our next virtual events!
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Bookstore Romance Day! Saturday, August 15 at 5:00PM
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Join Porter Square Books and a cadre of wonderful authors to celebrate Bookstore Romance Day - virtually! Tune in for a panel discussion of all things HEA with some of your favorite names in Romancelandia: Caroline Linden, Loretta Chase, Evie Dunmore, Nisha Sharma, and Robin Covington. This event is free and open to all, and is hosted on Crowdcast.
Bookstore Romance Day is a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate Romance fiction—its books, readers, and writers—and to strengthen the relationships between bookstores and the Romance community. We're glad to celebrate it virtually this year!
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Caroline Linden was born a reader, not a writer. She earned a math degree from Harvard University and wrote computer code before discovering that writing fiction was far more fun. Since then, the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series three FOUR times, which is not related but still worth mentioning. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages, and have won the NEC-RWA Reader's Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the NJRW Golden Leaf Award, and RWA's RITA Award. She lives in New England.
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Loretta Chase has worked in academe, retail, and the visual arts, as well as on the streets—as a meter maid—and in video, as a scriptwriter. She might have developed an excitingly checkered career had her spouse not nagged her into writing fiction. Her bestselling historical romances, set in the Regency and Romantic eras of the early nineteenth century, have won a number of awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s RITA®. For more about her past, her books, and what she does and doesn’t do on social media, please visit her at LorettaChase.com.
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Evie Dunmore is the USA TODAY bestselling author of Bringing Down the Duke. Her League of Extraordinary Women is inspired by her passion for romance, women pioneers, and all things Victorian. In her civilian life, she is a consultant with a M.Sc. in Diplomacy from Oxford. Evie lives in Berlin and pours her fascination with 19th century Britain into her writing. She is a member of the British Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA).
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RITA award winner Nisha Sharma is the critically acclaimed author of My So-Called Bollywood Life, a Kirkus starred reviewed and NPR Best of 2018 YA romance, and The Takeover Effect, a starred reviewed adult contemporary romance, and the first in The Singh Family trilogy. Her writing has been praised by Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Hypable and more.
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A USAToday and Wall Street Journal bestseller, Robin Covington loves to explore the theme of fooling around and falling in love in her books. A Native American author, she proudly writes diverse romance where everyone gets their happily ever after. Robin is an unapologetic comic book geek, hoards red nail polish and stalks Chris Evans. She is thoroughly obsessed with her Corgi, Dixie Joan Wilder (Yes – THE Joan Wilder).
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An Upcoming Event and a Request
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In Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, first-generation American LatinX Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new nearly all-white school. But when family secrets spill out and racism at school ramps up, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.
Former Boston Public School teacher and debut author Jennifer De Leon has a goal: she wants to put a free copy of her book in the hands of every ninth grade student at the O'Bryant High School in Boston. Help us reach this goal by donating a copy to a student! Porter Square Books will gather all donations and bring them over to the O'Bryant School once we've reached our goal.
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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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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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Back before Margot Livesey’s The Hidden Machinery came out, I was reading an advance copy of the book on my phone. I got to a line that I knew I had to screenshot and save.
Margot (who once interviewed me-in-costume-pretending-to-be-Edith-Wharton for a bookstore event, so we're definitely on a first-name basis) is writing about Jane Austen’s Persuasion when she drops in this to-the-point definition of what makes a novel a romance: “Crucially, the reader must come to feel that this romance is not merely a matter of personal preference between two people, but that a whole world order is in question until the two find each other.”
Take a look at the romance novels on your bookshelves, and look at them through that lens. How does the author convince you that the whole world order depends on this one relationship?
--Sarah
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And now for something completely different...
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You know what John Waters says about romantic partners and bookshelves...
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We want to hear from you!
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How do YOU feel about Romance?
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I love Romance and I always have!
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I'm new to Romance, but I'm really enjoying it.
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I read Red, White, and Royal Blue...
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I haven't read any, but I want to.
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That's gonna be a no from me, dog.
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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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Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline, read by Michelle St. John
A bold and brilliant new indigenous voice in contemporary literature makes her American debut with this kinetic, imaginative, and sensuous fable inspired by the traditional Canadian Métis legend of the Rogarou—a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of native people’s communities.
“Cherie Dimaline’s latest novel packs a wallop of a story. Absolutely stunning in every way, this latest offering follows the story of Joan, whose husband has disappeared, and her courage when confronted with truths and lies. She and her husband, Victor, live in a Métis community, close and tight knit. As Joan deals with the fallout of her emotions after Victor disappears, she comes across another man, Eugene Wolff, who bears her husband’s face. He does not carry Victor’s memories and insists he has no idea who Joan’s husband is. Turning over rocks to find the truth, Joan reaches out to whomever she can in her community for help. What waits for her at the end of her quest is incredible. This novel will have you at the edge of your seat!” --Annie Carl, The Neverending 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, Shana, and Sarah! 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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Additional Book Bundle Offerings
Make your shopping easy by buying bundles, handpicked by our expert booksellers!
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Idris Elba reads The Little Chicken Named Pong-Pong. No, it's neither a romance or a novel, but Idris Elba could easily have a career as a romance novel cover model?
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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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New month, new discounts! Check out what our booksellers are loving this summer.
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Featured Staff Pick for Children
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Felix Ever After is a joy. Read it and dream of spending these hot summer days in Brooklyn with its lovable cast of young queer artists. This is a heartfelt exploration of love and identity, with enough drama to keep you compulsively reading. What can I say? This book just made me happy!
-Kate
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Featured Staff Pick for Adults
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I started reading this on a Saturday and was not immediately taken with it, but by Sunday night, I found that I finished the entire novel. Author, Kevin Kwan, has an intoxicating way of writing that makes you wish you were in his novels and I guess that's what happened to me!
-Sinny
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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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25 White St. Cambridge, MA 02140
617-491-2220
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