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!
Shelf Stable: March 29
“ And, as you read and re-read, the book of course participates in the creation of you, your thoughts and feelings, the size and temper of your soul. ”
 – Ursula K. Le Guin
Hello friends,

I’ve been chatting with a lot of friends while stuck inside (brag), but I’ve been finding that I’m grasping at straws for what to talk about. What did you do today? I read, I wrote, went for a walk, ate. What did you do yesterday? I read, I wrote...you get the idea. To help all of us come up with some good quarantine stories, I’ve made a little bookish mad libs for you.

Today, I went for a walk with [author of your current read] ________. Don’t worry, we kept 6 feet apart. We walked around [setting of current read] ________ and saw [classic literary villain] ________ riding a [mythical creature with 4+ legs] _________. We tipped our hats and asked [villain] ______ where they were going. 

“To the [food you ate for dinner] ______ factory to [verb] ______ the [component of said dinner] ______ and distribute them to all the [favorite children’s literary character] _______s.” 

Then [villain] ______ and the [mythical creature] _______ disappeared in a [shape] ______ of smoke.

“I thought they were evil,” I said.

“We all contain multitudes,” said [author of current read] _______.

I went home and watched Twitter for news, but didn’t see anything about a [food you ate for dinner] _______ factory. 

Have fun and stay safe!
Meaghan @ PSB
Events We Missed
Be the Change with Mark Nowak
Social Poetics: Nonfiction Activism

Social Poetics is Mark Nowak's peoples history of the poetry workshop as a site of organizing and activism. In some ways, it is the perfect book for Be the Change and we were very excited for Mark's conversation with Natalia Tracy and Lillian-Yvonne Bertram. We've included a writing activity from Mark in our "Need Some Inspiration" section.

A people’s history of the poetry workshop from a poet and labor activist heralded by Adrienne Rich for “regenerating the rich tradition of working-class literature.”

Social Poetics documents the imaginative militancy and emergent solidarities of a new, insurgent working class poetry community rising up across the globe. Part autobiography, part literary criticism, part Marxist theory, Social Poetics presents a people’s history of the poetry workshop from the founding director of the Worker Writers School. Nowak illustrates not just what poetry means, but what it does to and for people outside traditional literary spaces, from taxi drivers to street vendors, and other workers of the world.

Mark Nowak is the author of Coal Mountain Elementary, Shut Up Shut Down, and Revenants . He is the recipient of the Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism and fellowships from the Lannan and Guggenheim foundations. Nowak has led poetry workshops for workers and trade unions in the US, South Africa, the UK, Panama, the Netherlands, and elsewhere. He is currently a professor of English at Manhattanville College and the founding director of the Worker Writers School.

Featured Staff Pick for Adults
Conviction by Denise Mina

A suburban housewife listens to true crime podcasts to pass the time--but what happens when she realizes she knows one of the victims? A quick and gripping read.

 --Rebecca 
Today we played one of our favorite Twitter games, which I guess we're going to call I'm Thinking of a Book! It's our version of 20 Questions, except you can ask as many yes or no questions and as it takes and we give hints along the way.
We really like this game for a couple of reasons. 1. It's fun and 2. It gives us an opportunity to hype a book we love, in this case The Sun & The Moon & The Rolling Stones . which is one of the best bios Caleb has read weaving together historical context, musical knowledge, and personal experience to create a gripping look at one of his fave rock 'n roll groups!
Digital Audio Books:
A terrific way to support local indies!
Kids' Newsletter
For all the latest on events, new books, reviews, and more for young and young-at-heart readers.
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!
The Power of Preorders!
Preorders are a great way to support PSB while we're not able to actually be at the store for two reasons:
  1. They bring in income now while the store is closed.
  2. We can deal with them later!
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.
Need some inspiration?
Here is a writing activity from Mark Nowak, author Social Poetics .

Haiku had always been an important form in Mark's workshops; they had a visit from Hiraoki Sato, who wrote On Haiku , studied haiku from Japanese internment camps and from the prison writing workshops at Attica, and even performed with Sonia Sanchez. On March 7, Mark decided they should write #CoronavirusHaiku — not knowing or even imagining back then, just a few weeks ago, the extent of the current crisis, especially in New York City. They wrote them that afternoon, and workers have been writing them ever since.


Then, try writing one yourself. (Or two or three or however many you feel like.)

And if you work in service, retail, or healthcare you can submit your haiku to Mark at workerwriters@gmail.com.
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More PSB Cribs!
Josh has been working for Porter Square Books for fifteen years and counting so he's built up quite a library. Make sure to watch until the end to see some special items from his collection.
Your Library is Open Too!
Keeping engaged and entertained can be one of the hardest things about being trapped at home for any length of time, especially if you're trying to not spend a ton of money having things shipped to you. Good news! Over the years many libraries have developed digital collections, ebooks, audiobooks, music, even movies you can borrow from the library without ever leaving your house. Here are links to the digital collections of two of our local libraries:



There are a few different borrowing apps you can add to your phone - some of us here like the Libby app. Don't have a library card? ( Psst--in Massachusetts, you can sign up for one online. ) Maybe your local library doesn't have a digital collection. Then Project Gutenberg is the place for you. Project Gutenberg has over 60,000 public domain ebooks that can download or read in your browser. It is an amazing resource, filled with hundreds of classic works and super fun hidden gems, like this one .
Support Cafe Zing baristas!
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?

They're our family, and they could use a hand. If you are able, please considering donating to the Cafe Zing GoFundMe; 100% of proceeds go to baristas. What might you have spent at Zing over the past weeks if it we were in normal times? If that $10 is still in your wallet, consider putting it in their tip jar. We love you, Zing!
Featured Staff Pick For Kids
Wicked as You Wish by Rin Chupeco

A great new fantasy series that combines Filipino culture, anti-ICE sentiments, and traditional fairy tale themes all in one.
--Stacey
We want to hear from you!
Got a great Porter Square Books story? A favorite memory, purchase, interaction you'd like to share? We'd love to hear them! Send us a paragraph and let us know if you're OK with us sharing. We'll try not to cry!
Audio Book Of The Month
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
See you next time here at Shelf Stable!
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
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25 White St. Cambridge, MA 02140
617-491-2220