Scandalous Romances Selected by Caroline Linden

One of the advantages of digital reading is the ability to dive deeply into a topic or genre you’re excited about. Perhaps it is Civil War novels, histories of orange farming in California, or travel guides to places you never plan to visit? In a few minutes you can fill your phone or ereader with as many books as you like on your latest obsession, the topic you want to research, the genre in which you want to become an expert. So we’re asking authors to curate lists of books in particular genres, exemplifying particular traits or exploring particular topics to help you take a deep dive in your reading.

Caroline Linden, critically acclaimed romance author who will be reading from her latest, Love in the Time of Scandal, on Thursday June 18th, created this list of scandalous romances. Historical romance, like The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, dark fantasy romance like Dark Lover, comedy, like Lady Be Good, and more, this list has something in it for everyone, including Caroline’s favorite romance of all time. Assuming everyone is looking for a little scandal in their reading--and I’m just going to go ahead and assume everyone is looking for a little scandal in their reading. See the whole list here or get more information and download the Kobo reading app here.

Books with Family Secrets from Celeste Ng

One of the advantages of digital reading is the ability to dive deeply into a topic or genre you’re excited about. Perhaps it is Civil War novels, histories of orange farming in California, or travel guides to places you never plan to visit? In a few minutes you can fill your phone or ereader with as many books as you like on your latest obsession, the topic you want to research, the genre in which you want to become an expert. So we’re asking authors to curate lists of books in particular genres, exemplifying particular traits or exploring particular topics to help you take a deep dive in your reading.

Celeste Ng, who will be reading from the paperback edition of her critically acclaimed debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, on Tuesday May 12th, put together a list, focused on books that contain family secrets, including Where’d You Go Bernadete, Tinkers, The Suicide Index, and more. If you're interested in families with something to hide, see the whole list here or get more information and download the Kobo reading app here.

Ebooks Deep Dive: A Different Kind of Detective

One of the advantages of digital reading is the ability to dive deeply into a topic or genre you’re excited about. Into Civil War novels, histories of orange farming in California, or travel guides to places you never plan to visit? In a few minutes you can fill your phone or ereader with as many books on your latest obsession, the topic you want to research, the genre you want to become an expert in. So we’re asking authors to curate lists of books in particular genres, exemplifying particular traits or exploring particular topics to help you take a deep dive in your reading.

Our first list is from our very own bookseller and author Josh Cook, featuring a different kind of detective.

Since the invention of the character by Edgar Allen Poe in his short stories featuring C. Auguste Dupin, the detective has become a staple in western literature and entertainment. Whether featuring a cold, logical, detecting machine like Sherlock Holmes or a hard-boiled PI like Philip Marlowe, or someone kinder and gentler, there have been hundreds of different detectives solving thousands of different cases.

Here is a list of ebooks that feature a different kind of detective story, whether they incorporate science fiction (like The Shining Girls) or riff on the genre’s conventions (like Noir) or just kind of wander around an environment of mystery rather than seeming to solve anything (like Inherent Vice and The Search), these books play with and stretch the idea of the “detective” to new, interesting, and often entertaining heights.

Check out the full list here.

Tell us what books you’d add to this list in the comments.

New Kobos Some Day, Cheaper Kobos Now

In late August Kobo announced their new line of devices; three new Arc Tablets and a new Aura. Read more about these new devices here. We don’t know when the new devices will be available, but we do know that last year’s Arcs and the Kobo Mini are being phased out and their prices have been dropped. From now until we run out, the 16G Arc is $139.99  the 32G Arc is $169.99 and the 64G Arc is $199.00  The pocket-sized Mini, Gary’s e-reader of choice, is now $59.99

Kobo Arc Back to School Sale

From now until September 2, we are offering $70-$100 off all Kobo Arcs. The 16G is $129.99, or $70 off, the 32G is $179.99, or $70 off, and the 64G is $199.99, or $100 off. Kobo Arc is the first multimedia tablet that gets to know you, so you get more of what you love. Watch as the Discovery Ribbon fills up with great recommendations based on the media you’ve already collected. Plus, Kobo Arc has a powerful 1.5 GHz dual-core processor for seamless multi-tasking and smooth video playback. Built on Android and perfected by Tapestries, get access to over 600,000 apps with Google Play™. The 215 ppi HD screen displays over 16 million colours with 178-degree viewing angles for an immersive multimedia experience. Plus, a 1.3 MP, 720p HD front-facing camera for vivid video chats. Whether as an education tool for a student heading back to school, a digital reader with a lot of other options, or a fun gadget these are fantastic prices for great devices.

Social Reading featuring Kobo, Zola, and More.

Despite being a mostly solitary act, one look at the internet will show you just how social reading has become. We used to rely on organizing book clubs or hoping people at work happened to read the same books we had, but now, we can just hop on Twitter, Pinterest, or Facebook and find hundreds of people talking about whatever book we want to talk about. Sometimes we can even connect with the author of the book themselves.

A few websites saw the potential for creating a community of readers, one that connects readers all over the world through their love of books. Of those few, GoodReads ended up the most popular (though I’m personally a LibraryThing user, with LibraryThing focused a little more on organizing and managing your library than on fostering a community) and many people began to use it as their primary place to find book suggestions. But its recent purchase by Amazon concerned a lot of its users. Some even deleted their accounts and are now looking for a new online reading community. Here are some options.

LibraryThing is a great alternative, especially if you have any interest in the statistics and data around reading and libraries, including your own. It has an early readers program that gives you access to Advance Reader Copies, it has discussion groups, and you can follow and friend other people and libraries. (If you do sign up, make sure to check out their LegacyLibraries project which catalogs the libraries of famous people, finally answering the question that had been bugging you all these years, How many books in common do I have with Tupac Shakur?) It also offers suggestions based on the books you have in your library and connects you to other libraries that share your books.

Finding a way to provide our customers with ebooks has also connected us with two other ways to read socially and become a part of a reading community. First, Kobo’s (both on the devices and with its app) Reading Life and Pulse functions allow you to see what other people are saying and sharing about the book you’re reading and join them in a conversation. You can even share your reading activity on Facebook from the comments you’ve made, to passages you’ve highlighted, to how fast and how much you’ve been reading. If you’re already reading Kobo ebooks, you can join this community.

Second, and closer to GoodReads is Zola Books. Less focused on reviews, Zola looks to connect readers with authors, publishers, bookstores, and other curators of books, while providing their own readerly content, like interviews and themed lists. By following authors (or bookstores like yours truly) you can see their book lists, recommendations, events, videos, news, and feeds from other social media. You can also message your followers and “star” activity in your news feed. Zola Books is also an eBooks store that allows you to support your local bookstore by “pledging” to it. When you pledge to a bookstore, that store receives a portion of the profits from all the ebooks you buy. Right now their app is only available for iPads and iPhones, but they’re five Zola Exclusive books (Autumn Leaves, Life After Favre, The Chemical Marriage, Making Mavericks, The New Hunger (a prequel to the movie Warm Bodies) are available on all devices, including the Kindle. Over time they will be adding more Zola exclusives (including some big announcements coming this fall) and developing their app to run on a wide variety of devices.  But even if your not looking to buy eBooks, Zola will offer you a cool new reading community.


If I was made of time, I’d also research and write up Bookish and Riffle, both newish reading social media sites, looking to connect readers and introduce them to new books and authors.

Of course, for all of its best intentions and technological innovations, I still don’t think the Internet has created a social reading community better than what you can find at indie bookstores. Just about everything those sites try to create already happens here. You can meet your favorite authors, see book lists, get recommendations and have conversations with other passionate readers. But even as these sites continue to improve and continue to provide better approximations of the bookstore experience and new experiences impossible in physical stores, the chance to get out of your house and off of your screen for a little while and enjoy books and reading as a member of something truly human, can never be replaced.

Kobo Mini & Snapback Sale

Just in time for mother’s day, graduation, and/or vacation, Kobo is running a sale on their Mini. From April 5th to April 18th, Kobo Minis will be $59.99 and you’ll get a free Mini Snapback with your purchase, while supplies last. This pocket sized e-ink reader is Gary’s device of choice. High resolution, long battery life, W-Fi enabled, and enough memory for 1,000 books, the Mini makes a great gift and a great travel companion.

The In-Betweeners

Despite the mainstream narrative, I’ve never thought of books and ebooks as an either/or relationship. They both have strengths and weaknesses, both appeal to different types of readers and, quite often, different reading situations. What is exciting about ebooks is they open the possibility for new types of books, new readers, and new situations. For example, we’re starting to see a good number of in-between lengths being published as e-books; novellas, long-form journalism, long-short stories, supplemental material; works and content that, for whatever reason have found limited success in print. Here are a few examples of this new kind of longer, shorter, in-between ebooks.

Lucretia and the Kroons: This digital only is a novella that acts as a kind of prequel for Victor LaValle’s most recent novel, The Devil in Silver. It’s obvious why this story wasn’t included in the novel. Even though it’s protagonist, Lucretia, is a major character in The Devil in Silver, the story is set several years before the events of the novel and deals with many different, though somewhat overlapping, themes. It never would have fit in the longer form, but it’s a really good story and deserved to see the light of day. Ebooks present a great opportunity for authors and publishers to bring out some of the other stories, notes, drafts, materials, journals, etc that go into writing a book. Some authors and some projects could produce a print book along with any number of secondary ebooks.

Epic Fail: No matter how professional or thorough or scholarly a magazine or journal is there are still going to be limits on the length of articles or essays. And some ideas or topics, no matter how thoroughly explored, won’t support a book length work. E-books, like this one from the literary website The Millions (one of the best reasons to venture out onto the Internet if you ask me), explores our fascination with terrible art. For the past couple of years, Byliner (the publisher of this particular ebook) has been bringing out long form non-fiction and I think we’re just beginning to find ways for e-books to make it easier and more convenient for long essays and other not-quite-book-length non-fiction to find readers.

 Playbook 2012 Series from Politico: The political website Politico, published a series of ebooks taking an in-depth and in-progress look at the 2012 election. Starting November 2011 The Right Fights Back, Inside the Circus: Romney, Santorum and the GOP Primary, Obama’s Last Stand, and The End of the Line: Romney vs Obama: The 34 Days that Decided the Election, marked a breakthrough in journalism. As with other non-fiction, ebooks allow journalists to publish pieces too long for conventional periodicals but too short for books. I hope in the future, to see ebooks used for the long, multi-article investigative journalism that has been so important to our society, but has been fading from our newspapers, magazines and news broadcasts because of the prohibitive cost. By collecting and publishing an investigative series as an ebook, newspapers and magazines could find an additional revenue stream to fund these vital ventures.

(And since we’re talking about ebooks, I’ll remind you that Kobo Minis are just $59.99 through February 14th.)

Kobo Mini Sale

Someone not get the hint last month? Got some holiday cash burning a hole in your pocket? Just now hearing about the whole Kobo reader thing? If you missed the holiday Kobo Mini sales for whatever reason, you are in luck. From January 25-February 14 (and yes, there are many, many people who think an ereader that supports a local independent bookstore is a very romantic Valentine’s Day gift) Kobo Minis, bought either in store or online will be $59.99. That's $20 off the regular price. WiFi, dictionary, highlighting, translation Sudoku, built-in ebook store; the Mini really is a fantastic little reading device and an even better value at this price.

The Kobo Arc

We are now selling Kobo Arc’s, Kobo’s new Android 4.0 tablet in 16G, 32G, and 64G models. (Click on the model link for full specs or to place an order.) The Arc is an open Android OS with full access to Google Play, a 1.5GHZ Dual Core Processor, 1GB of RAM, WiFi, a 1.3 megapixel forward facing camera, and a 7” HD display. Its Tapestries interface allows you to easily organize all of your content, it stores all of your ebooks in the cloud so you can access them on any device, and you can stream content to your TV with an adapter. Of the tablets at a comparable price, the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire, the Arc stacks up quite well. It has the fastest processor, a higher ppi screen than the Kindle Fire and more colors than the Nexus 7, and has the most flexible interface allowing you to customize your experience and multi-task. Here is a very thorough review of the Arc from across the pond. Click to visit Kobo’s Arc page and here for all the devices we offer.

Kobo Mini Sale This Weekend

Don't you hate it when you hear about a great sale the day after it ends? Well if you missed our Black Friday/Small Business Saturday Kobo Mini Sale, you are in luck. This weekend December 21, 22, & 23, all Kobo Minis purchased in the store will be $49.99 while supplies last. I call it the "Kobo Saves Procrastinators Who Still Need the Perfect Gift for a Book Lover Before Christmas, Which, is, Like, FOUR-TWO DAYS AWAY!" Sale.

Kobo Mini 2-Day Sale

UPDATE: Good news everyone. If we run out of Minis during the sale, we will be able to place paid special orders at the sale price. You still need to make the purchase on Friday the 24th or Saturday the 25th to get the $30, but now you don't have to worry about elbowing your fellow reader out of the way for the last Mini.

Kobo is running a big two-day sale on the Mini. All Kobo Minis purchased on Friday November 23 (maybe you’ve heard of this whole “Black Friday” thing) and Saturday November 24 (Small Business Saturday to all you American Express Users) will be $30 off. On those two days instead of being $79.99 all Minis will be $49.99. A top of the line, fully featured, fits in the palm of your hand e-ink reader will be about $50. If you participate in American Express’s Small Business Saturday (sign up and more info here) you could get a $25 credit. In that case, you’ll get a top of the line, fully featured, fits in the palm of your hand e-ink reader for about $25. On top of that, all Kobo accessories will be 10% off those days with the purchase of a device. Personally, I think these are great little devices and at $50 or even $25 they make outstanding gifts for readers.

Shop Indie Anywhere

It’s a sad truth that many people don’t have a local independent bookstore. Maybe their hometown is too small to support one or the ones that used to be there went out of business for one reason or another. Some people may want to shop independent but can’t.

The new partnership with Kobo can make it convenient and economical for those of you without a store nearby to still shop independent. Porter Square Books, and other independent bookstores around the country are now selling Kobo devices, the Glo and the Mini. Both devices have Wi-Fi, high resolution e-ink touch screens, an integrated dictionary, and social reading functions and come with easy access to the Kobo ebooks store. If you purchase a Kobo from an independent bookstore all the ebooks you buy on that device will credit that bookstore. You’ll be shopping independent with every single ebook purchase. The same goes if you give the Kobo to someone else. If they’ve written “Kindle” on their wish list, the Kobo devices will give them all the features and convenience of Kindle, with a comparable catalog, easy access to .epub files, competitive prices, and higher resolution screens, AND you’ll be sharing your independent spirit.

Most indie bookstores have websites that sell and ship books, but the Kobos offer a catalog of millions of ebooks, all competitively priced, all available instantly with a tap or two on the touch screen, and all supporting independence.

Kobo Live On Our Website

We started selling Kobo devices in the store on Monday and are now selling Kobo ebooks on our website. They are readable on pretty much every device except the Kindle. If you’re looking for ebooks just start with the search box on the left hand side of the webpage. You can also click on the “Other Editions of This Title” link in title listings to see the ebook edition of a particular title.

Once you find the book you want click on “Buy Ebook Now.” The first time you do this a window will pop up letting you know you’ll be completing your order on the Kobo website. You’ll also need to create a new Kobo account. When you do, you’ll be able to save your credit card information. If you stay signed in to Kobo, clicking on the “Buy Ebook Now,” will take you directly to the payment screen and then you’re one click away from your book. If you want to shop for more titles, click on the “continue shopping” button. You’ll stay on the Kobo website, but all your purchases will support Porter Square Books.

Click here for device specific instructions.

If you have any questions about Kobo or ebooks in general please email me at josh@portersquarebooks.com. 

And if you’re in the neighborhood stop in to check out our device display at the front counter. You’ll be able to try out a Mini and a Glo. So far, everyone who has tried one out has really liked it. They’re comfortable in the hand, clear to read with many different display options, have an integrated and easy to use dictionary, and have a very smooth highlighting and annotation feature. (There’s even a translation function for all of you struggling with the Spanish in This Is How You Lose Her) I think a lot of holiday lists where updated with a Glo or a Mini. And if a friend or family member wrote “Kindle” on their wishlist, you can get them a Kobo instead.

Kobo Ebooks Announcement

Kobo Mini

On Wednesday November 7th, Porter Square Books will officially begin selling Kobo ebooks on our website and sometime between now and then (perhaps even tomorrow!) we will be selling the Kobo Mini, the KoboGlo and a range of Kobo accessories  in the store and online. Kobo ebooks will work on pretty much every device except the Kindle, either on the Kobo reading app or by using Adobe Digital Editions to transfer the .epub files onto your device. If you’ve already purchased Google ebooks from us, everything will be pretty much the same. Use the search box to find the ebook you want or follow the “related editions” link in print book listings. Then it’s just like any other online purchase. The first time, you’ll need to establish a Kobo account. Please visit our How to Read an Ebook for all the info you need.

Kobo Glo

If you’re looking for a device both the Kobo Mini and the Kobo Glo are getting good reviews. I personally think the Mini is very cool. Fits in a pocket, fully featured including WiFi, $79.99, with a very sharp screen. The Glo is a bit larger and comes with an ambient light that is supposed to make reading in the dark much more comfortable. Both devices come with an integrated store and if you buy a Kobo from us, all of the purchases you make through that device will credit Porter Square Books, making it the most convenient way to buy ebooks and support us. We’ll have a display model of both the Mini and the Glo at our front desk if you’d like to try one out.  

Glo Sleepcover Case

As always, our goal at Porter Square Books is to get books to readers in whatever format they prefer. If you prefer ebooks, Kobo is how we’ll get those ebooks to you. Questions, comments, or concerns? Just send me an email at josh@portersquarebooks.com and thank you for all of your support over the years.