Bookseller Taste Exchange: Josh & Sarah Part 1

We have a pretty wide range of taste in books here at Porter Square Books. None of us intentionally restrict ourselves to one genre or another, but, as with all things, we settle into patterns and fall into ruts. So Sarah had an idea to help expand our horizons a little bit; she’ll read a work of experimental fiction Josh suggests, and Josh’ll read a work of romance Sarah suggests. Then we’ll share our reactions to our trips to unfamiliar reading territory.

Josh Suggests: The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell. There are lots of different ways to experiment with storytelling and, admittedly, some are more obtuse than others, requiring some prior knowledge, or at least some experience in cracking your brain open in different ways. In a way, though, you have to learn how to read every book you read. Experimental (innovative, post-modernist, weird, whatever you want to call it) literature just brings that process to the foreground. The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell is a “novel” entirely of questions. It feels a little gimmicky, but there is real substance in the questions. The book took a powerful turn for me when I started trying to answer some of the questions. Like the Proust Questionnaire on steroids you can learn a lot about yourself by answering Powell’s questions.

Sarah Suggests: Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison. Stay with me here. Yes, it was published for teen readers, and yes, the pursuit of romance is at its core. But it also plays around with structure: It's epistolary, almost -- but not quite. And Rennison has some fun with language, too, letting her narrator develop a vocabulary that's almost as outlandish as what Kevin Barry does in City of Bohane. (Okay, not quite that level, but the odds that you're going to pick up some of Georgia's catchphrases are pretty good.) And also -- it's incredibly funny. And sometimes that's what you need from a book.

Check back to see what they think of the other’s suggestion.

Downton Abbey Fan? We've Got Some Books For You

So you're getting ready for the big season finale on Sunday but you know you'll need some Downton to tide you over until Season 4. Where to start?

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle, by the Countess of Carnarvon, is the story of the woman whose story Julian Fellowes used as the basis of the hit TV show.

The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era documents the third season of the show. Get up to date here!

If you want to go back to the very beginning, get the complete scoop with Downton Abbey Script Book Season 1.

For the story behind the story, Margaret Powell's Below Stairs is her real-life memoir of life in service, which inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs," "Downton Abbey"'s progenitor in the annals of the upper classes.

The Butler's Guide to Running the Home and Other Graces, by Stanley Ager and Fiona St. Aubyn will give you all of Carson's tips and tricks!

Intrigued by all of Mrs. Pattmore's delicious-looking dishes? Check out The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook. You can try your own scones, roasts and more.

To Marry an English Lord, by Gail MacColl and Carol MCD Wallace will give you the real historical backstory behind marriages like Cora and Robert's.

For World War 1 history, Peter Englund's The Beauty and The Sorrow  offers a detailed and personal history of the Great War as seen through the eyes of people from all walks of life.

Or maybe you'd like some fiction set in the Downton era. I'd recommend Richard Mason's delightful and racy The History of a Pleasure Seeker, or Sadie Jones's The Uninvited Guests. Also consider: Nancy Mitford, P.G. Wodehouse and even Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.

Or just ask a bookseller for a recommendation and we'll do our best to help you!

Steampunk!

When you come into the store, look to your right and you'll see an endcap filled with our steampunk books.

Some highlights:

Steampunk Fashion, by Samuel Ratcliffe.

The Bookman Histories, by Lavie Tidhar, whose most recent book Osama is making waves throughout the SF community.

The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, by Sean Wallace, a great anthology featuring loads of terrific writers.
 
The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling.

And more!

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.

It's Winter- Time for That Slow Cooker

So it's cold out, and you got a slow cooker as a holiday gift- or you have a trusty veteran slow cooker and need some new recipes to try out. We have a great selection of slow-cooker cookbooks to add some spice and variety to your everyday dining.

The Fix it and Forget Cookbook, by Dawn J. Ranck it is the classic. If you just got a slow cooker, this may be the first cookbook you should buy. It has all your family's favorites.

The Better Home and Gardens Year-Round Slow Cooker is packed with recipes for more than just cold winter nights. It boasts 500 recipes "for all seasons," so you're sure to use this cookbook throughout the year.

Cooking Light's Slow Cooker Tonight! contains Cooking Light's trademark light and delicious meals like Barley, Black Bean and Corn Burritos and Spicy Chicken Stew.

The Mexican Slow Cooker, by Deborah Schneider, is a great book with recipes for moles, carnitas, enchiladas and more. What's better on a cold night than a spicy soup?

The Mediterranean Slow Cooker, by Michele Scicolone, has favorites from Italy, Greece, Morocco, Turkey, France and more. It may be the slow-cooker book with the greatest variety of cuisines!

The Indian Slow Cooker, by Anupy Singla, adapts aloo gobi, kaala chana and more to your slow-cooking kitchen in a compact volume with beautiful photographs and simple instructions.

The French Slow Cooker, also by Michele Scicolone, has all your favorite French stews and soups as well as a lovely array of desserts for your dining pleasure.

The Vegan Slow Cooker, by Kathy Hester, is a great addition to the repertoire of vegetable eaters. It's not just about meat and more meat as this terrific cookbook shows.

Diabetic Living's Diabetic Slow Cooker Recipes adapts popular dishes for healthy living. It would be a good choice for anyone trying to cook and eat healthier meals.

There you go! I hope you can find something- or a few things- to suit your palate and help you get the most use out of your kitchen!

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.