Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Cook.
Josh, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Porter Square Books was founded about thirteen years ago, by a group of booksellers who left a different store, but didn’t want to leave bookselling. They researched many different locations in the area to find the perfect space and eventually landed in the shopping plaza in Porter Square. Immediately, it was clear this was a community that wanted a bookstore and that valued what independent bookstores do. A few years ago, the founders sold to the store to Dina Mardell and David Sandberg, though a number of them still work here. The new owners continued the store’s commitment to be a resource in our community, by maintaining a knowledgeable staff, hosting events for authors at all points in their careers, and, in general, providing a safe, literary space to all who might stop in.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Our community has been so supportive over the years that struggles, like when a car drove through our front window or right after the 2008 financial crash, felt more like bumps in the road than anything to catastrophic. Bookselling is also a fairly volatile industry, with new technology and different ways of selling books always threatening to overturn everything, but despite all that change and all that potential change readers appreciate talking to other knowledgeable readers about what books to buy and read next.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Porter Square Books story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a general, new, independent bookstore. Though we don’t have any official specialties, we do have a fantastic young readers’ section and a great event series. It also depends a bit who is working when you visit. On the right day, we might be experts in poetry or historical fiction or nature writing or YA fantasy. What sets us apart and what we’re most proud of is how our booksellers get out from behind the desk and really engage with our customers and community. We have conversations, we ask questions, we do what we can to get to know the customer and then help them find the perfect book.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
First we were very lucky that the plaza was looking to change its character a bit and wanted an independent bookstore at a time when the store’s founders were looking to open something new. Obviously, the founders did a lot of research and knew they wanted to be in a bookish location like Porter Square, but a lot of different things had to come together for us to end up. Here. One other story about chance. Cafe Zing, the coffee shop in Porter Square is independently owned and operated. One of the most popular snacks they carry are their Vietnamese soft rolls, which ended up becoming a favorite of musician, artist, and writer Amanda Palmer. She became connected to us through that relationship with the cafe, which lead to a connection with her husband, Neil Gaiman.
Contact Info:
- Address: Porter Square Books
25 White St
Cambridge, MA
02140 - Website: http://www.portersquarebooks.com
- Phone: 6174912220
- Email: info@portersquarebooks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/porter_square_books/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Porter-Square-Books-112608362085830/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PorterSqBooks
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