It's a Win-Win Situation for Love

 Valentine's Day is just around the corner -- Monday, to be exact -- and we're offering you a little Valentine of our own: Come buy $50 or more worth of merchandise in the store, and we'll take $10 off your total purchase. So you can buy a book and a card for your sweetie, some chocolate to share, and toss in a book for yourself as well! What a deal.We have lots of great Valentine-related books to choose from, including some cute new "mailable" books, plus oodles of other delightful books. That's the wonderful thing about bookstores: irresistible new books arrive every day! The sale lasts until Monday night at 7 pm., so come see us soon! And please share this good news with all of your friends. Here's wishing a big Happy Valentine's Day to all!

A Valentine's Gift for All of our Friends

Valentine's Day swiftly approaches, and we want to make sure you're feeling the love -- our love for you! So, how about a special Valentine's sale??? Here goes: Buy $50 or more of any items in the store at one time, and we'll give you $10 off the total sale. The sale starts Saturday, February 5th, and goes through Monday, February 14th.

We've got a whole table full of great Valentine gift ideas, plus oodles of wonderful cards, from silly to sappy and everything in between. And the great new books keep pouring in every day. [Currently I'm loving The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson. I'm about three quarter of the way through, and when I finish it I'm going to dive into a new novel about a fictional city in the Olympic Peninsual: West of Here, by Jonathan Evison. I'm very excited about that one as well.] Plus a ton of great books recently released in paperback.

Won't you be our Valentine and take advantage of this great offer? Did I mention we have chocolate? In addition to the yummy bars from Theo, we have decadent guilt-and-smile-inducing chocolate caramels in various flavors, all organic and free trade. Yum. Times two. [Fine print: this special cannot be combined with any other discount, coupon, pink card, or gift certificate. But it's still a heckova deal.]

2011 Calendars Now 50% off!

Having trouble remembering what day of the week it is? Needing to plan events in the coming months? Looking for some inexpensive artwork to spruce up your rooms? Here's a thought: how about getting new 2011 calendars at Broadway Books at half price? That's right, starting today all of our wall calendars and engagement calendars are now 50% off. Hurry in for the best selection, because they're going fast, just like the days are racing past.

Arrival of New Sale Books -- Lots of Winners!

Once again, Jennie has done a spectacular job of bringing in some deliciously wonderful sale books for you to choose from. We've just unpacked this newest shipment of great bargains. Here's just a sampling of what awaits you: Home, by Marilynne Robinson, The Careful Use of Compliments, by Alexander McCall Smith, The Boat, by Nam Le (a wonderful collection of short stories that I loved),The Indian Bride, by Karin Fossum (for those of you who just can't get enough Scandinavian mystery), and a beautiful collection of poetry by Li-Young Lee, Behind My Eyes. On the nonfiction side, some of the highlights are The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science, by Natalie Angier, The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession, by Adam Leith Gollner, Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts, by Clive James, and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, by Mary Roach.

These are just a few of the fantastic deals that Jennie has found. As always, there are only one or two copies of each of these bargains, so come in soon while the pickings are good.

Big Happenings on NE Broadway This Weekend!

Excitement abounds on Northeast Broadway this weekend!!! We're holding the weather forecasters' feet to the fire to make good on their promises of gorgeous sunny -- but not too hot -- days all weekend. The Irvington Farmers Market will be open Sunday from 11 to 3 to tantalize us with all sorts of goodies. Best of all, for three days it's the NE Broadway Summer Super Sale!!!!

Yes, that's right. From Friday the 16th through Sunday the 18th, you'll find great deals up and down the street. You'll also finds bands playing throughout the weekend and free frozen treats (I've heard the word "sno-cone" being bandied about) courtesy of Umpqua Bank.

At Broadway Books we'll be offering 20% off all gardening books and cookbooks. Yeehaw!! We will also be selling selected titles for $4 each or 3 for $10. We'll be open from 10 to 7 on Friday and Saturday and from noon to 5 on Sunday. Come early and often for the best selections -- at our store and at all the other wonderful merchants on Broadway. Click on http://www.nebroadway.com/ to learn the specifics about other sales taking place over the weekend.

Besides the sale items, we've got lots of other delicious items to choose from, including fully stocked sale and used book sections, the 2010-2011 August to August calendars in six cheerful new colors, a great selection of audiobooks to accompany you on your next road trip, and a whole passel of books both entertaining and thought-provoking. Hope you can come see us!

New Sale Books have Arrived!

It's always a very happy day here at Broadway Books when we get a new shipment of sale books. As you can see from the photograph, it's happy time! Our shelves are bursting with a newly arrived selection of great reads at remarkable prices. In fact, we got so many great books this time around we can't fit them all on the shelves. We even got some cool new booklights -- for only $4.50!

Here's just a tiny taste of the wonderful bargains in store for you: On the fiction side, you can get The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike, The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander, and The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman -- only $6.50 each! Or you can get Marilynne Robinson's novel Home, which won about a zillion prizes, for only $7.50. Or, as you can (sort of) see in this photo, one of my favorite books  -- The Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier -- is a mere $5.50! What a deal!

On the nonfiction side equally delightful treasures await, including The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester for $7.50, Janis Ian's memoir Society's Child for $6.50, The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Great Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick for $6.50. We've also got The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield for a mere $6.50, and if Buddhist psychology doesn't solve what ails you, you can try The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion for only $5.50.

In most cases we only have one or two copies of each of these treasures, so come quickly while you have the best selection to choose from. Jennie has really outdone herself this time!

All 2010 Calendars 50% Off!

Can't remember what day of the week it is??? Or when you're going to the dentist or your kid's recital? Have we got solutions for you! All of our 2010 calendars, datebooks, and bookmark calendars (very cool) are now 50% off. At that price you can afford one in every room, and maybe even in your car! They're moving fast, though, so hurry in for the best selection.

Making Plans for Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month -- hurrah! And it's just around the corner. So it's time to make your poetry plans. Here's some things you should know.

First off, at Broadway Books, we get absolutely potty for poetry year-round, but especially in April. And a big part of that craziness is our annual poetry sale, in which our entire poetry section is on sale for the entire month. Yes, you heard me right. Here's how it works: buy one book of poetry at regular price, and you'll get a second volume of poetry (of equal or lesser value) for HALF PRICE! Repeat as desired, all month long (no pink card punches, however). This is a great opportunity to replenish your own poetry shelves and choose some wonderful gifts for cherished friends.

We also have a couple of poetry events taking place in April. On Tuesday, April 7th, at 7 pm, Judith Arcana and Judith Barrington, two Portland poets and friends of the late, great Grace Paley, will read from Paley's posthumously published collection of poetry, Fidelity, as well as read some of their own pieces. They will also play a recording of Grace reading one of her best-loved poems. On Thursday, April 16th, also at 7 pm, Beverly Butterworth, former reporter and columnist for The Oregonian, will read from her second collection of poems, Where the Blackberries Grew. Check out our Web site for more details on these and other April readings.

Finally, the publisher Random House is offering you the gift of a poem a day in April. Just click here to register, and each day, through the miracle of technology, you will be sent a poem to savor from such poets as Mary Jo Salter, W.S. Merwin, Rudyard Kipling, Sharon Olds, Langston Hughes, and Katha Pollitt. Check it out!

Bird Count AND Bird Sale

This weekend, February 13-16, is the 12th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count, hosted by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. What does that mean? It means you go outside and count the birds you see. What else does it mean? It means that on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (2/14-16) you can get 10% off any book in the store with the word bird in the title.* And you can buy as many books as you want! This includes my personal favorite gift book of the year: Birdscapes: A Pop-Up Celebration of Bird Songs in Stereo (with recordings from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology). Or, you could get the novel The Spectator Bird, by Wallace Stegner (but not Gossip of the Starlings, by Nina de Gramont). And you can buy the books in our window -- if the window is empty by Monday night that's ok. In fact, that's fabulous!

If you want to know more about the Great Backyard Bird Count, go to: http://www.birdcount.org/. Here you'll find all kinds of information, including answers to frequently asked questions such as how is the information used and why is the count in February. Or where to count birds (despite the name, you're not restricted to your backyard), for how long (at least 15 minutes), can you count birds you detect only by sound (yes, if you're that good), and can you include birds that fly overhead (yes, but only if you can make a positive identification).

The site tells you about local related events. You can also download a bird checklist specific to your region to help guide your count. (Here's some of the birds on the list for our area; the Gadwall, the Ruffed Grouse, Clark's Grebe, the Sharp-Shinned Hawk, the Black Phoebe, Wilson's Snipe, the Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker, the Pygmy Nuthatch, the Pine Siskin, and the Yellow-Rumped Warbler. Best of all, the site updates regularly with the current counts submitted thus far. As of 3:25 pm PST today, there had been 3733 checklists submitted, oberserving 401 different species and a total of 379,067 individual birds counted. Wow. Get out there and start counting! And don't forget to come take advantage of our bird sale.

*The fine print (because there's always fine print): bird sale applies only to books in the store -- no special orders; no additional discounts can be applied and no pink card punch if you opt for the discount.

BIG CALENDAR SALE starts Friday!

Don't forget that Lights on Broadway is this weekend! As part of the celebration, ALL of our 2009 calendars -- wall calendars, engagement calendars, page-a-days -- will be on sale. This is the first-ever calendar sale at Broadway Books, so don't let the opportunity slip away. The sale ends on Sunday, when we close at 7 pm. Buy one calendar and get 10% off; buy two and get 20% off; buy three or more and get a whopping 30% off!
Hope to see you this weekend!

Time for a new day....planner!

This weekend, December 5-7, is the annual "Lights on Broadway" Celebration. Merchants up and down Northeast Broadway will be offering special deals and sales and fun activities. Here at Broadway Books, we're holding our first ever calendar sale! During these three days, all 2009 calendars can be purchased at a discount. Buy one calendar and get 10% off, buy two at the same time and get 20% off. Buy three or more at the same time and get 30% off. We have calendars of all shapes and sizes and colors and themes -- wall calendars, engagement calendars, and page-a-days. Here's a great opportunity to stock up on calendars for your own home and get some gift shopping done while saving big! Be sure to also check out the deals from other participating merchants, and enter the drawing to win a year's worth of dinners at Pastini Pasteria or a gift basket from participating merchants. See you this weekend!