Portsmouth Book and Bar nearing completion

70% of the books are now on the shelves and the interior furniture arrives in a few days. In a week or so, everything should be finished and the only thing left is waiting for the final inspections from the city and the permit from the Sta

te. We apologize for the seemingly slow progress. The construction process was a lot larger than we anticipated originally. But the final result will be a much more amazing space than we could have hoped for. This photo doesn’t do justice to the space.
john petrovato

Portsmouth Book and Bar’s Fiction is up

 Books are finally getting on the shelves.  A few days we put up 2500 novels on the shelves. Only 12500 books left to organize before we open. Portsmouth Book and Bar should be open mid- November, 2012.

Summer of book buying

Raven Used Books of Boston and Cambridge has picked up an enormous amount of books this summer.  Yesterday we purchased a philosophy collection of about 1500 titles and 3 days earlier a 2000 book collection of modern firsts (primarily first edition hard cover fiction and poetry).  Since Jan., 2012, we have purchased 140,000 books and have sold over 81,000 thus far.  Usually we purchase that many in one full year but the quality of collections that we are being offered are much more numerous in previous years.  It is probably due to the fact that other bookstores are not buying books aggressively and/or the reality that after opening up the Boston shop 2 years ago, we are buying much of the Boston market besides the cambridge one.  In any case, if you are looking for certain kinds of specialized collections, feel free to contact us via this site or the stores.

Noam Chomsky speaks at John Petrovato’s Raven Used Books in Boston, MA.

Capital and Discontents Event with Noam Chomsky

On March 22, Noam Chomsky joined Sasha Lilley for the Boston launch ofCapital and Its Discontents, which features a conversation with him about workers councils and life after capitalism. The event took place at Raven Used Books on Newbury Street, which was packed to the rafters.

Sasha Lilley and Noam Chomsky
Photo credits: Martin Voelker

Sasha Lilley at Raven Books; Photo: Tatsu Ikeda

Noam Chomsky; Photo credit: Tatsu Ikeda

Noam Chomsky and Sasha Lilley; Photo credit: Tatsu Ikeda