11/1 to 11/5: Brookline Booksmith 50th Anniversary Sale

Is it too cynical to suggest that any bookstore that opened this year will stay open for 50 years?

Sure... It would be nice if Brookline Booksmith offered 50% discounts for their anniversary, but chances of reaching the 51st would be slim.

It's better than a kick in the head, and I thought I'd pass the along. I usually browse around whenever I'm in Coolidge Corner...

Thru 11/3: Halloween Sale

Half-Off Sale
at Newbury Comics locations and Hootenanny

As you can see above, the 50% discount is on the original price. Maybe those Halloween items may look more appealing at half cost...

Put it in the back of the closet or have some pretend fun any time of the year.

It's not hard to believe that Hootenanny (in the Garage, Harvard Sq) is part of Newbury. It doesn't look like a store that carried a lot of this stuff, but I could be wrong.

11/20 to 11/22: Boston Ski & Snowboard Expo

Various Times
Ski & Snowboard Expo
at Bayside Expo, 200 Mount Vernon St, Boston (Columbia Point)
$10 online or with coupon / FREE 12 and under

Friday: 4pm to 10pm
Saturday: 10am to 8pm
Sunday: 10am to 6pm

Do I have to mention the Ski Expo? I saw a buddy of mine on the way to this thing last night.

If you're going to ski or snowboard this season, there's a good chance you're going to save more than $10 by going...

There are discounts and packages to dozens of ski locations in New England -- including popular ones -- and around the country.

People tell me there are good deals on equipment (at least on the first night, haha).

You can print out this page for $2 off the $12 admission or give them your email address if that page isn't working.

(There's a coupon near the back of this week's Phoenix. Take the T to JFK/UMass and grab one out of the kiosk if you must.)

FRI 4/3 to SUN 4/5: Used Book Sale

9am to 11pm
(SUN: 9am to 10pm)
20%-Off Used & Bargain Books Weekend Sale
at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)

I often shop downstairs at the Harvard Book Store, because the selection of used & remaindered books is pretty darn good at decent prices.

A 20% discount means you can buy 20% more books!

2/16: Buy Cheap Books on Presidents Day

9am to 11pm
at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)

Everything is 20% off at Harvard Book Store on Monday.

You have to sign up for the Frequent Buyer Program, if you're not already signed up, but it ain't a bad day to go shopping at my favorite book store (at least within walking distance of Shay's)...

Wanna Go to the West Coast...?

...In the next two months?

Virgin America Airways is starting service out of Logan, and they're offering a pretty good deal for non-stop flights to SF & LA -- starting at $109 per flight.

The extra fees don't seem excessive, and it's easy to see how you can adjust your flight date and price. The grand total for my test weekend flight (from a Friday to a Sunday) appeared to be $259.

You have to book your flight by SUN 2/8. (And you have to return by 4/1.)

Newbury Comics (Fresh Pond) Sale Update

Okay. The discounts are bigger now, and we know SUN 2/1 is the last day. It's a pretty big store in a low-traffic (imho) location, so there could be a lot of good stuff left.

Again, it's not hard to get to the Fresh Pond location -- just keep riding the Red Line and walk a little bit...

Sale @ Newbury Comics (Fresh Pond only)

It's not hard to get to the Fresh Pond location -- just keep riding the Red Line and walk a little bit...

I have no other info except what's above. From my experience with a similar moving sale at Government Center, there's no end date listed above because they'll probably close when they sell enough of the inventory. The sooner you go, the better.

Cheap JetBlue Flights from Boston

Want to go somewhere next month?

JetBlue is having a sale today -- until 6pm -- on flights from Logan to some other cities. They seem like good prices, even if they don't have all the fees included yet.

They put the one-way prices, so I've doubled them for appoximate round-trip prices:

To Buffalo - $18
To New York (JFK) - $58
To Chicago - $98
To Tampa - $98
To Oakland - $198
To Long Beach - $198
To Seattle - $198

Travel dates are January 6 thru February 10, 2009 with blackouts January 15-19. Friday and Sunday travel is also excluded. (Lots of other fine print on the web page.)

Sale @ Newbury Comics (Govt Center only)

The graphic kinda says it all...

Get over to the Newbury Comics store at Government Center before the end of the month for savings on everything. A 30% discount on CD's & DVD's is pretty good, but a 50% savings on non-music merchandise is where it's at.

WED 1/30: Half-Off Hip Sneaks (w/ Update!)

(Inside the store)

11am to 6pm
Sneaker Sample Sale
at Bodega, 6 Clearway St, Boston (Back Bay)
50% off

I had to check this place out when I heard about it. Even knowing there was a secret door to the real shop, I was a little hesitant. When I gave the convenience store cashier a confused look, I was actually close enough to open the sliding door. I'd never pay anywhere close to what they charge for the T-shirts, but some of the shoes didn't seem overpriced.

I saw on Yelp that they were having a sale on their sample pairs of sneakers, and it looks like an annual event. Monday was 30% off, Tuesday was 40% off, and any of these shoes that be left will be 50% off today. Who knows -- those orange and purple Pumas might be your size...

Their website is useless, but you can join their mailing list and hear about stuff in the future. I recommend checking it out, if you're near Berklee or the Christian Science Center.

Update: Apparently all of you didn't run down there. Of course, how could you run down there without stylish foot wear...? The sale has been continued through Friday.

THUR 1/31: 60% off
FRI 2/1: 70% off
5pm to 6pm on Friday: "All you can carry for $150"

Sounds like the have a few pairs left... (Yes, it does pay to be on the mailing list.)

(See the secret door/vending machine?)