Blog

The State of the Bookstore

By tom on August 05, 2011 | 25 comments

Hi Everybody,

I wanted to share with you an email complaint I received, and my response to it, because I think it encapsulates pretty well many of the frustrations plaguing the bookselling world right now, and the pain and turmoil that comes from an entire industry being turned upside down. Add to that a recession that wont seem to end and things might seem bleak. My customers aren't happy, the publishers aren't happy, and neither am I. But I do believe that things are getting better. RiverRun is slowly getting over this perfect storm of bad economy, bad weather, bad management, and changing industry. It's your support that keeps us going, and each day the store is recovering a little more thanks to you.read more

It's no fun to sign a Kindle...

By tom on June 17, 2011 | 3 comments

We love signed books. We even have a signed first editions club that you should ask us more about. We're having a very busy June, with lots of great events. Here are some of the signed books we currently have on hand:

Other People We Married by Emma Straub

The Astral by Kate Christensen

The Melting Season by Jami Attenberg

You Think That's Bad by Jim Shepard

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Next week we'll have:

Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson

Maine by Courtney Sullivan

The Greater Journey by David McCullough

and

Women Writers sitting next to Tom!

By tom on June 10, 2011 | Add a Comment

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Our partnership with The Music Hall just gets better and better. Did you miss out on tickets for Neil Gaiman or David McCullough? You can still get a signed book, even if you can't make the show. Give us call.

Our Music Hall partnership has expanded this year with new events at The Loft. Here's me with Jennifer Egan at our awesome, awesome Writers in the Loft series.

egan

Women Writers

By tom on June 06, 2011 | Add a Comment

We've got an amazing roster of female creative writers this month. Please, please come to an event. These women are incredible, talented, and worthy of your time. Click on our events button and take a look. Ann Joslin Williams, Emma Straub, Kate Christensen, Jami Attenberg, Eleanor Henderson, Courtney Sullivan, Ewa Chrusciel, and Meg Mitchell Moore.

Bring yourself, a friend, your whole book group, but please-- support this kind of literary programming if you think it is important.

We'll see you there.

We've got Neil Gaiman coming to Portsmouth!!!

By tom on May 21, 2011 | Add a Comment

He's a living legend, with 1.5 million Twitter follows, a shelf full of major literary awards, and a new anniversary edition of American Gods coming out in a few weeks. You can still get tickets to see Neil Himself at The Music Hall by calling 603-436-2400. Can't make it to the show? Call us at 603-431-2100 and arrange to have a signed copy of American Gods sent to you.

We are your friendly neighborhood bookstore, located in downtown Portsmouth, NH. Small but potent, we offer a fine selection of new books with an emphasis on fiction, history, poetry and mystery. We also have a great little kids section, and hold over 100 events a year.