Blog Dates

Here We Go!

By tom on November 29, 2008 | Add a Comment

It's that time of year we love and hate.

 Bookstores rely on the Holiday season to eke out a profit, so we love it.  It's also satisfying to see the titles you've so carefully chosen fly off the shelves. 

 Oh, but we hate it too.  For one, what if nobody comes in and buys books??  It's scary every year and has never been as tenuous as now.  Additionally, we don't have as much time to really connect with customers and have longer conversations.  And of course, the more we work the less time to read!

So I hope you'll keep us in mind for gift giving, and forgive us if it's a little hectic when you come in the store.  Truth is, December nuttiness allows us to be in business the other eleven months of the year.  Keep that in mind when you've got the store to yourself on a cold February evening.

Wally Lamb is back with another novel, and he's coming to Portsmouth!

By michele on November 22, 2008 | Add a Comment

Wally Lamb is a terrific novelist, and he's coming to Portsmouth the week before Christmas (December 18th at 7:30pm at The Music Hall) to talk about his latest novel, called The Hour I First Believed.  It's his first novel in nearly a decade, and an ambitious book.  His new book focuses on a couple who move to Connecticut after the wife survives the Columbine tragedy.

Bestselling author Wally Lamb to visit Portsmouth, NH

Lamb's latest book is getting great reviews.  USA Today says "Lamb remains a storyteller at the top of his game".

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power will be at RiverRun Bookstore next Saturday, December 6th!

By michele on November 22, 2008 | Add a Comment

Samantha Power is a pretty big deal, and we're delighted to welcome her at RiverRun a week from today for a signing for her latest book, Chasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World.

Power's is in town as part of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum's annual event, presented by the Japan-America society of New Hampshire.

Power will sign copies of her book at RiverRun Bookstore from noon to 1 pm and then deliver the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum annual speech in honor of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1906 Nobel Peace Prize at Wentworth By the Sea at 3 pm.

The signing at RiverRun is free and open to the public.

So I Was Wrong! (or, Why I Stopped Worrying and Learned To Love the Web)

By tom on November 18, 2008 | Add a Comment

Are you laughing at me??  Last time you came to this web address you were greeted with my little diatribe about how much better a real store was than an online store, and how you should come into RiverRun and meet us face to face.  I didn't want to be like the Big Box stores in any way, and I felt like web friends weren't as meaningful as in person, three dimensional friends. 

But guess what, I was wrong!  And here's why:

1) You are busy!   Many of my great customers, like Zeke, have told me that they would love to come in the store more, but simply don't have the time.  Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way that we could still chat about books?  Well know we can through these blogs.

Based on the Socrates Cafe by Christopher Phillips, New Hampshire Public Radio has started the Socrates Exchange, an online forum where people can discuss a different philosophical question every month.

Socrates Exchange Comes to RiverRun

RiverRun has started it's own chapter of the Socrates Exchange here in the store, moderated by staff member Donna Kirk. 

Last meeting's topic was, "Can War Ever Be Just?"  We talked about it at great length, but would love it if you posted your thoughts. The Exchange will discuss this topic on it's November 24th show. 

Please keep your comments civil.  We will approve them and add them to the thread as fast as we can. 

Thanks for joining in the discussion!

Nobel laureates? Pulitzer Prize winners? Yeah, we've got that...

By michele on November 12, 2008 | Add a Comment

If you've been paying attention to our jam-packed events calendar lately, you'll have noticed that we've been getting some mighty impressive authors here, including Pulitzer Prize-winning historians David Hackett Fischer and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (both in the same month--imagine that!)

Nobel Laureate Frank Wiczek visits RiverRun Bookstore

Now you can add to that roster a Nobel Laureate. Physicist Frank Wilczek has written a very accessible book on electrons, protons, neutrions, and other celestial matter. This is the kind of science that opens up aspects of the world that are always intriguing.

Frank Close, author of The Void, says "The Lightness of Being is a delightful celebration of the wonders of physics, told by one who has helped define the current frontiers. Wilczek's lightness of touch and wry humour make this book a joy to read."

In the Woods and The Likeness by Tana French

By tom on November 08, 2008 | Add a Comment

Several staff members have read and loved Tana French's In the Woods, and I also read and enjoyed The Likeness.  We had a lot of customers really like, and a few who were really frustrated, by the ending.  How about you?  If you haven't read the book you probably shouldn't read this thread.

I felt like the book was really about the two main characters, and less about the plot.  So when one of the two mysteries central to the novel is never solved it really didn't bother me.  Maybe because I read a lot of short stories and contemporary literary fiction, where the writing and characters take center stage.

Thoughts?