Join us on Valentine's Day from 10:00 am to noon for our kids Valentine festival with live children's music, face painting, story readings by authors and illustrators, valentine's snacks both healthy and not, signed books and conversation.  This is a new festival being held by indie bookstores all across New England as a way to support the love of reading in our youth and also to support the authors and illustrators who reach kids at a young age and stir in them a life long passion for books.  Experiences like this are known to stick with children and set alight a journey of curiousity and engagement with the world.  Plus, the authors are funny.

Great picks for holiday gifts!

By michele on December 04, 2008 | Add a Comment

Last night over fifty people came to our Holiday Book Recommendations event.  Lesley Vasilio and Ron Koltnow of Random House, Anne DeCourcey of HarperCollins, and Katie McGarry of Simon & Schuster spoke about some of their favorite books of the year that make the perfect gift.  Tom Holbrook, owner & manager of RiverRun, spoke about some of the great autographed books we have, like Pulitzer Prize-winner David Hackett Fischer's Champlain's Dream and Hannah Tinti's The Good Thief.

Books on the list are available at our store or on this website

For those of you who couldn't make it, I highly suggest you check out the list below.  There are more than just bestsellers on here.  Be sure to check out Anne's recommendation of State by State and Lesley's fun pick of Doomed Queens to see examples of the eclectic variety of this list!

Our Annual Customer Appreciation Sale is this coming weekend!

By michele on December 01, 2008 | Add a Comment

Join us this coming Sunday, December 7th from 9 am to 8pm for our Annual Customer Appreciation Sale, and get 20 percent off your purchases all day long!

Best of all, you'll be helping a local nonprofit. 

A portion of all purchases made in November and December go to United Way of the Greater Seacoast as part of the Business Building Community Program. Over the past year RiverRun has donated 2 percent of gross sales to different local nonprofits focusing on housing issues.

So come in to the store and browse our well-stocked shelves. We've got something for everyone on your list, and you'll be happy to be done with your shopping early. 

Interested in autographed books?

We've got plenty; ranging from Hannah Tinti's The Good Thief to Augusten Burroughs' A Wolf at the Table. 

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

By michele on November 22, 2008 | 1 comments

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.

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 | 1 comments

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."