Summer Smarter Than Others: Make the summer of 2009 one for the books!

By tom on June 13, 2009 | Add a Comment

We want Portsmouth to read smarter this summer!

Hey!  We challenge you to elevate your reading this summer.  We'll help you find engrossing, entertaining beach reads that are still literate, educational, and maybe even challenging.  We're calling it Summer Smarter Than Others, and we want you to join us.  Personally, I'm planning to read a bunch of Graham Greene that I've been meaning to get to, and at least one book by Henry James (it's true, I've never read him).

One Dog Year

By tom on March 30, 2009 | Add a Comment

Thank You! We just turned Seven Years Old!

Thank you, thank you!  There is no RiverRun without you.  We should be experienced enough by now to feel like old hands, but the publishing world keeps shifting under our feet.  No matter how well we do our job, there are parts of this industry over which we have no control.  For some reason, they wont listen to me when I tell them how to run their businesses.

Kindle, Borders, and Beyond

The Bleak Midwinter

By tom on February 19, 2009 | Add a Comment

This is a good time of year to pick up a book about a far away land.  Or, a nice big think novel that you can really get lost in (and use for kindling if the electricity goes out again).  One of my favorites from last year that fits in both  categories is called Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra.  It's about 900 pages, and is all about modern day India.  Almost all of the Indian novels I'd read to date were set sometime in the past, often around 1947 when the country became independent (Midnight's Children is a phenomenal example of this).  Sacred Games takes place now, and it is a crazy swirl of religion, crime, pop music, history, terrorism, and romance.  The plots are meandering and only twine together far into the novel, but that's half the fun.

Seacoast Local and the (H)EAT Campaign

By tom on December 09, 2008 | Add a Comment

 Help the Seacoast Local (H)EAT Campaign raise $50,000 this winter for home heating and food assistance.  

Here We Go!

By tom on November 29, 2008 | 1 comments

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.

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

By tom on November 18, 2008 | 5 comments

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.