Well, I'm declaring Winter officially over, even though there's a chance of frost tonight.  And what a strange winter it was. The death and rebirth of the store, the strange lack of snow, the final demise of Borders and the continued rise of eBooks.  The list goes on and on.

 

But here we are finally in May.  I always count Mother's Day as the start of our busy season, which lasts from now until Christmas.  for those of you who have been coming in and checking out the new space during these quiet, quiet months, I say a hearty "Thank You!"

 

If you haven't been in, please do.  We have an event every night of next week, starting Monday with Amy Antonucci talking about Honey Bees, and ending next weekend with two great kids events to help promote the Little Harbor Book Fair. Please click on our events tab to see what your missing.

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Many of you expressed interest in joining our Classics Book Group, but couldn't read the tiny print on the website.  I've fixed it here.  We'll be reading Cannery Row for May and Ethan Frome for June.  Please join us. read more

Along with our Paperback to the Future program, we are also happy to introduce the RiverRun Gift Box.

It’s simple.  Fill out our 5 item questionnaire, and we’ll put together a box of books to be delivered directly to the lucky recipient.  It could be a child, a spouse, or even yourself!  The selections will be gift-wrapped, and we’ll always throw in some kind of extra treat (no live animals). Tailored to your needs, we will send a nicely wrapped box of books to your loved one.  You can do this once, or recurring throughout the year.  Find out more here.

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Many, many people worked to make our new store a reality.  I just wanted to say "Thank You" to everyone.  I could not be happier with the result.  The store is beautiful!

We are still working to get everything unboxed and on the shelf, and lots of new books are coming in every day.  It's soooo exciting.

 

Hope to see you here soon!

 

Tom 

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RiverRun announces tentative reopening date of February 10th!!  I cannot wait!! 

If you have a strong back and are available on Saturday, February 4th, at 10am we need your help moving book cases out of storage and into the new space at 142 Fleet St.  Send me an email at info@riverrunbookstore.com if you can help. The project should take about two hours. 

The new store will be ridiculously beautiful.  The folks at The Ben Franklin Block are pulling out the stops to give the space a stylish, historic feel.  Yes, the store will be smaller, but it will be cozy, and filled to the brim with the best books we can find.

Please stay tuned for more announcements about spring events, new projects and programs, an updated website, and our Grand Re-Opening Extravaganza.

Thanks,

Tom 

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We were hoping to extend our lease through January, but nope! Gotta be out on December 31st.  That's, ohhh, four days from now!!  We will be holding our Book Brigade on Thursday, December 29th at 1:45.  Please let us know if you can help out.

 

We also need STRONG people on Friday morning at 10am to help move bookcases into storage.

 

RiverRun will be closed from December 30th through January 31st, and then we will open in our new location at 142 Fleet St right here in beautiful downtown Portsmouth.  Meanwhile, we hope you will order books from our website.  Just click on the Buy Books Online button and go to it.

 

See you soon,

 

 

Tom 

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RiverRun Bookstore will move to a new location in January:  Right around the corner to 142 Fleet St!!  Additionally, I am proud to announce that RiverRun is now owned by a collection of 15 seacoast residents who came together to make sure that the bookstore would not close, and could return to financial viability.

 

In the meantime, we will be open through the holidays for all your gift giving needs.  Hand-picked staff recommendations, free gift wrapping, gift cards-- all the usual things that make shopping in downtown Portsmouth a great experience.

 

Thank you for your support!

 

 

Tom 

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Hello all!  Tonight about 150 people crammed into RiverRun to discuss its future, if it has one.  I spent the first part of the meeting explaining why I thought the store deserved saving, and why I thought I had a plan that would make it sustainable going forward, including the good news that we have a tentative line on a new location that would save us over $50,000 a year in expenses.  

 

Next up was a Q&A session, mostly questioning the current state of affairs concerning ebooks etc.  I did my best to answer those questions.  

 

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RiverRun plans to move at the end of the year and needs to raise more than $100,000 to ensure its future for the next several years.  We believe that if we get a handle on the debt we've accrued over the past three grueling years, and move to a slightly smaller, much much cheaper location, we can once again be the outstanding member of our community, both physical and virtual, that you have come to expect, and for many years to come.  

If you are interested in helping, we will be meeting at RiverRun on Wednesday, November 9th at 7:00pm.  Right now we are looking for people to make donations of any amount to help the store along.  This can be done via PayPal on our homepage.  

 

Thanks,

 

Tom 

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