Not Likely to Forget ‘Memory’

The other day I was in the store and a customer chatted me up about The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. “Memory” is fresh in paperback and while perusing the Book Sense bestseller list I noticed that this customer is not the only one fascinated by what looks like a stunning family drama.
In fact, [...]

Monday is Like Sunday, Only Different

Just in case you were wondering … River City Books will be open on Monday, Sept. 4 — September? can it be September already? — during the Labor Day holiday.
But — but! — the store will not be open regular hours that day. Instead of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., business hours will be 11 [...]

Didn’t Forget; Just Didn’t Think of It

I have been remiss, forgiving readers, to post a bookish quote in some time and, well, you won’t let me forget it. This is a good thing. If you’re ever going to write, write to an audience that’s smarter than you are. In my case, this is not much of a challenge.
For moms everywhere:
You may [...]

A Friendly Reminder

Consider this your one-week warning. In seven days — at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 5, to be exact — the River City Books fiction book club will meet to discuss The Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.
“Snow Flower” has received rave reviews. The story’s set in nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan [...]

Never Know What You Might Find

The other day I was in everybody’s favorite neighborhood bookstore and a customer grabbed hold of “Popular Mechanics” and noted that there was a story in there about Northfield. Of all the mags, “Popular Mechanics.” Who woulda thunk it?
Anyway, got me thinking that I should remind the flock that River City Books carries a goodly [...]

The Lights Are Back On

Man, that was quite an outage on Friday. I wasn’t able to post anything. Then again, you probably weren’t able to read anything anyway.
I sincerely hope you and yours survived Thursday’s hail storm with minimal damage. I have never seen anything like that in all my years in the sky. It was like Johan Santana [...]

Mark Your Calendar and Prepare to Giggle

I just heard some hilarious news: Harmon Leon, perhaps the most daring infiltration journalist of this or any other time, has booked a visit to River City Books. The appearance, which will coincide with the release of Leon’s next book — The Infiltrator: My Undercover Exploits in Right-Wing America — will be at 7 p.m., [...]

‘Dream’ of Prices This Good

Who is the most important and influential American of the 20th century? It’s an impossible question to answer with certainty as many intelligent minds may provide different responses. But it seems to me that nearly everyone would have Martin Luther King, Jr. on his or her short list.
There are a number of useful studies of [...]

Take Yourself Out to ‘Sea’

Gentle. Powerful. Subtle. Rich. I just finished John Banville’s The Sea and I am struggling to find words to describe the experience. What an amazing piece of writing. Some books, some writers, have the power to change your mood, to take you to an emotional place you’ve never been. I feel that way about The [...]

Child’s Return Draws Large Crowd

Awesome. I don’t think there’s a better word to describe the scene Friday night when more than 30 people filed into River City Books’ downstairs meeting area to listen to New York Times bestselling author Lincoln Child.
Among other topics, Child, a 1979 Carleton College graduate and former Northfield resident, talked about his career, how he [...]