Kevin Krein had the honor of ringing up the last sale in the history of River City Books: a travel guide to Costa Rica. If the Raven were still with us he would, no doubt, strain his back trying to find the symbolism. In his place, I can only offer a picture. Thanks and best wishes to this customer and every one who came before her.

Hello, Raven readers. This is not the Raven but rather Jon Lee, manager at River City Books, and I am writing to inform you of some very sad news. The River City Raven has died.

As you know, all of us at River City Books have been noticeably distraught by the recent announcement that our store would soon close. But no one took it harder than the Raven.

For a along time, he denied that the news was actually true. “I know,” he said, “you’re going to reopen on April 1 and that this will go down as the all-time gag on this Hall of Fame fool.” But as the weeks went on and as our shelves became depleted with no reinforcements in sight, he started to see that we were not joking, and a palpable depression came over him. None of us can ever remember our black bird so blue. He would come into the store, same as always, but there was something missing, some darkness in his eyes that we have had never seen before.

Well, he started eating. A lot. Put on some weight in a hurry, in fact. We didn’t want to say anything because it made him self-conscious but the Raven became so bloated he couldn’t even lift himself up to our remainder tables. In a way, his anxiety swelled in his belly as though he was about to give birth to a bowling ball. It was difficult to see him like that, believe me. This was Willie Mays in a Mets uniform.

But the Say Hey Kid only left center field, not the earth. Our dear Raven is gone, having ate himself into oblivion.

You should know, though, that even in his most difficult hours, he never forgot you, his dear readers. “I can’t let them down,” he would say between bacon melts. And so he kept working until the end. In fact, when we found him this morning he had passed in the most appropriate of places — on his keyboard. His unfinished manuscript will be left for scholars to reconcile. What I can tell you is the last word he ever wrote.

Rosebud.

I told you’d I had more final week news and in all this time have I ever not delivered on a promise? Please keep your answers to yourselves.

On Sunday, March 29 — the final day in the seven-year history of River City Books — RCB booksellers are graciously hosting a store-closing reception. Please come, commiserate, celebrate, hearken fond memories, and, of course, if you so choose, buy more great stuff at historically low prices.

Store hours that day are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The reception will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Also, my favorite four words: refreshments will be served.

Note that I am told the word “light” should be inserted so as to make that a five-word disclaimer. In any event, see you there.

Seems like only a few days ago that I was announcing details about River City Books’ month-long going-out-of-business sale. That’s what happens when you want something to last — it goes by just so fast.

Now we’re down to the wire, the final week in the store’s history, and they’re pricing books, CDs, DVDs, gifts, clothing, yada, yada, so low because, well, they want to use as few moving boxes as possible. Which is the silver lining to this cloudy week — a savings rundown that’s otherwise hard to believe.

Between now and the final day, Sunday, March 29, they’ll take:

• 45 percent off all books
• 75 percent off all bargain books and other selected titles
• 75 percent off all clothing and gifts
• 25 percent off all DVDs and CDs

By the way, I’ll be back in a couple winks to let you know about some D-day details.

There is a game of chicken going on. Maybe it’s craps. Or roulette? I don’t play many games, except for Scrabble and — don’t alert the media — I’m not even very good at that. I’ll I know is that today’s the day when those who didn’t flinch are really happy. That’s because today River City Books moves into the second phase of what I like to call — actually, I just thought of this fourteen seconds ago — Phaseout Grande. Like climbing an inverse mountain, the deals just keep getting steeper (and easier). Here’s the latest rundown: Until Saturday, March 21, regular trade books are 40 percent off; bargain books are 50 percent off; and clothing and gifts are 50 percent off. Of course, CDs and DVDs are also 25 percent off. In other words, everything is on sale and, if I were you, I wouldn’t wait much longer to pull the trigger, show your hand, spin the wheel, or do whatever it is you do.

People with a hankering for cheap stuff are still teeming into River City Books! As my handy photographying clearly shows—for the four people who don’t know, pictured is lifetime Northfield resident and RCB bookseller Beth Vivant—often a sturdy bag is required to hold all of the trade books, bargain books, gifts, clothing, CDs, DVDs and warm memories that are being carrying out the front door. Just to be clear, in case I haven’t yet been, inventory is not being replaced. Get what you want while you still can!

The snow is melt, melt, melting away — hooray! — and it just might be because the deals down at River City Books are that hot. I was in there the other night and was hardly the only one. Like me, people were buying great new hardcovers and paperbacks for 25 percent off; and greeting cards, book holders, mini footballs and the like for 40 percent off. Of course, music and movies are also 25 percent off. Honestly, it’s striking. A person will bring four books and two cards to the register and get them all for like 25 bucks. And you can, too. This weekend is the first full weekend of the end-of-times sale and shoppers smarter than me — shuddup! — are thinking of it this way: by the time the snow returns I’ll have almost all my holiday shopping done already.

Excuse me! I’ve been busy putting my affairs in order. I have a lot of affairs. Though not of the kind Mrs. Raven needs to worry about. Anyway, the plucky River City Books fiction book club is the club that will not die. Despite their favorite meeting place’s imminent demise, they are, like a chameleon in a car, adapting to new environs. The skinny: the club meets at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 3, at the James Gang Hideaway. Club members will be wide awake for a discussion about “Dreaming in Cuban.” All are welcome. Plus, good salads. By the way, I’ve never dreamed in Cuban, but one of my dreams did include a cameo by Fidel Castro.

Ever since the shocking news broke that River City Books is going out of business (March 29 is D-day, by the way) people have been asking me—and, more importantly, pressing RCB booksellers—about the possibility of going-out-of-business sale. I can now say for certain there will be such a sale and, what’s more, I can provide the fine print.

Here is the schedule of progressively deeper discounts:

Sunday, March 1-Saturday, March 14

35 percent off all books
25 percent off all CDs and DVDs
40 percent off all clothing and gifts

Sunday, March 15-Saturday, March 21

40 percent off all books
50 percent off all bargain books and other selected titles
50 percent off all clothing and gifts

Sunday, March 22-Sunday, March 29

45 percent off all books
75 percent off all bargain books and other selected titles
75 percent off all clothing and gifts

I almost forgot. A few disclaimers: Sorry, but no previously offered discounts or coupons apply after March 1 on any in-stock items. Going-Out-of-Business Sale merchandise is not eligible for additional discounts. Special ordered books are not eligible for sale discounts.

Ready … set …

Periodically over the last, well, now that I think of it, it’s be pert near three years now, I’ve provided updates about local bestsellers. The old neighborhood bookstore has always devoted wall space for a nifty “What Northfield’s Reading” display, and it’s fun to check out what people have been reading over various stretches of time. I especially enjoy looking at a full year’s worth. Today, I offer a gift of this sort that comes in bittersweet wrapping: a list of What Northfield Has Read since River City Books came into being (March 2002). I think this list says a lot about your neighbor. And it reveals secrets about the couple sitting in the opposite booth as you at Hogan’s. Or not. Still, it’s a neat list and I thought you’d like to have a gander. Note that I do not provide links to all of these books because I’m entirely too lazy to undertake such an endeavor. By the way, there is no prize for guessing the overall numero uno. But if you can tell me which book landed at No. 136 I will serve as a reference on your application to the Minnesota School of Professional Clairvoyants. All right, enough horse pucky buildup, here’s the top 150:

1. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by Rowling, J. K.

2. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by Rowling, J. K.

3. “Chemistry of Joy” by Emmons, Henry

4. “Kite Runner” by Hosseini, Khaled

5. “Because of Winn-Dixie” by DiCamillo, Kate

6. “Three Cups of Tea” by Mortenson, Greg

7. “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Haddon, Mark

8. “Eat, Pray, Love” by Gilbert, Elizabeth

9. “Dreams From My Father” by Obama, Barack

10. “Gilead” by Robinson, Marilynne

11. “Birds of Minnesota” by Tekiela, Stan

12. “Devil in the White City” by Larson, Erik

13. “Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Do” by Grogan, John

14. “Holidays On Ice” by Sedaris, David

15. “Glass Castle” by Walls, Jeannette

16. “Opa and Oma Together” by Mader, Patrick

17. “World is Flat” by Friedman, Thomas

18. “Eragon” by Paolini, Christopher

19. “Out Stealing Horses” by Petterson, Per

20. “Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books” by Nafisi, Azar

21. “Answer Atlas” by Rand McNally

22. “Million Little Pieces” by Frey, James

23. “Life of Pi” by Martel, Yann

24. “Water for Elephants” Gruen, Sara

25. “Tale of Desperaux” by DiCamillo, Kate

26. “Audacity of Hope” by Obama, Barack

27. “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (the Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction” by Stewart, Jon

28. “Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Pollan, Michael

29. “Northfield Ink” by Lee, Maggie

30. “The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic” by Salisbury, Gay and Laney

31. “Truck: A Love Story” by Perry, Michael

32. “Bookseller of Kabul” by Seierstad, Asne

33. “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Kidder, Tracy

34. “The Shadow of the Wind” by Ruiz Zafon, Carlos

35. “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” Sedaris, David

36. “The Last Lecture” by Pausch, Randy

37. “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” by McCall Smith, Alexander

38. “Eldest” by Paolini, Christopher

39. “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” See, Lisa

40. “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” by Edwards, Kim

41. “Oh My Stars” Landvik, Lorna

42. “Tastes Good” by Mohrig

43. “The Golden Compass” by Pullman, Philip

44. “Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bryson, Bill

45. “My Sister’s Keeper” by Picoult, Jody

46. “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder” by Louv, Richard

47. “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” by Gladwell, Malcolm

48. “Hit By a Farm” by Friend, Catherine

49. “The Known World” by Jones, Edward P

50. “Homegrown Democrat: A Few Plain Thoughts from the Heart of America” by Keillor, Garrison

51. “The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar” by Alexander, Robert

52. “Freakonomics” by Levitt, Steven

53. “The Namesake” by Lahiri, Jhumpa

54. “Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book” by Seder, Rufus Butler

55. “The Dog Says How” by Kling, Kevin

56. “Pretty Good Joke Book” by Keillor, Garrison

57. “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Weatherford, Jack

58. “Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: The Essential Guide for Progressives” by Lakoff, George

59. “When Madeline Was Young” by Hamilton, Jane

60. “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by Sedaris, David

61. “Secret Life of Bees” b Kidd, Sue Monk

62. “Suite Francaise” by Nemirovsky, Irene

63. “New Earth” by Tolle, Eckhart

64. “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies” by Diamond, Jared

65. “Under the Banner of Heaven” by Krakauer, John

66. “Angels & Demons” by Brown, Dan

67. “Cows in the Kitchen” by Crebbin, June

68. “Monkeewrench” Tracy, P. J.

69. “Thousand Splendid Suns” by Hosseini, Khaled

70. “Atonement” by McEwan, Ian

71. “Mercy Watson to the Rescue” by DiCamillo, Kate

72. “Interpreter of Maladies” by Lahiri, Jhumpa

73. “Twilight” by Meyer, Stephenie

74. “Gift for Sadia” by Perry, Marie

75. “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska” by Lende, Heather

76. “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Maguire, Gregory

77. “Musicophilia” by Sacks, Oliver

78. “What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America” by Frank, Thomas

79. “Good Poems” by Keillor, Garrison

80. “The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy” by Birdsall, Jeanne

81. “Shack” by Young, William P

82. “Miraculous Journey” by DiCamillo, Kate

83. “Oracle Bones” by Hessler, Peter

84. “Blink” by Gladwell, Malcolm

85. “Slow Days, Fast Friends” by Brooks, Erik

86. “The Little Book of Snowflakes” by Libbrecht, Kenneth George

87. “Coach Jack” by Lavender, David

88. “Olive’s Ocean” by Henkes, Kevin

89. “The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith” by Borg, Marcus

90. “Middlesex” by Eugenides, Jeffrey

91. “Goodnight Moon” by Brown, Margaret Wise

92. “Whistling Wings” by Goering, Laura

93. “Forever Ours” by Amatuzio, Janis

94. “Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior” by Grandin, Temple

95. “Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression” by Kalish, Mildred Armstrong

96. “Warriors: Into the Wild” by Hunter, Erin

97. “Sisterhood of Travelling Pants” by Brashares, Ann

98. “Republican Like Me: Infiltrating Red-State, White-Ass, and Blue-Suit America” by Leon, Harmon

99. “Jim Gilbert’s Minnesota Nature Notes: Exploring the Changes in Our Backyards, Fields, Lakes and Woods–Week by Week, Season by Season” by Gilbert, Jim

100. “The Scarce Man” by Frie, James

101. “The Practically Perfect PJs” by Brooks, Erik

102. “The Inheritance of Loss” Desai, Kiran

103. “Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral” Carter, Jimmy

104. “Elements of Style” by Strunk, William

105. “Good Poems for Hard Times” by Keillor, Garrison

106. “Book Thief” by Zusak, Marcus

107. “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America” by Ehrenreich, Barbara

108. “Amazing Peace” by Angelou, Maya

109. “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” by Kingsolver, Barbara

110. “Barnyard Dance” by Boynton, Sandra

111. “The Penultimate Peril” by Snicket, Lemony

112. “The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman’s Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine” by Kidd, Sue Monk

113. “Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs: The Definitive Pop-Up” Sabuda, Nick

114. “Snow” by Pamuk, Orhan

115. “Saturday Morning Rides” by Metz, Bill

116. “Our Minnesota” Blacklock, Craig

117. African and Americans: Embracing Our Cultural Differences” Mbele, Joseph

118. “Housekeeping” by Robinson, Marilynne

119. “On Bullshit” by Frankfurt, Harry G

120. “Giver” by Lowry, Lois

121. “The Dangerous Book for Boys” by Iggulden, Conn

122. “Not So Big Life” by Susanka, Sarah

123. “Speaking of Faith” by Tippett, Krista

124. “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It” by Wallis, Jim

125. “This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women” by Allison, Jay

126. “Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)” by Brashares, Ann

127. “World History in Documents: A Comparative” by Stearns, Peter N

128. “Good Night, Gorilla” by Rathmann, Peggy

129. “Snuggle Puppy: A Little Love Song” by Boynton, Sandra

130. “This is Your Brain on Music” by Levitin, Daniel

131. “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir” by Bryson, Bill

132. “Philadelphia Chickens” by Boynton, Sandra

133. “Oma Finds a Miracle” by Mader, Patrick

134. “The Tiger Rising” by DiCamillo, Kate

135. “Brisingr” by Paolini, Christopher

136. “Restless Skies: The Ultimate Weather Book” by Douglas, Pau

137. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Niffenegger, Audrey

138. “Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar . . .: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes” by Cathcart, Thomas

139. “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Dr. Seuss

140. “The Staggerford Murders: The Life and Death of Nancy Clancy’s Nephew” by Hassler, Jon

141. “The Second Summer of the Sisterhood ( Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)” by Brashares, Ann

142. “Chasing Vermeer” Balliett, Blue

143. “March” by Brooks, Geraldine

144. “The City of Ember” by DuPrau, Jeanne

145. “The Friday Night Knitting Club” by Jacobs, Kate

146. “The Other Boleyn Girl” by Gregory, Philippa

147. “How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization” by Foer, Franklin

148. “Wartime Journey” By Cupp, Bill

149. “Snap” by McGhee, Alison

150. “Where No Gods Came” by O’Connor, Sheila