Books are Great Gifts

I want to thank everyone in advance for supporting Small Business Saturday.  Small business creates local jobs and generates income that goes directly into your community.  Small business also adds personality to your neighborhood.  Saturday is a great opportunity to show support for your favorite local business. Royal River Books would like to thank you…

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Back in the Swing of Things

Saturday, September 21st marked the last official day of summer.  For a lot of us, summer ended when school started.  I have two pre-schoolers in the house and have now built my entire weekly routine around their school schedule.  After a summer of aimless days, it is an adjustment for me to be rushing the…

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When We Were the Kennedys

This is a review by Karen Watterson, one of the wonderful friendly faces you may see at Royal River Books. “When We Were the Kennedys” is a memoir of growing up in a small Maine town, told with great warmth and affection. It’s easy to picture the triple decker “blocks” in which most families live, the French…

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Garden or Hammock

Dahlias were the theme this year for Mother’s Day in our house.  Pete, in keeping with tradition, covered the kitchen table with a stunning collection of bright yellow, purple and pink flowers just waiting to find a sunny spot in the soil around our deck.  The near freezing mid-May temperatures this week prevented their planting…

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The Grass is Back

When we returned from a perfect spring skiing weekend last Sunday, my almost 4 year old daughter went running onto our front lawn exclaiming, “The grass is back!”  My husband and I yelled back, “Watch out for dog poop!”  Yes, spring is definitely in the air. Easter is right around the corner.  I don’t know…

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This Life is in Your Hands

Imagine sitting among a small group of friends and exposing intimate details about your family and childhood.  Now imagine a larger group that includes acquaintances (your child’s teacher, your hairdresser, your dentist).  Finally, imagine revealing difficult memories to the entire general public, including your whole family. Melissa Coleman bravely confronted the truth about her childhood. …

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Coming Together Through Books

I just returned from a girl’s reunion in San Francisco.  When I moved to San Francisco in 1993 at the exciting age of 21 I was surrounded by fellow twenty-somethings who had also migrated to this golden city.  I was fortunate to fall into an eclectic group of girlfriends that I spent the next 9…

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Happy Anniversary!

royal river books storefront

Well, it has been three years since Royal River Books opened for business.  I didn’t save my first dollar bill, but I do remember my first customer.  She came in the door and asked if I had The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (a personal favorite).  I was pleased as punch to pull it off…

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Father of the Rain

Lily King’s latest book, Father of the Rain, has made an enormous splash on the book scene since its July 6th release.  It is #6 on Amazon’s Best Books of the Month, it is on Oprah’s recommended summer reading list for 2010, and according to Richard Russo, “Lily King’s Father of the Rain is one of the…

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Advise from the Good Doctor

Okay, I’ll admit it.  Since I have been spending more time at home with my daughter, Lila, I (occasionally) watch Dr. Phil.  There is something about the anorexic, kleptomaniac, sexaholic, shopaholic, drug addicted, somehow dysfunctional guest that I find disturbingly fascinating.  Maybe I am torturing myself with new disorders that I can worry about with…

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