Brooks Sigler, author of Five Finger Fiction, brings this week’s Spotlight on Bookstores.  When Brooks isn’t attending an author event, or Buying Local at

Among the many charming and wonderful things about RiverRun Bookstore in downtown Portsmouth, NH, is how owner Tom Holbrook and his staff live the BUY INDIE message. Tom is one of the founders of Seacoast Local, which has many goals, none the least of which is encouraging people to support local businesses and artists, so the Seacoast retains its character. The first week of December 2009, Seacoast Local sponsored “Buy Local Week,” and I was part of a Seacoast Local “shift mob.”

No, I did not rush the streets with fellow writers and demand more respect for the SHIFT key. I did, however, attend RiverRun Bookstore’s “Buy Local Week” event on December 2, 2009, where Gesine Bullock-Prado fed the “shift mob” to-die-for baked goods and read from and answered questions about her memoir, Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman’s Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker. “Shift mobs,” potentially “shifting” their shopping from national chains to local stores, descended on a range of local businesses throughout the week, to show their support and keep money and jobs in the community.

Perhaps it was the confections Bullock-Prado offered. Perhaps it was the lighting in the room. Perhaps it was the delight with which Michele Filgate, bookseller and Event Coordinator, met her duties. Though I had already purchased one copy of Confections, something compelled me to buy another. Let it be known, I have yet to leave RiverRun without buying a book.

As an author I acquired a Twitter account. (RiverRun uses a variety of technologies to reach its readers.) Through my interactions with several staff members via Twitter, my bond with RiverRun has grown. I was drawn to events, other authors, friendships, and new books. I refuse to look at the bottom of my RiverRun cloth bag (owning and using one provides a 10% discount) and count all the totals on the receipts I have accumulated since the summer. I would estimate I have spent at least a mortgage payment there. Each of the booksellers has spectacular recommendations, but I never go wrong if I look for Michele or Liberty’s recommendations. We seem to be on the same page. Well, no one could be on the same page as Liberty because she reads as many pages as I eat calories per day.

What mortal woman could resist a fresh-smelling, crisp-paged book? Never mind a signed book! I have attended several signings at the bookstore including those of Alice Hoffman, Katherine B. Howe, and Emily St. John Mandel. Michele Filgate, quite frankly, could probably book Stumpy the Wonder Slug for a reading, and people would fill RiverRun to the lees, but I have yet to attend an event where the crowd did not impress me. RiverRun Bookstore has an intangible quality, which mingles with the location, the staff, the events, and the selection to draw people in from the cobblestone streets.