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Welcome to Water Street Bookstore, the largest independent bookstore on
the seacoast of New Hampshire. We feature a comprehensive selection of
both local and national authors. Our friendly and knowledgable staff
will be happy to assist you in finding just the right book for you.

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Events

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Upcoming events

  • Organic Motherhood: Sarah Pinneo presents her novel Julia's Child(1 day)
  • Two Women of Little Rock: Historian David Margolick on Elizabeth and Hazel(10 days)
  • We the People presents James Carroll(15 days)
  • Following Atticus with author Tom Ryan(20 days)
  • National Book Award finalist Andrew Krivak(23 days)
  • Lauren Grodstein in conversation with Stephen King for the Algonquin Book Club(27 days)
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Staff Favorites!

Enjoy this assortment of fiction and non-fiction titles.

Devotion: A Memoir (Hardcover)

By Dani Shapiro
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9780061628344
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Harper, 2/2010
Other Editions of this Title

Similar to the best-selling Eat, Pray, Love, this is a memoir that follows the personal quest for meaning and for a spirituality that makes sense. The author begins this quest after her son asks her questions about death and she realizes that she is ill-prepared to answer them. She decides to interview a yogi and a rabbi and so on. Deeply moving and lovely.

 Elizabethe Plante's pick


War Dances (Hardcover)

By Sherman Alexie
$23.00
ISBN-13: 9780802119193
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Grove Press, 10/2009
Other Editions of this Title

Okay, let me perfectly honest and recuse myself from objectivity. I am completely in love with Sherman. He doesn't know it, but a woman can dream, can't she? Look, this is a man who loves books so much he refuses to have his book available electronically. And he loves Indie bookstores like WSB, too. Read it for that reason alone, never mind that these are funny stories that will make your belly ache and your sides hurt and water squirt out of your eyes.

Elizabethe Plante's Pick


The Northern Clemency (Paperback)

By Philip Hensher
$16.95
ISBN-13: 9781400095872
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Anchor, 2/2010
Other Editions of this Title

This sweeping novel is the story of two British families living in Sheffield, in Northern England. Each character's story is thoroughly developed, and the lives of the families carefully diagrammed, as they grow together and apart, settling, or not settling, into their own stories. Each character is uniquely compelling-- this isn't one of those books where you can't wait to get back to a certain character's story, they're all really fascinating. Hensher writes with a disctinctly British tone, both in his writing and in the telling of the story. His insight into the families is both quiet and frequently profound. A compelling story which wraps up with subtlety and which truly stayed with me.

Stef Kiper's Pick


The 13th Hour: A Thriller (Hardcover)

By Richard Doetsch

ISBN-13: 9781439147917
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Atria Books, 12/2009
Other Editions of this Title

After a woman is murdered, her husband gets an unbelievable opportunity to go back in time and re-live the twelve hours before her death in the hope of saving her life. Putting things straight in the past is not as easy as it seems. Every action he takes has its consequences in the future; the saving of his beloved might mean the death of others. A very captivating thriller with a powerful message: don't play with the past!

Sarah Connell's Pick


Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It (Hardcover)

By Maile Meloy
$25.95
ISBN-13: 9781594488696
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Riverhead Hardcover, 7/2009
Other Editions of this Title

Each of these stories is truly a jewel. Meloy writes simply and beautifully, about ranchers, small-town men and women, disappointed lovers, grieving fathers, and regular people experiencing small but important crises of faith. The phrase "Both ways is the only way I want it," a line from a poem read to one of the characters by his daughter, can be seen in some way in each story. Meloy poignantly demonstrates in her stories how difficult it can be in life to choose one path over another.

Stef Kiper's Pick

 

Stef Kiper's pick


The Dharma Bums (Paperback)

By Jack Kerouac
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780140042528
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Penguin (Non-Classics), 5/1971
Other Editions of this Title

Superior in many ways to the mass-marketed version of On the Road, this novel follows a young Kerouac immersing himself in Zen Buddhism, assisted by poet and friend Gary Snyder (called "Japhy Rider") and Allen Ginsberg ("Alva Goldbook"). From his isolated lookout post on Desolation Peak to the infamous 6-Gallery Poetry Reading in San Francisco, you'll be on a (meta)physical journey from beginning to end. Kerouac foresaw a revolution of Dharma Bums taking to the woods in search of the meaning of life, and after reading this book, you'll want to go buy a rucksack, quit your job and start meditating!


Marriage and Other Acts of Charity: A Memoir (Hardcover)

By Kate Braestrup

ISBN-13: 9780316031912
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Reagan Arthur Books, 1/2010
Other Editions of this Title

This new memoir is written in a similar style to her first book, Here If You Need Me, with a thoughtful meditation elaborated in each chapter. Some of them are heartwarming, some are heartbreaking, but each chapter is worth a good dose of thought afterward. Kate is funny, inspirational and completely relatable. Charity, love, agape-- no matter what you call it, it's what life is all about.

Elizabethe Plante's Pick

 


Brilliant Orangethe Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer (Paperback)

By David Winner
$15.95
ISBN-13: 9781590200551
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Overlook Press, 7/2008
Other Editions of this Title

Winner accounts the progression of soccer, architecture landscape, and cultural revolution of the Netherlands in the later half of the 20th century in this fascinating book. In the 1960s, the world watches striking events like the Vietnam War on color TV. Amsterdam, a gray and boring city, is transformed by pranksters asking people to replace aggression with playfulness. Concurrently, enlightened Dutch football begins focusing on total movement over winning.

Tamara Pare's Pick


Where the God of Love Hangs Out: Fiction (Hardcover)

By Amy Bloom

ISBN-13: 9781400063574
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Random House, 1/2010
Other Editions of this Title

A deeply engrossing set of stories filled with unforgettable characters and poetic, gorgeous writing. Two sets of connected stories are the stars here-- "William and Clare" and "Lionel and Julia"-- but all of Bloom's stories are honest, deeply felt, and unexpected. She writes convincingly about what we all do for love, acceptance, and a measure of sanity and normalcy. Bloom uses lovely poems by Jane Hirshfield to glue the stories together. Excellent-- it met my high expectations!

Stef Kiper's Pick


The Information Officer (Hardcover)

By Mark Mills

ISBN-13: 9781400068180
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Random House, 2/2010
Other Editions of this Title

For those of you old enough to have seen Casablanca, here is a novel to match it. Romance, possible treason, murder, and war combine to give us a suspenseful, page-turning read. Someone is killing Malta girls; a British submarine officer might be the one. Spare, evocative writing keep us reading to find the killer. 

Liz Whaley's Pick


Union Atlantic (Hardcover)

By Adam Haslett

ISBN-13: 9780385524476
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Nan A. Talese, 1/2010
Other Editions of this Title

Thanks to Doug Fanning, "Union Atlantic" became an international leading bank. To reward himself, Doug built an enormous mansion on land that originally was donated to the town of Finden, MA for preservation. Charlotte Graves, a former teacher, dismissed for her "rebellious" teaching, is fighting Doug and the town to restore his property to the original state. Nate, a failed high school student being tutored by Charlotte, is having sexual encounters with Doug. Nate proves to be a stirring catalyst in their ongoing fight. This is a very engaging novel about human interactions, mental instability, and the banking industry.

Jean Paul Adriaansen's  pick


When You Reach Me (Hardcover)

By Rebecca Stead
$15.99
ISBN-13: 9780385737425
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Wendy Lamb Books, 7/2009
Other Editions of this Title

If I tell you what makes this Newbury Award Winner so amazing, it will spoil half the fun of reading it.  I can say at least that this is a story about a girl named Miranda who lives in New York City in the 1970s and whose life starts to get strange after an older boy punches her best friend. Half the fun of this book is reading about how Miranda deals with the ordinary adventures of middle school. The other half I can't tell you.

Sarah Connell's Pick


The Stones of Summer (Paperback)

By Dow Mossman

ISBN-13: 9781585675173
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Overlook Press, 2/2004
Other Editions of this Title

By far the most challenging, poetic, and rewarding read I've ever experienced. Mossman's novel was published in 1972 to rave reviews, but quickly faded into obscurity as the author suffered a nervous breakdown and withdrew from the public eye. Director mark Moskowitz tracked him down and got the book re-published for a new generation to enjoy. A rip-roaring, Beat-esque coming-of-age tale that will push you to the brink of insanity and you'll love every minute of it!

Ryan McLellan's pick


Eve (Paperback)

By Elissa Elliott
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780385341455
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Bantam, 1/2010
Other Editions of this Title

An enchanting telling of what it might be like to live in Adam and Eve's "first family." Adam, Eve, and their five children live years believing that they are the only living people. The arrival of exotic strangers and a new city forces the family to question existence, faith, and loyalty. Eve recounts her days in the garden, mourning them and refusing to let them go. A beautifully reimagined look at the ancient story, complete with complex, voluminous, ambiguous characters.

--Tamara Pare'


The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name (Hardcover)

By Toby Lester

ISBN-13: 9781416535317
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Free Press, 11/2009
Other Editions of this Title

What a perfect book for history lovers! The basic subject of this work is the discovery of a map dated 1507 on which for the first time the continent of North America appears with the name "America." More fascinating even is the fact that on this map America is surrounded by oceans...how could they have known? In search for the origins of this knowledge, Toby Lester shows us not only the whole history of cartography (even going back to Ptolemy) but he describes also the entire political and religious spirit of the time in which scientists and cartographers were working. If you're into history, you have to go for it.

Jean Paul Adriaansen's Pick


Push (Paperback)

By Sapphire
$13.00
ISBN-13: 9780679766759
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Vintage, 4/1997
Other Editions of this Title

Elizabethe's Pick

One of my favorite authors, Dorothy Allison, said in an interview - It is easy to be an entertainer as a woman. It is easy to tell stories to charm people. But mostly we believe our stories aren't worth anything,
that our stories aren't important, and that if they are important, they're dangerous, and therefore too dangerous to tell anyone.- This  is one of those dangerous stories, poetically beautifully creatively  
written daring us to take notice of people who seem unlovable, broken,


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Why Shop Indie?

For every $100 you spend at a local indie business, $68 will stay in the community. When you spend that same $100 at a national chain, only $43 stays in your community.

Local businesses carry a wider array of unique products because they buy for their own market: the people in their community. They know you and know what you like and want.

You wouldn’t want your house to look like everyone else’s in the U.S. Why would you want your community to look that way? More diversity in your community enhances its appeal.

Even more reasons to shop indie...

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