River Stone's September Newsletter
- riverstonebooks9
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
Falling Into September at River Stone
How Many Books Did We Sell in August?
Every month, I share on social media how many books we sell at River Stone. People seem to love following along, and it has become such a fun tradition! Our goal is to sell 500 books each month, and we have reached it every month except May.
Even though we finished May with 485 books, it will always be one of my favorite months. With only four days remaining, we were still 207 books short of our goal. I shared that number on social media, and our community showed up in an incredible way. We may have finished 15 books short but watching so many people come together to support my little bookstore was pretty special!
And now for August, we sold 562 books!
Thank you for continuing to read, shop small and support River Stone.
Ashley (a customer of River Stone) created the Busy but Bookish Book Club for readers who want community without pressure, flexibility without strict deadlines and cozy conversations about books. She was kind enough to include River Stone Bookshop, and I am so excited to support this wonderful group!
The club is completely online through its private Facebook group, so you can participate whenever it fits your schedule. Read slowly, listen to the audiobook or join the conversation in little bursts. You belong here!
September’s selection is The Wedding People by Alison Espach, a funny and heartfelt read filled with beachside chaos and big emotions.
Order the Busy but Bookish monthly selection through River Stone, either at the store or through our https://bookshop.org/pages/bookstores page, and you will be entered into that month’s book club drawing!
River Stone is Joining Carrie Classon at Festival Theatre in St. Croix Falls!
Carrie Classon is bringing a special preview performance to Festival Theatre, and I am so excited to share that she invited me to join her!
During this one show only event, Carrie will share her “story about stories” and officially launch her Loon Point book tour. River Stone will be there with 40 copies of her book available for purchase. I feel incredibly honored to be part of this special afternoon and hope many of you will join us!
Sunday, September 6 at 2:00 p.m.
Franklin Square Black Box
125 N. Washington Street
St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
All proceeds from the performance will benefit Festival Theatre. There is a minimum donation of $25.
Reservations may be made by calling Festival Theatre at 715 483 3387 or emailing festivaltheatreboxoffice@gmail.com.
Join us as we welcome debut author Lisa Najarian to River Stone for a special signing of her first book, Girl, Unpack That!
Come meet Lisa, hear the story behind her book and help us celebrate this exciting accomplishment. Her husband, Pete Najarian, will also be joining her! Many of you may recognize Pete as a former Minnesota Vikings linebacker or from his years on CNBC’s Fast Money.
Thursday, September 10
5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
River Stone Bookshop
Copies of Girl, Unpack That! will be available for purchase and signing.
Creative Reading Open Mic Night
Our Open Mic Nights have become so popular that we are continuing them into the fall!
Join us for an intimate evening of words, music and creativity. Share poetry, prose, spoken word or acoustic music, or simply come to listen and support our local creatives. All skill levels are welcome, and there is never any pressure to perform.
Friday, September 18
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
River Stone Bookshop
We will gather again on Friday, October 16, before taking a short break for the holiday season. Open Mic Night will return in January.
Admission is free, and everyone is welcome!
Bowsers Corner
Now that fall is almost here and the weather is beginning to cool down, Bowser will be able to spend more time at River Stone, as long as his mom doesn’t have too many books to organize!
Frenchie's can overheat very easily, and because the bookstore does not have air conditioning, I admit that I’m a little overprotective of him during the summer. But with cooler days ahead, you should be seeing him at the bookstore more often!
This month, Bowser recommends Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair, although he thinks it would be much better if it were covered in dog hair!
He also recommends taking a chance on one of our Blind Date with a Book selection. They are one of the most popular things we sell at River Stone! I used to have someone make them for me, but now I make everyone myself, and I really enjoy doing it. Bowser thinks not knowing which book you’re getting until you unwrap it makes reading even more fun.
If you see Bowser during your next visit, be sure to say hello. He may look busy, but he can almost always make time for a little attention!
Highway 243 Bridge Closure
A major change is coming to Osceola this fall. MnDOT currently expects the Highway 243 bridge over the St. Croix River to close in mid October 2026. The closure is expected to continue through fall 2027 while the existing bridge is replaced.
Drivers traveling between Osceola and Minnesota will need to use the designated detour routes during the closure. The exact closing date has not yet been announced, and the schedule may change because of weather, flooding, river levels or other environmental conditions.
Osceola will remain open for business, and River Stone will still be here! If you are visiting us from Minnesota, please allow additional travel time and check the official MnDOT project page before leaving home.
I will continue sharing updates as more information becomes available.
Mystery Book Boxes!
If you’re someone who likes to get a head start on Christmas shopping, this one is for you.
Think of it as one Christmas gift you can get taken care of now and not have to think about again later.
Christmas Mystery Book Box preorders are now open at River Stone Bookshop.
These are a little like our Blind Date with a Book idea, only taken a few steps further. You’ll choose the age range and genre, but the books and everything else inside will be a surprise. Each box will be put together here at River Stone specifically for the person you’re shopping for.
$25 Box
One surprise book, plus a few small bookish extras.
$50 Box
Two surprise books, plus a few bookish goodies.
$75 Box
Two to three surprise books, plus a larger mix of bookish gifts and extras.
$100 Box
Three surprise books, a candle, a small puzzle, a special cozy blanket being ordered specifically for these boxes, plus additional bookish extras and surprises.
We’ll have sign-up sheets here at the store with all the information I’ll need to put your box together, including age range, favorite genres, and other reading preferences.
All boxes are prepaid when ordered so I can begin ordering and preparing everything ahead of time.
Preorders and payment are due by Sunday, November 8. Limited quantities will be available, so early ordering is encouraged.
Christmas pickup details will be announced later, but preorders are officially open now.
Did you know that we offer store credit for your gently used books?
Right now, I’m specifically looking for popular, in-demand books that customers are asking for and that I can put right back on the shelves for other readers to enjoy.
I’m looking for things like Kristin Hannah, The Boxcar Children, Little House on the Prairie, popular book club titles, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, current bestselling fiction, and other popular authors and series. Those are just a few examples!
I am not looking for mass market paperbacks at this time.
Books need to be in good, clean condition with no strong odors, water damage, or excessive writing or highlighting.
For books I’m able to take, store credit is 40% of the price I would sell the book for in the shop.
A quick note on how store credit works: you can use store credit toward up to 50% of your purchase. So, for example, if your purchase is $30, you can use up to $15 in store credit and pay the remaining $15.
If you have some popular used books you’re ready to part with and would like some store credit, bring them into River Stone and I’d be happy to take a look!
Looking for a Flexible Side Gig
I thought I would put this out there and see what happens!
I’m looking for a very part-time side gig to help supplement my income. Ideally, I’d love to find something flexible that I could work on during quieter moments at the bookstore.
Through running River Stone, I’ve discovered how much I enjoy the creative side of things, including making simple social media posts and Canva designs, along with light writing and proofreading. I’m also open to data entry or basic administrative work.
I’m not looking for anything extensive, just a few flexible hours and an opportunity to put some of these skills to use. If you or someone you know could use a little extra help, please email me at riverstonebooks@yahoo.com. I thought it was worth putting myself out there and seeing where it might lead!
The Power of a Micro Memoir
A micro memoir is a brief piece of true, personal writing that focuses on one specific moment rather than trying to tell an entire life story. The moment can be as ordinary as brushing your teeth or as significant as an experience that changed your life. In just 200 to 500 words, a writer can use emotion and meaningful details to create something incredibly powerful.
During our recent Micro Memoir class at River Stone, the instructor and students encouraged me to write alongside them. The class was wonderful, and I learned so much about how impactful a true story can be, even when it is told in fewer than 500 words. I hope it's OK that I shared this with all of you!!
I’m proud of the piece I wrote and excited to share it with you. I hope it also gives you a glimpse of what can come from participating in one of our writing classes.
A gentle content note: The following piece includes themes of suicide, grief and children coping with the loss of their father. Please take care while reading.
I wanted to share this so you could see firsthand what we learn in these writing workshops and how powerful even a very short piece can be.
I stand there frozen in the doorway of his hospital room in the ICU. I haven’t seen him in two years and now machines are surrounded by him. Wires snake across his chest. Screens blink and beep, doing work his body can no longer do on its own. For seventeen years, I watched him sleep beside me, hold our children when they were small, laugh at our dogs and spoil them rotten. Loved us. Hurt us. Destroyed pieces of us one addiction at a time.
I hadn’t forgotten. I just couldn’t hate him anymore.
I couldn’t help myself. When everyone leaves the room, I must hold your hand one more time, this hand that I have loved for so many years.
One by one, everyone leaves the room, giving us a few moments alone. I trace the blue veins on the back of his hand. Somewhere down the hall, nurses laugh. Their voices echo through the cold hallway, carrying on with another ordinary day. The world hasn’t stopped. Only ours has. I resent them for it.
I look down at our hands. Before I can speak, I swallow words that have arrived two years too late. I cry so hard while I squeeze his hand, my head resting on his chest. “I never stopped loving you,” I whisper. I look up to see his beautiful face; a tear has escaped from his right eye. I watch it travel down his cheek. I watch it dry. And at that moment he was there. Not addiction. Not anger. Not betrayal. Not the years we spent apart. He was there. The boy I fell in love with. The father of our boys. I knew he heard me.
Our boys, Austin, seventeen, and Logan, twelve, sit quietly, their eyes swollen and red. They don’t collapse into sobs. They carry their grief the only way they know how, in silence. Family gathers around them. Their grandmas. Their aunt. Their uncle. Cory’s lifelong friend. Everyone reaches for them in their own way. I want to do the same, but I don’t know what to say. I sit beside them, hoping my presence says what my words cannot.
Our boys, how are they supposed to understand any of this? The doctor entered quietly. I don’t remember his name. I don’t remember his face. I only remember his words: “He had heroin and cocaine in his system.”
Heroin.
Cocaine.
I already knew those words. Austin and Logan didn’t. It was the first time they had ever heard those words spoken about their father.
Part of me still can’t believe it. Cory had threatened suicide before, but I never thought he would actually hang himself. Now I sit here listening as the doctor explains the damage it has caused.
The doctor speaks calmly, almost matter-of-factly. I suppose he has this conversation more often than anyone should. He explains the damage caused by asphyxiation. For him, it’s another day in the ICU. For us, nothing will ever be the same. Trauma has a way of stealing everything except the moments that hurt the most. I just remember silence and then crying from my boys. There was no saving him. I hated those words and I hated this ending.
Before You Go....
Can’t Make It to the Bookstore?
You can still support River Stone while shopping online! Order through our Bookshop.org page, and your books will be shipped directly to your home while a portion of your purchase supports my little store. And it helps us more than you will ever know! Click on purple button below.
Next month, I’m planning to start sharing some of my own book recommendations, although my TBR pile is quite large and my life is a little busy, so we will see how much reading I can get done!
Thank you so much for reading and for continuing to support River Stone. Until next month!
205 N Cascade St
Osceola, WI, 54020
www.riverstonebookswi.com
Comments