Books and Booksellers (and a Grand Opening!)

Are your bookmarks ready?

Is your reading chair set?

Then let’s go!

It’s Grand Opening day - the River Bookshop is finally finished and our doors will open at 6pm tonight as part of Amherstburg’s Open Air Weekends. Come see us!

Here's a little on how we got here and who helped us along the way...

Books and Booksellers

Buying thousands of books - isn’t that every book lovers dream?

I will admit, doing the book buying for the River Bookshop did trigger my inner Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

“I’ve never seen so many books in my life!” she said when the Beast revealed his library to her. 

The fact that the River Bookshop boasts not just one but two sliding ladders did nothing to diminish my Disney fantasies…

But buying so many books that are meant for the enjoyment of OTHERS is where the task gets a little more monumental. Thousands of books meant for thousands of different readers with thousands of different interests - what kinds, what genres, what subjects? How many of this one, how many of that? Paperback or hardcover?

We bought books that I liked, that Richard wanted to read, that Colleen had heard good things about. We bought books that were popular and books that were on subjects we hoped were important to all. We listened to the suggestions of friends and family. We leaned heavily on Canadian authors and Indigenous voices - there is so much talent in our country and being a border city we sometimes miss it. We read book blogs and newsletters and best seller lists. We listened to our sales reps from various publishing houses. We took recommendations from almost anyone.

In the end it came down to buying what we thought you all might like and hoping for the best. We’ve said all along that you, our readers, will curate our titles. You will tell us what you like and we will adjust our buying accordingly. So feel free when you come in to let us know what you’d like more of, tell us your favourite authors, let us know what books you are looking for. 

We’ll listen. 

After all, we’re not just building a business, we’re building a community. 

And now, here’s the River Bookshop Team that will bring those books to you…

And that’s our team, along with myself and Richard and Colleen. We are all very eager to talk books with you ...so be sure to come visit. 

Lori Wightman

Lead Bookseller