Support the Store & Discover Your Next Favorite Read
The new book nook brings the love of reading to harrisville
The Harrisville General Store team is excited to introduce the Book Nook. Conveniently located just left of the beverage cases, the Book Nook offers an eclectic mix of fiction, non-fiction, and kids’ books for sale. Works by local, national, and international authors are featured, all reasonably priced.
Expertly curated by editor and Harrisville resident, John Knight, you’ll find a variety of subject matter ranging from local history and culture to art, nature, and science. The books John mentions in the interview below and many more are at the General Store right now for you to peruse and purchase. If you’re looking for a book that we don’t have in stock, let us know—we can special order books by request too! All of your book purchases support the store, as well as writers and local authors.
John Knight talks about the Book Nook
John, thank you for starting and curating a book nook at the Harrisville Store. What got you interested in starting one at the Store?
Well, to be honest, I was getting tired of going all the way to the Toadstool. But it also seemed like something fun to try. For my editing job I'm immersed in what's being published and winning awards and being overlooked, and I wanted to create a simple corner of really good books. It's an eclectic selection, to be sure, but I think there's something there for everyone. And I especially wanted to showcase local authors, as there are so many talented writers in and from these parts. My intention is that the whole thing will be a small array that changes often, so whether you come into the store every week or once a year there will always be something surprising and worthwhile there to read.
Tell us about some of the books you’ve chosen for sale at the Store.
That's tricky, as I really think every title there is a good one. But in the kids’ department there's an amazing book by Graeme Base called Animalia that I spent hours poring over as a kid and have never been able to find since – it's perhaps one of the more inventive ABC books. There's also a recently published children's book called Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall that is a delightful story of how an old house feels like a part of the family and is illustrated with collaged paper. It's very good.
For fiction, there are some critical darlings mixed in with a few low-flying gems. There's The Furrows by Namwali Serpell, which is intense but has consistently been a top critical pick, and a couple books by Annie Ernaux, who won the Nobel last year. But there's also Dorothy Baker's Cassandra at the Wedding, which was published in the sixties and is such a smart, delicious novel about siblings.
In non-fiction, Rachel Aviv's Strangers to Ourselves is a riveting investigation into how we understand ourselves in periods of crisis and distress, and Christopher de Bellaigue's The Lion House is a wild history of the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. And there's a very suave book about J Dilla, a transformative hip hop DJ who died tragically young but had an outrageous and nearly anonymous influence on the genre. I've also included a new translation of Kafka's Diaries, as these are absurdly wonderful, and the new translation is a real scholarly feat.
On the local front, my favorite is the latest collection of poems by Henry Walters, The Nature Thief. And have you read Sy Montgomery on octopuses?! She has a new book on turtles slated for May, which is exciting.
I had fun picking out a few thrillers – I think Mick Herron will keep you on the edge of your seat if you want a good ride, and Yevgeny Zamyatin's We is an amazing dystopian novel if that tickles your fancy.
Oh, and I'm proud of the cookbook selection. Ottolenghi and Melissa Clark are favorites, but Anna Stockwell's For the Table is enticing. And she's from Keene!
Writer and Editor John Knight
With book banning, books online, movies from books, etc. why is reading an actual book important?
I guess I just think that reading – in any way – is important, full stop. When else are you rigorously confronted with your own biases and limitations (intellectual, imaginative, ethical, practical – whatever), and then offered a completely private and non-judgmental chance to grow beyond them? As for physical books in particular, this seems like more of an economic and value-based proposition. When you buy a book from the General Store, you are directly supporting this town and creating jobs here. It's impossible to overstate how substantial every dollar spent at the store really is. Amazon gives big discounts because they are so enormous, they only need a fraction of a profit from each sale. But when you buy a book from them, that is money you're sending out, away from this area and all the real people who live here. Buying physical books from a local bookstore doesn't make a huge difference to the author or the publisher (despite what they'd have you believe), but it is a massive contribution to the local economy.
Can you share some of the books you are currently editing?
All sorts! There's a novel based on the lost letters of George Keats to his brother, John Keats, that romantic poet of Grecian urns and so on. Another novel revolves around a young artist living a hard-scrabble life in Paris who finds out he's Pablo Picasso's long-lost son! And I'm about to start in on a biography of Frances Perkins, who largely orchestrated the New Deal with Franklin Roosevelt. It's a good job if you like to be a dilettante!
Thank you, John, and to all of you—come on down and browse our fine selection and buy a book for yourself or someone you love.
John Knight is an editor who lives with his wife, Rebecca, and their two children in Chesham. He edits fiction and nonfiction for writers across the country and teaches a writing workshop at CUNY's Writers' Institute. He's worked for Farrar, Straus and Giroux in New York, and for McSweeney's in San Francisco. He grew up in Greenfield, New Hampshire, and when not reading he's usually in the garden, swimming, or spending time with his family.
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Now, more than ever, your support of Historic Harrisville matters: it is a direct investment in the health of our community. Your gift supports the Harrisville General Store (owned and operated by HHI), helps our affordable housing and alternative energy program, pays staff and creates jobs, and funds the restoration, maintenance, and preservation work in the historic district and beyond. We have several exciting new projects in the works—the renovation of the Mackey House into affordable housing, completing renovation of the Trip Hammer Shop, and turning St. Denis (the former Catholic church) into a community center. But we need funds to make these projects happen. Thank you so much for your tax-deductible donations. We couldn’t do any of this without you!
Historic Harrisville, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization for charitable purposes
You can also mail your tax-deductible check to Historic Harrisville, Inc., PO Box 79, Harrisville NH 03450. If you would like to make a bequest and have questions, please email our Executive Director Erin Hammerstedt or call us at 603-827-3722.
