Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, N.H., is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month and is hosting on open house this evening that will be attended by Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, who will chat and sign copies of his books.
The Wire reported that "online markets and digital books threaten to debase the experience of reading to its most impersonal form, but [Water Street owner] Dan Chartrand's approach to his independent bookstore stands in the way."
"It's not my job to sell stuff. It's my job to build community," said Chartrand. "My job has evolved. It's about what we do together.... I've come to understand in the last five years, it's not just, 'Hey, buy this book,' it's 'Hey, talk about this.' That's what's changed for me." He also praised his downtown location as a key ingredient in his success: "People love the streetscape of Exeter and want to support the business there."