So Here I am in New Hampshire…

…which I believe is officially the other side of the universe from Los Angeles.  Since we tend to spend a lot of time reading when we’re staying at my family’s lake house, we had all packed a bunch of books.  Unfortunately I wasn’t listening back in LA when my daughter asked, “Does a ‘V’ mean number 4?” so I had just nodded absently — and my laziness came back to haunt me when she finished The Princess Diaries number 3 and started on number 4 only to realize it was, in fact, number 5. 

The good news was it meant we had to go to a bookstore which is pretty much my favorite thing to do on vacation anyway.

Although there’s a good, fairly new bookstore in the heart of New London (Morgan Hills Bookstore, which I hope to write about shortly), I had another goal in mind this time: Innisfree Bookshop in Meredith, New Hampshire. 

I didn’t choose this store randomly or without bias.   A little while after my last novel had come out, the events coordinator at Innisfree had contacted me through my website.  She said she had noticed that I was from the east coast and was wondering whether I might be coming to New Hampshire in the near future.  Apparently the novel was selling well at their bookstore and she was interested in setting up a book signing event with me there.  I was all in favor of that idea, but a little while later we ditched the whole trip to NH in favor of a cruise to Alaska which turned out to be not a bad decision at all.

But this year we made it to New Hampshire.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the day before we were leaving that I suddenly remembered the nice woman at the bookstore in Meredith who had asked me to come by and sign books.  After a frantic search through an old computer, I found her original note and emailed her.  Of course, it was too late to do a signing but when she got back in touch with me, I said I’d at least swing by the store to say hi.

“Swinging by” turned out to involve driving for well over an hour.  I also had a fairly unwieldy entourage with me, consisting of my husband, our four kids, my niece, my father and his wife.  

Innisfree Bookshop is set back from the road in a pretty little enclave called the Mill Falls Marketplace.  Our stroll around the grounds took us past a very beautiful and active waterfall which we stopped and stared at for a while.  Waterfalls are mesmerizing.  

Eventually, though, we reached the bookstore which was bustling with customers.  I introduced myself to the events coordinator, Jenny Sweedler, and we had a nice long talk about everything from YA fiction to our deep, abiding, and occasionally overwhelming crushes on Nathan Fillion (long story).  In fact, we talked for so long that by the time I realized I probably should let Jenny get back to work, my family had already selected and purchased a bunch of books, games, and cards, and were ready to go.

So I never got to shop there myself.  But my husband raved about the selection as we left and I saw tons of people happily being counseled by the enthusiastic and cheerful staff.   My kids loved the children’s and YA sections and my son was very pleased with the “elephant poo” notebook he bought himself there.

In short, we loved Innisfree.  I just wish the drive hadn’t been QUITE so long from New London.  Maybe some year we’ll stay at the Inn and Spas at Mills Falls so we can visit the bookstore every day …

Innisfree Bookshop
Mill Falls Marketplace
312 Daniel Webster Highway
Meredith NH 03253
Tel: 603.279.3905
Fax: 603.279.7601