Roe River Books a vital part of the community on Park Street, Dundalk

‘WHAT I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul,’ states English author Neil Gaiman in his best selling novel ‘American Gods.’

Dundalk, then, is lucky as thanks to Tom Muckian it has a welcoming bookshop in Roe River Books.

The shop which moved a handful of doors along Park Street, to a larger premises, earlier this year reflects Tom’s passion for books.

With over ten year’s experience in the book trade, Tom has made sure that the new Roe River Books encompasses everything that makes independent bookshops a vital part of the community.

Readers prize bookshops where they can feel at home, and that is certainly the case at Roe River Books. There’s an impressive selection of fiction and non-fiction, educational books, graphic novels and stationery, and friendly and knowledgeable staff to help them find the books they want.

‘We can source any book in print, new or secondhand, for our customers,’ says Tom. ‘We also offer a ‘Send A Book’ service so that if someone orders a book for themselves, they can get a copy sent to someone else anywhere in the world at the same time.’

Customers are welcome to sit in the comfortable armchairs and enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee from the coffee dock, which is open from 8am Monday to Friday and from 10am on Saturdays.

Roe River Books is also playing an important role as being a venue for events such as book launches and readings. Best selling author John Connolly delighted the audience when he performed a reading last month and has promised a return visit next April when “A Book of Bones”, the next Charlie Parker novel comes out.

Tom is also planning to take the Roe River Book Club out of cyber space and into the shop in the coming months.

Since launching the Book Club online earlier this year, he succeeded in getting Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice to be a guest reviewer.

With Christmas fast approaching, Roe River Books has a terrific range of books to help make choosing a gift easier.

There’s a selection of best-selling and award winning books, as well as books of local interest, such as photographer Mark Duffy’s ‘Rediscovering Louth’ and the recently published history of DkIT. Younger readers will be delighted by a variety of children’s titles, including The Crimes of Grindelwald from the Fantastic Beasts series by Harry Potter author J K Rowling.

And in keeping with the festive spirit, there are two hampers of books up for grabs in online customer competitions.

So, why not support your local independent bookshop and keep Dundalk’s heart beating?