DDR Books

DDR Books A local bookstore with more than 60,000 new and used books. Featuring book signings, local events, an Books are very important in the Roberts family.

DDR Books is a small retail book company founded by Donus D. Roberts, who decided that DDR Books was the best company name he could devise. All of his life, Donus (the Roman for the Greek 'Adonis') read and accumulated books. In the early 1980s, he decided to collect a few authors in first edition. In the early 1990s, he decided to work toward his own Internet bookstore, which came to pass in 2001 and grew large enough to need a physical location by 2005. Most of the books for sale are published in the last 100 years, a circumstance of cost and of living in South Dakota, where antique books are not frequently available. Donus is a retired high-school English teacher and debate coach, as is his wife, Lovila, and their daughter, Robyn, is a teacher and aspiring author. As a family, they are committed to quality books--quality in both content and condition. DDR is also a collector, so he is tries hard to describe the condition of books accurately. All books ordered online are packed carefully and shipped in sturdy boxes. The goal is for you to return to our website and store for years to come.

Looking for spooky vibes this autumn? This “USA Today” bestseller and acclaimed solo debut is from the “New York Times”-...
09/22/2026

Looking for spooky vibes this autumn? This “USA Today” bestseller and acclaimed solo debut is from the “New York Times”-bestselling coauthor of “Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting”--a post-apocalyptic/survival-horror novel written in the bestselling traditions of Stephen King’s “The Mist” and Josh Malerman’s “Bird Box.” This week’s DDR Pick is W.H. Chizmar’s “Them.”

A top-secret government project hits upon a revolutionary idea for transporting matter across the vast reaches of the universe, and it succeeds in bringing something back. Something alive. Soon, mankind’s reign comes to an abrupt halt when a truck hauling a very special shipping container overturns and rolls off the highway, unleashing an otherworldly horror upon an unsuspecting New England countryside, where it cannot be contained.

Several years later, an unidentified man emerges from the rubble of humanity, seeking other survivors and a shred of hope amid an eerie and lonely landscape. He travels by night up the rural East Coast, discovering Americana ruins and encountering monsters the likes of which no one has survived. Scarred and molded by the cruel horrors of this new natural order, he must face his own dwindling humanity and pray that any others out there have not become monsters themselves….

Other recommended postapocalyptic fiction, including King’s “The Stand,” Max Brook’s “World War Z,” and Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” are available at DDR Books, located at 7 S. Maple in Downtown Watertown. Call 605-868-3705 or email [email protected] to arrange shipping to any state in the contiguous US for just the cost of postage.

Regional author Kristin Schmidt Larson will be signing her latest book, children’s story “Max the Traveling Cat,” Saturd...
09/12/2026

Regional author Kristin Schmidt Larson will be signing her latest book, children’s story “Max the Traveling Cat,” Saturday, Oct. 10, 1-3 pm, at DDR Books in Downtown Watertown.

Schmidt Larson describes her book this way:

“Max is not just a character—he is my real-life cat and my traveling companion! Today, Max and I travel throughout the Dakotas in my Jeep, bringing my business, Simple Kindness, and my books to communities, markets, and book events.”

Schmidt Larson is the author of two other books, also available at DDR Books. She discusses her intriguing upbringing and how it inspired those first two books:

“My journey as a writer began long before I ever put pen to paper. I grew up traveling throughout the Dakotas as part of the Schmidt Traveling Carnival. Life on the road was hard and often arduous, but those experiences opened my eyes at a very young age to the way, as traveling families could be treated differently. Those memories became the foundation for my first book: ‘Traveling Caravan: Growing Up Under the Big Top.

My father and his siblings were part of the Schmidt Family Circus, led by my grandfather, Harold Schmidt, and my grandmother. This book is a piece of my family history—a story about growing up under the big top, the people I loved, the hard work, and the life that shaped who I became.

My second book carries that circus history into a story of kindness: ‘Rosalita Spreads Kindness.’

Rosalita was the star of the Schmidt Family Circus—the beloved elephant—and this children's story brings her and the other circus animals back to life while sharing a message that has become central to my own life: One kind act can change the world.

And now, my newest book: ‘Max the Traveling Cat….’ Three books. Three different stories. One common thread: Family. Kindness. Memories. And the belief that every story has the power to touch someone's heart.”

According to Schmidt Larson, The Schmidt Family Circus started in the late 1940s, and as all of the children of her father’s (Harold, Jr.) generation were born, they became part of it. Then, as one by one they left the circus to go to college throughout the 1960s, it scaled down into a traveling carnival, with the animals being donated to the Bramble Park Zoo. The carnival later grew in size, and Schmidt Larson traveled on it during her teenage years.

DDR Books is located at 7 S. Maple in Downtown Watertown, next to Slumberland Furniture. Call 605-868-3705 or email [email protected] with questions or to order any of Schmidt Larson’s books. We deliver anywhere in the world, with delivery in the contiguous United States costing just the price of postage!

Atmospheric crime writer Stuart MacBride’s latest in his Logan McRae series is our DDR Pick of the week—“This House of B...
09/10/2026

Atmospheric crime writer Stuart MacBride’s latest in his Logan McRae series is our DDR Pick of the week—“This House of Burning Bones.”

“MacBride is a masterful storyteller with a terrific eye for detail and razor-sharp wit. ’This House of Burning Bones’ is an absolute must-read,” critiques Karin Slaughter, author of bestseller “This Is Why We Lied.”

Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin and Val McDermid, “This House of Burning Bones” is unforgettably gripping Scottish crime at its very best.

The Granite City is ready to burn, and all it takes is a single spark….

In the heat of a blistering summer, Aberdeen’s police are struggling: half the force is off sick, leave has been cancelled, someone’s firebombed a hotel full of migrants, and there’s a massive protest march happening this Saturday.

With officers dropping like flies, Detective Inspector Logan McRae is forced to juggle cases and run a major murder investigation with a skeleton staff of misfits, idiots, and malingerers until the top brass can arrange back-up from other divisions.

It doesn’t help that the Aberdeen Examiner has just been bought by Natasha Agapova, a tabloid media tycoon hell-bent on blaming local police for everything. And she’s more than happy to fan the flames.

But, as bad as everything seems, it’s all about to get much, much worse….

Praise for Stuart MacBride:

“Stuart MacBride is an automatic must-read for me . . . always fast, hard, authentic – and different,” comments Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series.

MacBride’s work, including “This House of Burning Bones,” is available at DDR Books, located at 7 S. Maple in Downtown Watertown. Call 605-868-3705 or email [email protected] to arrange shipping within the contiguous United States for just the price of postage.

Pulitzer-Prize winner Elizabeth Strout’s “The Things We Never Say” has won a fair share of the summer’s accolades, inclu...
09/01/2026

Pulitzer-Prize winner Elizabeth Strout’s “The Things We Never Say” has won a fair share of the summer’s accolades, including being long-listed for the Booker Prize and Amazon’s Editors’ List of Best Literature and Fiction, but it’s the raves of her legions of fans that made her latest stand-alone novel this week’s DDR Pick.

“Strout’s capacious empathy and rigorous attention to the nuances of human behavior and psychology are as evident as ever,” writes The Boston Globe.

Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?

And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.

Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, “The Things We Never Say” takes one man’s fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, it captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.

This book and Strout’s other work is available at DDR Books, located at 7 S. Maple in Downtown Watertown, next to Slumberland Furniture. Books are also available to be shipped within the contiguous United States for just the cost of postage--call 605-868-3705 or email [email protected].

In a project spanning more than ten years, Paul Horsted found the location of 350 intriguing and sometimes one-of-a-kind...
08/25/2026

In a project spanning more than ten years, Paul Horsted found the location of 350 intriguing and sometimes one-of-a-kind historic photos across South Dakota, establishing the original photographer's camera location in each case to create the matching photo pairs that fill the pages of “South Dakota: Yesterday & Today.”

The images of past and present reveal how much daily life has changed over the decades; how towns and cities have grown or declined or even been rejuvenated; and how the environment has often been transformed across this infinitely varied landscape. Many of the photos also involve interesting and enjoyable stories about the people of our state. This walk through time embraces all areas, from the Black Hills to the Badlands and West River plains, and from the Missouri River to the East River farmlands. The smallest towns and largest cities are represented in the images that bring to life the ever-evolving story of South Dakota.

Horsted and his partner, Camille Riner, live near Custer in the Black Hills. An independent photographer and public speaker for more than 25 years, he has authored six books on the beauty and history of the Black Hills, the Dakotas, and our national parks. Earlier in his career, Horsted was a photographer for the Brandon-Valley Reporter and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, and later at South Dakota Tourism in Pierre. He now has 49 years as a published photographer.

“South Dakota: Yesterday & Today,” “Treasures of the National Parks,” “Exploring with Custer: The 1874 Black Hills Expedition,” and more of Horsted’s work are all available at DDR Books in Downtown Watertown. Find us at 7 S. Maple, next to Slumberland Furniture. DDR Books is happy to ship books within the contiguous US for just the cost of postage—call 605-868-3705 or email [email protected].

This week’s DDR Pick is the first volume in a new series by a beloved mystery writer and an instant number-one New York ...
08/18/2026

This week’s DDR Pick is the first volume in a new series by a beloved mystery writer and an instant number-one New York Times Bestseller: “Nightshade” by Michael Connelly.

Introducing Detective Stilwell: a cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina Island.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been “exiled” to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor—a Jane Doe identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig.

Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, Stilwell doggedly works both cases. Though hampered by an old beef with an ex-colleague determined to thwart him at every turn, he is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as “Nightshade.” Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.

Propulsive and atmospheric, “Nightshade” launches a brand-new character into the Connelly universe and proves without question that Michael Connelly is “the undisputed master of the modern crime novel” (Real Book Spy).

This book and Connelly’s other work is available in both hard- and softcover at DDR Books, located at 7 S. Maple in Downtown Watertown. Shipping for just the cost of postage is available within the contiguous United States; just call 605-868-3705 or email [email protected].

Follow us now on Bluesky at ddrbooks.bsky.social !Find book recommendations, special-event calenders, and store sales, a...
08/11/2026

Follow us now on Bluesky at ddrbooks.bsky.social !

Find book recommendations, special-event calenders, and store sales, all in fewer than 300 characters!

The multimillion-copy-selling author of “The Help” returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable w...
08/11/2026

The multimillion-copy-selling author of “The Help” returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what’s rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything in this week’s DDR Pick. Kathryn Stockett’s “The Calamity Club” is “so immersive, exciting, and downright fabulous, you never want it to end.”—Oprah Daily

Oxford, Mississippi, 1933.

Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, 11-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable "big girls" at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed.

Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister’s seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies.

Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fates—and Meg’s—converge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan for them to take control of their lives. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women’s freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences.

“The Calamity Club” will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to underestimated women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious—the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.

DDR Books stocks Kathryn Stockett’s work at our downtown Watertown location at 7 S. Maple, next to Slumberland Furniture. We also ship books within the contiguous U.S. for just the cost of postage—call 605-868-3705 or email [email protected] for more information.

This week’s DDR Pick is one of the most anticipated books of the summer, Ann Patchett’s “Whistler.”“Ann Patchett’s new n...
08/04/2026

This week’s DDR Pick is one of the most anticipated books of the summer, Ann Patchett’s “Whistler.”

“Ann Patchett’s new novel is a rare phenomenon in contemporary fiction: a novel both majestic and intimate, original and masterful in its structure, crystalline in its prose, revelatory in its insights, utterly devastating yet ultimately uplifting in its emotional impact. . . . I think it is her best novel yet.” —The Boston Globe

The acclaimed, prize-winning #1 New York Times-bestselling writer returns with a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time.

When Daphne Fuller and her husband, Jonathan, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a little more than year when Daphne was nine. Now fifty-three, Daphne hasn’t seen Eddie for many years--not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives. Meeting again, time falls away; while their relationship was brief, it had a profound impact on them both, and now that they are reunited, they have no intention of ever being separated again.

“Whistler” is a story about two adults looking back over the choices they made, and the choices that were made for them. It’s a story about bravery, memory, the often small-yet-consequential moments that define our lives, and the endless stream of loss that, in time, comes for us all. Beautiful in its simplicity, it is ultimately about how love endures and how the feeling of being known by one other person, even for a short period of time, can change everything.

“Whistler” and Patchett’s other work is available at DDR Books, located at 7 S. Maple in Downtown Watertown. Call 605-868-3705 or email [email protected] to arrange shipping within the contiguous United States for just the cost of postage.

Author Stu Whitney will be signing his newest book, “The Great Burns: How a War Hero & Football Coach Turned Vision into...
07/29/2026

Author Stu Whitney will be signing his newest book, “The Great Burns: How a War Hero & Football Coach Turned Vision into Victory,” Sat., Aug. 1, noon to 2 pm, at DDR Books in Downtown Watertown.

"A well-researched, engaging, and moving portrait." – Kirkus Reviews

This critically-acclaimed biography explores the sort of life that few people seem to live anymore.

Champion boxer. Star quarterback. War hero. Coaching legend. Idea man.

Bob Burns parachuted behind enemy lines on D-Day, lured the Minnesota Vikings to South Dakota for their first-ever NFL game, and, as a hard-driving football coach, lifted high school and college programs to unprecedented heights.

“The Great Burns,” by award-winning journalist Stu Whitney, is a journey in itself. It captures the essence of Burns’ desire to win, whether courting his future wife in college, fighting off German attacks at the Battle of the Bulge, or earning the lifelong loyalty of his players with memorable triumphs.

Burns, who died in 2000, coached at high schools and colleges across South Dakota. He conceived of the inaugural Dakota Bowl, the AA high-school championship, and led O'Gorman to be its first claimant over Watertown in 1980. He concluded his coaching career with a total record of 145–62–6.

This riveting biography will resonate with readers who are hungry for American heroes, especially those who inspire others by making them believe in themselves.

Stu Whitney covered the Great Plains as a columnist and editor at the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader for three decades, earning national recognition from the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Scripps Howard Foundation. He published a novel, “The Covid Chronicles,” in 2021.

“The Great Burns” is available now at DDR Books, located at 7 S. Maple in Downtown Watertown.

Address

7 South Maple
Watertown, SD
57201

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday 9:30am - 4pm

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+16058780418

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