Capitol Hill Books — Local services in Denver

Capitol Hill Books may not be the oldest bookstore in Denver, but it's close. Many of its contemporaries are now gone: Together Books, Trilogy, the Bluebird Cafe, the Hue Man Bookstore, Muddy's, Murder by the Book. Step inside Capitol Hill Books, and it almost seems as though you've gone into the past... to a time when some of the older books on the shelves were new, and a time when Denver boasted many fine, quirky, and odd bookstores.

I have been coming to this delightful bookstore since the early 1982 or 1983. Capitol Hill Books first opened its doors in 1981, founded by Lois Harvey, who has since moved across town to Westside Books. Lois ran the store for many years, and then passed it on it to her friend Valarie Abney, who eventually sold it to the current owner, Holly Brooks. As might be appropriate for a used book store, Capitol Hill Books retains clues, signs, and symbols pointing to the previous owners. I enjoy noticing these callbacks whenever I visit.

Originally one small room (and an occasionally utilized and rather medieval-seeming tiny basement), the shop gradually expanded to the three rooms that greet customers now. It's a good space, and well-used. The collection has spread out accordingly, and the store aisles are easy to navigate. There are humorous and entertaining touches everywhere, such as the bloody hand just noticeable above the horror books.

Interestingly, and fittingly, the plan of these three rooms is the opposite of the old corporate bookstores, such as B. Dalton's and Borders and Waldenbooks. Those stores always carried the most popular titles in the back of the store, guiding customers through the sections that they otherwise might skip. At Capitol Hill Books, the popular fiction section is in the first room, right there near the entrance; the second room contains kids' books and metaphysics and other cool, strange books; the third and last room is for history, culture, and social studies. A little staid, if you ask me. I don't spend much time in the third room, but I always check it out just in case.

There are books of all kinds at this store, particularly my favorites - science fiction, mystery, classic literature, drama, poetry. There are even a few comics! The children's books are well-cultivated. There is one large and perhaps typically imposing bookcase that is filled with very expensive collector's items. Next to that, there's a shelf featuring inexpensive local chapbooks and zines.

The store has always had a great range of strange and wonderful postcards, under all its owners, and the Wall of Ephemera is on its way to becoming a local legend. This is a display of interesting notes and other compelling items found within the pages of books brought in for trade. That's worth visiting just in itself. But you'll always find one or two books to buy, too. Or more! That's how it is with me. Many of the best books in my own library at home have come from...

The store itself is really pretty great. Most of the times I've come there I've left with what I came looking for and then some. As some other reviewers mention, the prices are marginally higher than at other used book stores but given the costs that probably go into having a prime location like this it makes perfect sense.

The only caveat is that I had a really strange interaction with the person behind the counter. I had picked out a book that cost $9.50ish, I think. It turned out that this was the price before sales tax and I owed something like, let's say, $10.25. At the moment I only had a $10 bill and I asked if it would be possible for me to only pay $10. I meant nothing offensive but offense was apparently taken, "do you go to King Soopers and try to haggle there?" the woman behind the counter asked. I asked the friend whom I was with for the change I needed but the woman told me something to the effect of "I don't need your money" and asked us to leave. I found this strange and haven't been back since.

But it's a very good store and I put some of the responsibility on my not knowing the unwritten etiquette of this and maybe other used book stores. Still, I don't think I should have...

This shop is on Colfax Avenue, and I ride a rather expensive bike, so when I stopped in today for the first (and last) time, I pulled my bike just inside the door, making sure it was out of the way, not blocking the door in any way, and not blocking any merchandise.

The woman behind the counter watched me enter, watched me place my bike, and did not acknowledge me. After five minutes of browsing, she approached and told me to take my bike outside. I explained that I didn't want it to get stolen and I had almost made my selections (a rather large stack of hardcover books). She said, "You can't have it in the store. We've had a lot of bad experiences."

I responded that I was having a bad experience right now, and left without making a purchase. I shall not return. I was the ONLY CUSTOMER in the store, and she chased me away.

Next time I decide to support a mom and pop bookstore, I'll remember this experience and pick up my...