Capitol Hill Books

What precisely do you get your great aunt Edna, you know, the one who your only interaction with is an occasional squeeze on the cheek? What about your co-worker Bobby who you know nothing about except that you picked his name for the work secret Santa? What about your dentist? Or your really good friend who you know is an avid reader but forget exactly what she is an avid reader of?

There are dozens of people in our lives that appreciate a warm holiday gift even if we don’t know exactly what it should be or at precisely what temperature. And it’s especially hard to figure out when you wait until the last minute to get your presents. That’s why Capitol Hill Books offers gift certificates. Our gift certificates are available in any denomination you’d like and are good for anything in the store. Plus, they are written out in hand calligraphy for that extra decorative touch. We’re also more than happy to mail your gift certificate to anybody anywhere in the U.S. You can even pay for your gift certificate over the phone. Just call us at 303.837.0700

And since we have books on almost every subject, you can be sure that a Capitol Hill Books gift certificate would be appreciated by everyone from your uncle Larry to your aunt Louise.

“Brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things.” Julie Andrews was onto something when she sang that snippet. Who doesn’t get an anticipatory thrill when they discover that a package has arrived at their doorstep?

We at Capitol Hill Books savor providing people with their favorite things no matter if they live two blocks or two states away from us. That is why we offer shipping services to our customer for any purchases made at Capitol Hill Books. As long as the address is in the United States, we can ship anywhere (Well…almost anywhere. We can’t ship to prisons).

We package our orders right at our on-site shipping facilities and you can be sure that our packaging is done professionally using high-quality materials to protect the contents inside. We can ship individual books or dozens of books and only charge a nominal fee to cover the shipping cost and materials. We primarily use low-cost media mail for shipping books, but we can often ship items using USPS expedited mail for a quicker delivery time.

So whether you are an out-of-town visitor wanting to ship books home or a local wanting to surprise a loved-one with a brown-paper package, look to Capitol Hill Books to provide professional packing services for your books and gifts.

Call us at 303.837.077 or email us at info@capitolhillbooks.com for more information about our shipping services.

We love movies at Capitol Hill Books. I for one am an opposite reader. I’ll watch a movie and immediately want to read the book it’s adapted from. “Wow!” I said after watching Jurassic Park. “I’ve got the Cliff Notes version of dinosaur DNA from this movie, now I want Michael Crichton to describe it to me in mundane scientific detail.”

We have absolutely no problem helping people who think the same way. Whether watching a movie makes you want to read a book or if you want to prepare yourself for the fall movie season by being able to compare “The Social Network” to Ben Mezrich’s “Accidental Billionaires: The Story of Facebook,” we got exactly what you need.

In fact, we can even get you free tickets to some movies. We just got free passes to an upcoming screening of the Clint Eastwood movie “Hereafter,” starring Matt Damon. We’re super grateful to Warner Bros. for providing these wonderful free screener tickets for our customers (while supplies last). And if you’re interested in the “Hereafter” after watching “Hereafter,” we have many books about amazing psychic exploration of the afterlife.

We also have Aron Ralston’s book “Between a Rock and Hard Place,” soon to be made into “127 Hours,” a movie starring James Franco and directed by Danny Boyle or “Slumdog Millionaire.” We also have Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” which will be adapted by the creative visionary Julie Taymor.

This fall and winter, be sure to check out the stories behind your favorite movies at Capitol Hill Books.

Capitol Hill Books is a proud member of the Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Booksellers Association or RMABA. Members of this group are among the highest quality sellers of rare and antiquarian books in the country.

On August 6th and 7th, RMABA is putting on its annual Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair at the Denver Merchandise Mart. The fair is one of the nation’s premier events for anyone interested in collecting quality antiquarian books and ephemera. And although Capitol Hill Books will not be able to attend this year’s fair, we strongly encourage people to check out the merchants that will be in attendance.

And for people who are in Denver to check out the festival, we’d love for you to stop by Capitol Hill Books. Even though we won’t be selling at the fair, we still have a great selection of rare and antiquarian books including more than two dozen books published in the 1800s. And even in this digital age, holding a decades or even centuries old book is a thing of beauty.

Did you know that the phrase “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” comes from the fact that a horse’s teeth extend out of its jaw the older it gets. Therefore when you are looking a gift-horse in the mouth, you are assessing how old it is instead of just accepting it in good faith.

We here at Capitol Hill Books have a similar philosophy with books. We have thousands of books in superb condition that are the perfect presents for any occasion, including some gift-giving holidays around the corner. Most of the books are used but still in great condition and certainly the content of the book is as fresh as ever if it’s simply a good piece of literature. We’re sure your friends and family would hardly care that the book has been read before.

But even if they do, Capitol Hill Books is still a has the gifts they want. Due to some trades with some of our store’s friends, we have hundreds of new, or like new books that have never been read by anyone before but can still be had at discounted used book prices. These include some awesome craft, cooking, kids, history, and even books on horses. We also have new gift items like notebooks, journals, cards and magnets that are quirky and affordable stocking-stuffers.

And we even have a handful of new books including some bestsellers that are discounted 15 percent off the cover price.

But what if you have a loved-one who wants something different? We have a diverse range of rare and antiquarian books to ensure a gift as unique as they are.

Best of all, you can usually save a lot of money buying a book or gift item at Capitol Hill Books over than buying that same item at a new bookstore for new book prices. Your gift receiver probably won’t even know you bought it “used.” And unlike a horse, we promise that when you look at a gift book in the mouth, it won’t bite.

Here is the story of Holly. Once upon a time, Holly went on an adventure across the world. First she attempted her lifelong dream of being the most proficient ex-pat Paris ingenue, but realized she could never match Jane Birkin’s pout. So she traveled across the world to Japan and became a bar-hostess, because she wanted to see a Godzilla in person. But the dang thing took too long to show up, so Holly left for New Zealand or as her best friend Anne Perry likes to call it “Borovnia.”

Unfortunately, the never-ending sublime beauty just got to be too much to look at, so Holly sojourned to the bleak and hardscrabble Montana wilderness where she ran a fly fishing shop. Yet the lure of fishing only lasts so long and Holly just wanted to read a good book. She left for Denver and worked at another bookstore before cajoling and wheedling herself a job at Capitol Hill Books.

After a few years of Ronsonol exposure, Holly decided it would be a good idea to run the place herself. Now Holly says her adventuring days are over and considers it a big deal when she leaves the county. But underneath her thick glasses lies a soul full of restlessness and wanderlust and nobody should be surprised if the end of the adventure of Holly continues for a long, long time.

The end?

PS. This summary may or may not reflect the actual view Holly has on her own life since it was written by one of her slacker employees Julio.

Here is Wally, the cute and precocious beagle of a great customer of ours. Whenever he comes, everyone in the store goes gaga over him and Wally loves the attention. He also loves the doggie treats we keep behind the counter. Wally is a wonderfully well-behaved dog, who rarely (well usually) grumbles when he is inside the store. He usually comes in right after playing with the squirrels in Civic Center Park, so he is laconic and happy at Capitol Hill Books.

If you have a well-behaved dog, feel free to bring him or her inside the store. We have some doggie treats for them if they would like some and they’ll certainly get lots of attention from our customers and staff. Just make sure they are on a leash and under your control at all times or unfortunately they will have to leave.

We also have 169 books on pets at the store, so if you need any help on choosing, training or taking care of your pet, we probably have that too.

Clearly the best part about having a searchable database of all our books is the ability to find fun factoids about our book collection (these figures do not include bargain books, of which we have hundreds). So here we go:

• We have over 30,000 books in the store at any one time
• Over 27,000 of those books are under $10
• The median price is $6.50
• Only six books in the store were written by someone named “Hank”
• 10,000 of the books are hardcover
• We have 62 books about books (not counting criticism and author biographies)
• We have 62 books by Jonathan Kellerman, 83 by Tom Clancy, 58 by James Patterson, 63 by Robert Ludlum and 83 by Stephen King. The obvious question is, who would win in a fight, Stephen King or Tom Clancy? If a fictional F-16 fighter jet carrying a Navy Seal on a super-secret covert operation crashes in the woods, will anybody buy it for $4?
• Over 23,000 books are in “Very good” condition
• We have 250 books about Colorado, 11 about Feng Shui, 167 about pets and 13 about UFOs (non-fiction)
• 240 books have “day” in the title, compared to 250 with “night”. Our collection is truly in balance with the natural world

Remember, you can search our inventory online, too.

In any economy, it’s a good idea to save money. Since our books are already discounted, you save money by choosing Capitol Hill Books over a new bookstore.

However, Capitol Hill Books has an even cheaper way to get your book jones on. Our clearance corner has a wide variety of books in good condition for as little as $.50 to $2. And its good stuff too: lots of hardcover mysteries, and interesting nonfiction books.

And if you just need a book but only got a tiny bit of dough, be sure to check out the carts we have just outside of the store. Paperbacks are only a quarter, and hardcovers just 50 cents. And since the money from those books goes to local nonprofits, you can feel great inside and out knowing that your book purchase is helping others in the community.

Well, here we are. 2009. I guess it’s time for a new web site, right?

We decided to go to a WordPress site because it’s easy, and we want to have a little more online interaction. Our search functions are still the same (and we expect them to stay that way for a while. Why fix it if it ain’t totally broke?)

Please send us feedback. Lots of it. Offer suggestions for what kind of content you would like to see. Suggest changes to the design or functionality. Suggest a good book to read.

I hope y’all enjoy it. Thank you.