Capitol Hill Books

For the second year in a row, the reader’s of 5280 Magazine have voted Capitol Hill Books as the best used bookstore in Denver. We’re proud to continue receiving awards after 30 years at our wonderful location, which as 5280 noted is “situated between a gritty stretch of Colfax and the more polished veneer of downtown.”

We’re just happy to have customers that appreciate our “Perfectly cluttered bookshelves,” and keep returning to our store even when new technologies present entirely different reading options than we can offer.

So again thank you 5280 Magazine, its readers and to our customers who continue to value books and our bookstore throughout our 30 years in business.

Just a few weeks ago we introduced a new product at Capitol Hill Books, a book bag made from recycled plastic that is perfect for almost any errand.

Now there is another incentive to buy these awesome bags: They’ll save you money! Starting now, anybody who purchases books in the store with our red book bags will get an automatic 10 percent discount good on any used books in the store.

Before we get too generous, we should say that our customers can only use one discount at a time, so those with frequent shopper cards cannot combine discounts. And of course the discount is only good for those who purchase books instead of use trade credit, but other than that, there are no more catches or caveats. Buy one of our red book bags for $3.95 and get 10 percent off your used book purchases every time you bring it to Capitol Hill Books. It’s our way of rewarding customers for reducing their use of plastic bags and helping spread the word of Capitol Hill Books across the land.

In Denver for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference this week? Need something else to occupy your time in between the conference presentations? Want to get a real sense of Denver literary history?

Then come to Capitol Hill Books, located at Grant and Colfax and only a short walk from the conference at the Colorado Convention Center. Clicking here will show you exactly where we are located.

Capitol Hill Books is a literary institution in Denver, located at the same Colfax corner for more than 30 years. We love writers and readers of all types and enjoy finding the perfect book for our customers. We have Denver’s largest database of used books right on this Web site, so you can see what we carry before you make the trek over here.

Best of all, all AWP conference attendees get a 10 percent discount for any purchase at the store. Just provide some type of identification from the conference before we ring up your purchase. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Capitol Hill Books just got a great new product for all you book lovers out there: an inexpensive book bag made of recycled plastic.

We worked with the good folks at Discountmugs.com to create our one-of-a-kind bags that will make you the envy of every book club. Capitol Hill Book’s owner Holly designed the Edward Gorey inspired graphic after the staff came up with the awesome slogan “Better Read than Dead.”

As shown on our bag, Death takes a holiday to catch up with some of his favorite books at the local cemetery with his buddy, the Raven from Edgar Allen Poe’s macabre poem keeping watch.

Our bags are a bit bigger than many standard totes: At 12″ high by 16″ wide and 5.5″ deep, it can hold quite a few books and plenty of groceries, gym clothes or whatever else you need to carry. The bags also have long, 28″ straps, making them easy to carry around your shoulders. And the vibrant red coloring means you’ll probably never have a problem trying to find your bag when you need it.

Go green and show your appreciation of one of Denver’s most endearing and unique independent businesses with these one-of-a-kind bags. We promise that they’ll be a great collector’s item from cradle to grave.

As Capitol Hill Books enters its fourth decade (wow!), we’ve had a few famous visitors come by to give some celebratory cheer towards our store.

First we had Japanese monster sensation Godzilla drop by the store to roar his appreciation for great used books at affordable prices. He even had the courtesy to hold his fire breath until he was outside.

Then President Obama stopped by on his way to Hawaii to wish us another 30 years of success in the book businesses. It’s “Small businesses like you,” he read from a teleprompter that “shine a beacon of hope, guiding America to a more prosperous future.” Uh…Thanks Mr. Obama. He even let us give his cute dog Bo a cookie. Barack then bought the books “Going Rouge: An American Nightmare,” and “End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012″ in “preparation for the next election.”

Even though we get an occasional celebrity at Capitol Hill Books, we get a bigger thrill from simply seeing our customers here day in and day out. We have them to thank for the 30-year success of Capitol Hill Books and hopefully its continued success for the next 30 years.

January 1, 2010 is our exact 30th year in business. We will have a few cookies and warm stories to share if you would like to come in on that day. And of course you are welcome to come by after then too. We plan on staying here awhile.

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.