Denver Colorado lies a distant 1,700 miles west of New York City’s elite publishing houses and 1,300 miles east of San Francisco’s beat poet history. Yet somehow Denver has managed to carve out its own place as a literary city. The literary traveler can find plenty of things to do in the many Denver bookstores, libraries, literary sites and watering holes.
Tattered Cover Denver Bookstore
The Tattered Cover Denver Bookstore has been around since 1971. Their flagship store on Colfax is a beautifully restored old theater with a very large and eclectic collection of…well…everything. For example, their large magazine collection include magazines on such diverse topics as “bee culture” and “felting”. Like all great independent bookstores, they devote a large swath of real estate to staff pics and other curated displays designed to give the customer a good recommendation. The displays also give the book lover an excuse to load up on books. They have frequent author events and it’s worth checking out their staircase gallery featuring portraits of the authors. While there, I performed my usual literary misdemeanors and faced out a copy of Super Sad True Love Story as a recommendation to a future customer.
You can dig into your new book while having a coffee at their in-store cafe. Or you can go two doors west on Colfax and have a cool glass of something at the Bar Max. They have their own literary take on things and they will slip your bar bill into a volume of language translations (mine was in a Norwegian phrase book).
Lighthouse Writers Workshop
Another five blocks west of Tattered Cover is the Lighthouse Writers Workshop. Their literary mission is to provide a high caliber of artistic education, support and community for writers. They offer an interesting “Friday 500” event whereby you just show up, grab a coffee and bang out 500 words on whatever topic you wish. It’s a fun social way to get yourself past your writer’s block.
Book Bar Bookstore
If you liked the wine at Bar Max, you are going to love the Book Bar. It is both a wine bar and a Denver bookstore all rolled into one perfect little bundle. The store isn’t huge, but they have a very nicely curated selection of fiction and children’s books. And if you are looking for bathroom reading, you can find that bookshelf located right next to the restrooms. They have very comfy chairs and an outdoor deck so it’s not surprising that, according to the barkeep, people stay all day. I didn’t stay all day. But I did stay long enough to create a face-out display for Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore, purchase The Interns Handbook and get a glass of wine.
Denver Public Library, Downtown branch
This beautiful urban library was built in 1995 and shares a complex with the Denver Art museum, Clyfford Still museum, the Colorado History Center. On the same block is also a tiny Little Free Library (at the corner of Broadway & 12th) where you can simply take a free book. The Main Branch itself offers a regular rotation of art on several different floors. The library also offers a comfortable place to hang out and dig into a new book. But I didn’t have time for that as I was busy creating displays for The 13-½ Lives of Captain Bluebear and Grandad and There’s a Head on the Beach.
Capital Books
Walk a 2 blocks north and 4 blocks east of the library and you’ll find Capital Hill Books. This used bookstore in Denver has a truly esoteric collection. So if you are looking for tomes on Australian Gardening or Travel Writer’s guides (from 1938), you are in the right place. Used bookstores are usually chaotic but the chaos gives the browser a lot of opportunity to be surprised. I faced-out Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang and then realized that I had never read his Parrot & Olivier. So I snapped it up and it now resides on my nightstand. You can settle in with your books at nearby Pablo’s Coffee.
Kerouac in Denver
The big literary surprise for me was just a few block away on Sherman & 13th street at the Jack Kerouac apartments. The apartments aren’t a Denver bookstore nor are they a literary site per se, but the the brick facade of the buildings have been stenciled with lines from the works of Jack Kerouac. “Whither goest thou, America, in thy, shiny car in the night?”, the apartment building asks. Well, I suppose you could head to My Brother’s Bar, where it is said that Kerouac, Neal Cassady and their other beat movement friends used to hang out.
Suggested Reading for Your Visit to Denver Bookstores and Literary Sites
Beyond things to do in Denver, there is also plenty to read from its many authors. Kerouac and his iconic On The Road weren’t the only literary products of Colorado. Here are a few contemporary authors who are from or who have written about Colorado
- Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
The touching and fateful story of a mute boy and his three yearling dogs and a family tragedy. - The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Baciglupi
Explores explores the effects of bioengineering and a world in which fossil fuels are no longer viable and calories are a precious commodity. - The Alan Gregory Series by Stephen White
A thriller series set in Boulder featuring criminal psychologist Alan Gregory. - Missoula and Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Krakauer is a master storyteller of narrative non-fiction - Wind River Reservation series by Margaret Coel
This series and several of her stand alone books feature Native Americans and western landscapes - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson
If Kerouac’s beat generation were the hip precursor to the hippie movement, then Thompson’s gonzo journalism style represents the hang-over.
“I pictured myself in a Denver bar that night, with all the gang, and in their eyes I would be strange and ragged and like the Prophet who has walked across the land to bring the dark Word, and the only Word I had was ‘Wow!”…..Jack Keroac from On the Road
Wow indeed.
Visiting San Francisco soon? Check out these literary tours of San Francisco Bookstores and Salt Lake City.
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Andrea says
I live in Denver near the library and I call it my ‘church’ hahaha! LOVE the library! And I read/loved Wind Up girl, never knew the author was a local 🙂
Carol Guttery says
Amen to that. I have spent many a Sunday in a library.
Amanda | Chasing My Sunshine says
This is an incredible post! I visited Tattered Cover when I was there and I instantly fell in love. I have to get back immediately to follow all of your other suggestions. Perfect suggestions!
Stella says
I loved it, I’m moving to Denver this fall so this was really helpful! 😀
Carol Guttery says
Best of luck with your move
Julie Kern says
this is like inception, reading about where to read! Can’t wait to visit Denver, thanks for this little guide to the city’s gems.
Taylor says
Love this idea for a post…anywhere I can curl up with a book and read I love!
Marteen says
I could spend hours in a bookstore just browsing. It’s one of my favourite places to be. Capital Books reminds me of my favourite book shop in Galway City. It’s wall to wall of books, new and used . Some books they stock date back to the early 20th century.
Marteen says
I forgot to say the name of the bookstore in Galway. It’s Charlie Byrne Bookstore.
Sabrina says
The workshop idea is great! Nothing is better to stop a writer’s block like a library and the challenge to write in a crowded place in a short while. Thank you also for the book suggestions, I haven’t read any of them yet!
Sarah says
So cool! Never knew Denver could have so many cute bookstores. It’s on my bucket list of US cities, and on my bucket list of Denver, are the bookstores now!
Carol Guttery says
The library and Capital Hill books are right downtown near the art museums and other stuff. So you can do the normal tourist things and then hit a bookstore.
Roberta says
Book Bar sounds so interesting!! I definitely wanna check that out haha. Thank you for sharing 🙂
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Bizarre Globe Hopper says
Thanks for sharing! I’m so addicted to bookstores! I have to check out your post about Mission bookstores, as well. I loved the legendary City Lights and dropped a few lines about it in a post about the Beat hangouts in San Francisco. If you are interested, you can find it here: http://www.bizarreglobehopper.com/blog/2014/12/17/san-francisco-footprints-of-beat-generation/
Heather says
I will always have a special place in my heart for the Tattered Cover, but I’ve been thrilled to have BookBar open up just a couple blocks from my house. It is a fantastic local business that contributes a lot more to the community than just wine and books. And, their B&B above the bookstore just opened recently (breakfast comes from Denver Biscuit Company across the street, which deserves its own rave reviews). Glad to see my favorite local businesses getting some online love!
Carol Guttery says
Lucky you to have such a cool place near your house
Christina says
I love books! It’s getting harder and harder to find non-chain bookstores. Tattered Cover sounds amazing. A place that has been around for that long must house some amazing stories.
Gina says
I love books and book stores so much! I love how a book feels in my hands instead of my tablet or small phone screen. I’ve been moving everywhere since 2010 so it’s hard for me to have books. They all have to be kept electronically so I can carry them all around. In today’s world, it’s so sad we have to go so quickly and not have time to sit down with a beautiful book. I would especially love to check out the Tattered Cover Book Store.
Carol Guttery says
I have a homebase so I can still do physical books. But that shouldn’t stop you from going into bookstore anyway. Many have coffeeshops where you can sit down and read your kindle version. And you still get that great smell of books that way.