Boulder's fabulous book store is a terrific place to spend some time, stopping next door for a great Americano or cup of tea, and then heading in to fill your shopping basket with new titles or must haves. There's something about an independent bookseller that makes buying a book so much more fun, more intimate, than hitting the local "big box" bookstores (by the way, The Boulder Bookstore donated $200,000 of free books to local teachers in December).
The Boulder Book Store's location, smack dab in the middle of the Pearl Street Mall, makes it a perfect location to kill some time. And, the building is quite unique and has an interesting history (check out http://boulderbookstore.indiebound.com). Whenever we're in downtown Boulder, we always walk in to check things out (sometimes to shop and sometimes just to peruse the shelves). It's a great place to people watch too! It's nice to find a book on the shelf that doesn't have to be special ordered, but is there because the seller cares about the quality of literature that sits on the store's shelves.
My wife and children gave me a book bag for Christmas with the famous quote by Erasmus, "When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes." It's so true!
I image Heaven might have three book stores, The Boulder Book Store, The Tattered Cover (http://www.tatteredcover.com) and The Bookies (Denver's favorite independent book store http://www.netnewsdesk.com/thebookies), sitting side-by-side waiting for all of us that love books to walk through their pearly doors! Perhaps we'll all spend eternity sorting and sifting through titles (read Franki SIbberson's recent entry on A Year Of Reading (http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-i-learned-while-weeding-books-at.html).
But for now, whenever I'm in Boulder (hmmm... could this be why I encouraged my two children to attend the University of Colorado), I'll spend time in a bit of Heaven on Earth at the Boulder Bookstore.
*a great independent optometry office with amazing eyewear
I couldn't agree with you more about independent bookstores. We have one here in Columbus, Cover to Cover, where the owner and other employees know me by name and continually work to meet my needs as a teacher, a reader, and a blogger. I also had the delightful experience of visiting Books of Wonder in Manhattan this summer. If I'm ever i Colorado, I'll have check out one (or all) of your recommendations.
ReplyDeleteI am lucky because I too am in a town with The Bookies and close to Boulder bookstore. Even better there is a new independent book store just 3 blocks from my house. It is called the Bookery Nook. It is on 42nd and Tennyson St.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool looking book store. If I'm ever in Boulder, I'm there!
ReplyDelete