Audio By Carbonatix
Capitol Hill Books will celebrate more than just the arrival of a new year on January 1. The independent used-book store will be marking its 24th year in business by serving up ten delicious homemade soups and breads at its annual New Year’s Day Open House.
“The day is not about making money; it’s about thanking our customers for their support,” says store owner Valarie Abney. “The celebration has grown bigger and bigger every year. This year we decided to make double batches of the different soups so we don’t run out early, like we did last year.”
Abney is expecting hundreds of bibliophiles and literary regulars to visit and shake off their hangovers by perusing Capitol Hill’s thousands of gently loved tomes while listening to Celtic guitarist Jerry Barlow and Thoreau readings by Mary Jo Bucci. “If you’re not into sports — and a lot of my regular customers are not — there isn’t much else to do on New Year’s Day,” Abney says. “What better New Year’s remedy is there than homemade soup?”
And while saying merci beacoup, the shop is using the event to unveil its new travel-book section. “In spite of everything that is going on with our country, more and more people are traveling, especially the baby-boomers,” says Abney. “Looking around, I realized that none of the other used-book stores had a large travel section, so I decided to do it.
“We’ve already got thousands of books published in the past few years at half price or less, and I plan to keep building,” she adds. “Interestingly enough, I have lots of people coming in looking for information on Cuba, Vietnam and Thailand. But traveling here in Colorado is always very popular, too.”
The shelves will be filled with more than just budget-travel guides and maps; Abney is adding cultural gems into the mix, too. “In the Paris section, we have French cookbooks and literature by French writers,” she explains. “We want to help people really focus on the culture of all these different places.”
Book discounts will be handed out during the open house, and one lucky reader will win a trip to Steinbeck country, thanks to a partnership with Denver’s Master Travel. That could make for a very happy new year, indeed.
