The Best Independent Bookstores in Denver and Beyond

When Denver's legendary Tattered Cover bookstore was bought by mega-chain Barnes & Noble in June, the news sent shockwaves through the state. Tattered customers had long been able to pride themselves on supporting a locally owned, fiercely independent establishment. Luckily, there remains a strong scene for independent bookselling in Colorado. These shops are homey places where you're liable to bump into the owner (if they aren't the ones ringing up your purchase themselves) and know your money is going directly back into the local economy. Almost all of them offer some form of in-store events, from book clubs and author signings to writing groups and storytime for kids.

Here are shops where book lovers can find new releases from publishers of all kinds — and know they're doing their part to uphold independent bookselling in Denver and beyond.

The Bookies Bookstore
2085 South Holly Street
The Bookies has gone through quite a few changes in the past three years. First, founder Sue Lubeck — who started Bookies in her basement in 1972 — died in 2021. Second, former BookBar owner Nicole Sullivan bought Bookies later that year. Third, Bookies relocated to its current storefront in 2023. But the upheaval has had a bright side: The shop is as strong as ever. The shelves groan with a broad range of stock both old and new, and the Bookies' calendar of events and mission of inclusiveness couldn't be more worthy of your book-buying budget.

Petals & Pages
956 Santa Fe Drive
A recent newcomer to Denver's bookstore scene, Petals & Pages has already carved out a unique and creative niche. The place sells books — and it's a flower shop. The proprietor of the queer woman-owned shop, Dylah Ray, whipped up a concept that no one knew they needed until they saw it. Carefully curated and community-oriented, Petals & Pages redefines the term "hidden gem" with a fresh take on the hybrid retail idea: both boutique and bouquet. And the synergy is more than a matter of throwing books and blossoms next to each other: Each arrangement of flowers bought at the shop comes with a poem that was written by a local poet.

Second Star to the Right Books
1455 South Pearl Street
Start them young: That's what everyone should do when it comes to children and reading. In Denver, the cradle of that idea is Second Star to the Right. Owners Dea and Marc Levoie, former schoolteachers, opened the store to create an inclusive, nurturing space for kids to discover and reinforce their love for the written word. And the shop's shelves and tables reflect that. All manner of books for young ones — of every age and reading level — render Second Star a magical haven for the burgeoning book fanatics of the future.

The Shop at MATTER
2134 Market Street
Rick Griffith and his partner, Debra Johnson, have been visual fixtures on the local creative scene for years. They've brought that alternative flair to the Shop at MATTER. It's much more than bookstore; it's also a letterpress print shop, a gift shop for oddly wonderful objects and home goods, and one of the few places left in Denver to buy handmade zines. But the book selection is incredible, focusing on queer, anti-racist, counterculture and left-of-center literature. This is the kind of vital space that fills in the gaps between the more mainstream-leaning bookstores in town, as great as those are.

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Matt Aragon-Shafi is the manager of West Side Books.

West Side Books

West Side Books
3434 West 32nd Avenue, Denver
It's no surprise that West Side Books wound up on Westword's list of Denver's ten best bookstores last year. Since launching in 1997, the shop has anchored the ever-changing Highland neighborhood, and it's done so by offering a bit of everything to everyone. Small gifts, artwork and an excellently dense selection of new releases (as well as used and collectible books) fill the store with that intangible indie-store soul. When it comes to luxuriating in the printed word, West Side Books is an oasis.

Bonus: Independent Bookstores Near Denver

Boulder Book Store
1107 Pearl Street, Boulder
Boulder Book Store is many things, but above all else, it's huge. Clocking in at 20,000 square feet, the three-floor complex on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall is one of those polished-wood wonders that spring to most people's minds when they think of bookstores' Platonic ideal. It's warmly lit. It's insanely stocked. Author events abound. And the staff is there to nerd out with you over any genre you could imagine. Westword readers have shown their love for the place, and who can blame them?

Trident Booksellers & Cafe
940 Pearl Street, Boulder
Trident is an employee-owned business on Boulder's busy Pearl Street, and it's the perfect complement to the far larger Boulder Book Store. Unlike its big cousin, Trident brings a sense of the countercultural and esoteric that once exemplified Boulder in its wilder days. Tomes about the occult, Beat-era poetry collections and even a healthy mix of more standard fiction and nonfiction line the walls, and the cafe isn't an afterthought, but an integral part of the vibe. The shop doesn't stop at selling others' stuff, either: Under the imprint Trident Books, it publishes its own releases, as well.
Spell Books
2376 West Main Street, Littleton
Downtown Littleton is one of the most charming shopping and dining areas in metro Denver, and it wouldn't be complete without Spell Books. Cozy and cute, the shop serves as a space for weekly storytimes for children and their caregivers, plus writing workshops for kids and adults. And of course, it's hard to walk out without at least a modest stack of essential reads. Spell Books crafts the kind of winning, intimate atmosphere that only an independent bookstore can provide.