Shopping and Services continued from page 28 shop is the name on the side of the build- ing. No matter what you call it, this shop is the best in town for gaming supplies. It stocks tabletop stuff for Dungeons & Dragons role-playing: polyhedral dice in a mega-rainbow of colors; dry-erase maps and intricate dioramic landscapes; miniatures of warriors and wizards and wraiths and wyrms; and all the shades of paints to bring those minis to life. While it’s offi cially devoted to Warhammer and other Games Workshop-proprietary stuff, the sheer joy of rolling dice and demolishing your friend’s elven armies is something gamers from any system can appreciate. Best Bookstore — Used West Side Books 3434 West 32nd Avenue 303-480-0220 westsidebooks.com Take a break from the workaday world and head to West Side Books, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in Highland this year. It’s easy to lose track of time in the store’s twists and towers of tomes — but despite its whimsical layout, each section is carefully labeled, making it easy to fi nd what you’re looking for, whether it’s an unusual read or a highly sought-after title. And if West Side doesn’t have it, staffers will do their best to locate a copy, no matter how rare. The store also hosts events for book lovers of all ages, including a few monthly book clubs. Best Place to Buy Comics Hall of Justice Comics 10136 Parkglenn Way, Parker 303-484-9103 hallofjusticecomics.com Hall of Justice Comics might not be the stately meeting place of the Super Friends from Saturday morning, but it almost feels like that when you walk through the door. Owner Jon Garnett got snake-bit by the comic-book explosion of the ’80s and ’90s, when everything coming out — Spawn, the Death of Superman, the fi ve covers to X- Men #1 — was going to be worth as much as Amazing Fantasy 15 someday. That day, alas, will never come. But like any hero worth his underwear worn on the outside, Garnett persevered, and went from online retailer to brick-and-mortar proprietor faster than a speeding bullet. His selection and service? Truly heroic. 30 Best Bookstore — New Boulder Book Store 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder 303-447-2074 boulderbookstore.net The Boulder Book Store was founded in 1973, four years before Pearl Street became a pedestrian mall, and today it’s an institution. Its current 20,000-square- foot space houses more than 100,000 titles arrayed on three fl oors; the col- lection includes the latest must-haves as well as more obscure tomes in a dizzy- ing variety of categories. This is also the area’s top locale for bargain books, rang- ing from forgotten pulp masterworks to photo-heavy selections that will improve any coffee table. But above all, this store shows just how much a community can form around books and literary events. It’s the write stuff. Best Save of a Bookstore The Bookies 4315 East Mississippi Avenue 303-759-1117 thebookies.com When Sue Lubeck, the owner, heart and soul of the Bookies, passed away last sum- mer on the eve of its fi ftieth anniversary, it threw the beloved book store geared toward children and educators into limbo. The store was put up for sale, with faithful employees working on in hopes of con- tinuing Lubeck’s legacy. And in November, Nicole Sullivan of BookBar came to the rescue, taking the Bookies under her wing and pledging to work with the staff to con- tinue the traditions that have worked so well for fi fty years. Best New Bookstore for Kids Tattered Cover Kids Stanley Marketplace 2501 Dallas Street, Aurora 720-420-5437 facebook.com/TatteredCoverKids Families rule at Stanley Marketplace, so it’s no surprise that when the new Tattered Cover ownership added that complex to its expansion plans, it focused on a store for children. The result is a new chapter in children’s bookstores, complete with kid-sized shelving, a wraparound decora- tive mural, an event space, and storytimes under a tree that kids can climb. Plus — attention, parents — an after-story snack is just a few steps away. Another win for Stanley, another win for kids. Best Record Store Twist & Shout 2508 East Colfax Avenue 303-722-1943 twistandshout.com After more than thirty years of running Twist & Shout, the best record store in Denver and one of the best in the country, Paul and Jill Epstein sold the place to longtime manager Patrick Brown, who promises to keep it largely unchanged. And that’s good news for anyone who loves vinyl, old or new, what- ever the genre. Sure, there’s other cool stuff at Twist & Shout — almost too much to take in on a single shopping trip — and if you can’t fi nd an awesomely weird birthday present here, then you’re not trying hard enough. Still, Twist & Shout has always been about the music, and with Brown in charge, the song should remain continued on page 32 APRIL 7-13, 2022 WESTWORD | BACKBEAT | MUSIC & VENUES | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SHOPPING & SERVICES | CONTENTS | westword.com GETTY IMAGES
