CURLING UP WITH A GOOD BOOK … AND A DOG — Dan Danbom, owner of Printed Page Bookshop at 1416 S. Broadway, hangs out in the store with shop dog Lola. Denver Daily News photo by Tad Rickman.

By John G. Miller, DENVER DAILY NEWS
With the sad economic state Colorado is currently in, not to mention a world taken over by the Internet, it takes a large amount of “chutzpah” to open a new bookstore in downtown Denver.
But that’s exactly what Dan Danbom, and his partner Nancy Stevens, have done this month. Printed Page Bookshop, located at 1416 S. Broadway, officially opened its doors on Aug. 16 with a special exhibit of banned books.
Visitors will have a chance to win a shopping spree at the store if they can guess which of the selected books on display have never been the target of censorship on political, religious, social or sexual grounds.
And according to Danbom, even in 2009, acts of censorship still abound.
“Narrow-mindedness and bigotry are still flourishing,” he said.
Formerly a communications and marketing executive for Xcel, Qwest and US West, Danbom has always had a love for books. A longtime book reviewer for the Denver Post, as well as reviewing for the prestigious Bloomsbury Review, Danbom resigned his executive position to pursue his love full time.
“I basically traded in my high-paying, low-satisfaction job for a low-paying, high-satisfaction job,” says Danbom.
The bookstore is in a historic Victorian house, and is also home to 10 other book dealers, among them Pat Grego, former owner of the Denver Book Mall. Together they share the rent and the manpower necessary to operate the store.
Such an arrangement is key to the operation; one of the biggest reasons bookstores close is the interminable hours the owner is required to spend in them, with no hope of vacation time in sight.
The Victorian house also has an ambience and spaciousness that sets it apart from other stores.
“(Some) bookstores are a lot of little cubby holes that are hard to navigate through,” Danbom said.
Danbom’s marketing experience is coming in handy, as he has taken on the promotional responsibilities for the bookstore. From the Web site to the banned book promotion, he is attempting to create a buzz that will ensure many potential customers.
Printed Page Bookshop is open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
For more information, call 303-777-7653 or visit www.printedpagebookshop.com.

Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters