Colorado Independent Booksellers
Colorado Springs
Poor Richard's Bookstore
The best selection of quality new and used books in town! Browse as long as you like or ask our knowledgeable book experts for their recommendations and advice. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and spend some time perusing the shelves. Poor Richard’s Bookstore is a full-service new and used bookstore that was founded in 1975 as Poor Richard’s Used Paperbacks. It was the first in the Poor Richard’s family of businesses and remains an anchor and draw for both our loyal regulars and new customers who are always delighted to make the discovery of our home-grown, indy bookstore.
Address
320 N. Tejon Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Contact Info
Hours
Mon. – Sun., 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Denver
Edgewater Books
Small family-owned and operated bookshop located in the Edgewater Public Market offering a range of gently used books, including timeless, collectible, and antiquarian volumes of many genres. We have recently added a limited number of new books. We also sell used, rare and unique books through our website: edgewaterbooksofcolorado.com
Contact Info
Hours
Closed Mondays, Tues., noon – 5 p.m.; Wed. – Fri., noon to 7 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sun., noon to 5 p.m. – Fri noon- 7:00, Sat. 11:00 – 7:30, Sun noon – 5:00
Paonia
Paonia Books
Paonia Books offers books, art supplies and author visits that surprise and delight readers and writers in Colorado’s North Fork Valley.
Contact Info
Website
Hours
Open Tues. through Sat., noon to 5 p.m.
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Briefly Noted
Behold the Bird in Flight: A Novel of an Abducted Queen

Terri Lewis grew up in Colorado, was a ballet dancer with a German opera company and worked in a circus. It may come a surprise, then, that her debut novel is about the life of Isabelle d’Angoulême, the 11-year-old French noble abducted by England’s King John (yes, that King John—the Magna Carta and all), taken back to England and made queen. As the novel progresses, we realize that Lewis is also a trained historian and an excellent researcher with a passion for medieval times.
The narrative is lively and compelling. Drawing on scant primary sources and historical records, Lewis creates Isabelle as a rich, complex character. Lewis renders Isabelle’s development from a silly child into an effective queen and independent agent able to direct her own destiny, thus fashioning a believable heroine immersed in a believably detailed world.
The story opens in 1198. Isabelle is betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan, who is appreciative of her future dowery but smitten with someone else. Isabelle senses that something is amiss and decides to play at courtly love by flirting with the Plantagenet king. King John, in turn, is smitten by young Isabelle and spirits her away. Her childish fantasies of true love and life in a beautiful castle are quickly dashed when she discovers how cruel her new husband really is. The narrative, while centered on Isabelle, offers the changing perspective of Hugh, and it incorporates the historically well-known characters, Eleanor of Aquitaine (John’s mother) and Richard the Lion Heart (John’s brother) as secondary characters in the Plantagenet drama.
As was the case with most noble women in the 12th and 13th centuries, Isabelle is initially a mere pawn for the men around her—expected to bring her husband a rich marriage settlement and then breed heirs. Learning from the formidable Queen Eleanor, as well as from the exceptionally strong women from the servant classes, this coming-of-age story reveals a more nuanced path than one might initially expect. Isabelle’s increasing autonomy and her growing skill at navigating the complexities of the court and surrounding society make for an exciting read. Although the last few chapters seem a bit rushed, this novel will charm fans of historical fiction and remind us all of the many lesser-known women who have shaped history and, thus, ourselves.
— Perrin Cunningham