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| - Love , love this place!
The oldest and largest independent bookstore in the state!
The staffers are dedicated to making reading cool again. They are knowledgeable and can help you find the book you are looking for even if you give them measly clues, like: "...ummm...the cover is blue, and I think the author's last name starts with a P...sounds Indian."
How? Well, it's obvious that they are a well-read group whose literary tastes range from,chick-lit to teen fantasy, from bestselling novels to graphic novels, from self-help to erotica, from political to the new classic children's picture books.
The store also hosts amazing authors who probably didn't even consider including Phoenix in their book tour 7 years ago. They've had authors like Michael Moore, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Diana Gabaldon, Christopher Moore (who's coming back, BTW), Malcolm Gladwell, Tony Bourdain, Byron Katie, Madeliene Albright, Sen. John McCain to name a few. And most recently, they've hosted Sen. Barack Obama and Pres. Carter (boy , that was a wild one!). Getting those authors into the Valley is Changing Hands' way of promoting reading, especially to the younger set.
Even more, CHB is a founding member of Arizona Chain Reaction, a coalition that supports independently-owned businesses who try to educate the community about how buying locally can benefit the community. They don't condemn big businesses at all. They simply encourage consumers to support small, independent businesses equally. I hear that their PR person gives free lectures to owners of small businesses on how to market and publicize their businesses.
I love it because I get to meet a very diverse group of people. It's fun chatting with an ASU archeology professor about which picture books kids are going for; or explaining to a North Scottsdale woman what Tibetan singing bowls are; or describing how the chocolate rods (from Granny's Chocolates, of course) taste like to a professional ballet dancer; or sharing the embarassment of appearing "big" on TV to a homeless person; or reminiscing about the music you grew up listening to with aging hippies...and yes, the pseudo-hippies as well.
Now located in suburban Tempe (driven away by high costs, etc. from the downtown area), the store seems to have kept their customer base through the years and changes. What's even more wonderul is that, now, they have managed to cater to the younger crowd, the hipsters, and even to the 30-something suburban women who might be afraid to encounter (gasp!) dread-locked, patchouli-scented boys and girls.
And although CHB staffers are the most educated group of people I know (I would say: 70% have one or more Bachelor's degrees, maybe 10% have their Master's degrees, and the remaining 20% are still working on it), they are not perfect. But they are hardworking, funny, creative, and know how to party well.
I know all this because I practically live there and I truly dig the place! Just have them page me.
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