california bar essays book

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Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam

Mary basick.

944 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

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Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam

There is a newer edition of this item:

From beginning to end, it's all here!

The elements of a passing essay: Format, Issues, Rules, Analysis, Conclusion

How to spot the issues and cite the rule correctly

How to use the facts to craft effective analysis

Making it easy for the exam grader to locate your analysis of the issues

Practice Essays and Answer Grids based on analysis of previous California bar exams

Sample essay answers that provide a model of a passing answer

Self-assessment and strategy how much time to spend on each issue in light of time constraints

Troubleshooting tips to improve exam performance

An efficiently condensed, user-friendly review of substantive law

Focusing on the relationships among the rules

Prioritizing most-frequently-tested topics

Issues Tested Matrix --a detailed graph that analyzes the questions asked in each subject over the past 25 years, broken down by sub-topic frequency

Issues Checklist --a one-page list of the issues tested in each subject, organized to aid issue spotting

Memorization Attack Sheet --a bulleted list of the rules that apply to the Issues Checklist--a tool for memorization that also reinforces issue-spotting skills

Annotated Rule Outline --a more complete version of the rules, in grammatically correct language--annotated with fact triggers , where helpful, to assist with issue spotting

• ISBN-10 073550993X
• ISBN-13 978-0735509931
• Publisher Aspen Publishers
• Publication date June 19, 2012
• Language English
• Dimensions 7 x 1.5 x 10 inches
• Print length 944 pages
• See all details

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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aspen Publishers (June 19, 2012)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 944 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 073550993X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0735509931
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.85 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.5 x 10 inches
• #165 in Bar Examination Test Preparation
• #4,716 in Test Prep & Study Guides
• #58,111 in Unknown

About the authors

Mary basick.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Tina Schindler

For over a decade, Professor Tina Schindler has designed academic and bar exam support programs, created innovative curricula, directed bar preparation programs and pre-admission law school programs, taught courses and workshops in bar tested subjects, and published books that enable students to pass the bar exam. Professor Schindler has also graded and lectured for several bar preparation companies and served on national committees related to bar passage. She has also presented on bar exam topics at national conferences.

Prior to her academic career, Professor Schindler drafted patent applications and worked with clients to earn patents for their innovative inventions. She has taken the patent bar exam through the USPTO and is a licensed patent agent in addition to being licensed to practice law in California.

Professor Schindler has a passion for teaching and helping students achieve success on the bar exam. She has worked with several schools to create curriculum that has enabled at risk students to succeed in law school. Her innovative curriculum has resulted in increased bar passage rates for several law schools. Through her publications she hopes to provide the tools necessary to succeed on the bar exam to bar takers nationwide.

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An Essential California Bar Exam Supplement

• SELL YOUR EXAMS
• TESTIMONIALS
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• Bar Exam 101
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• Be Prepared
• Jurax Bar Prep
• Make This Your Last Time

BARESSAYS.COM SERVICES FOR THE CALIFORNIA BAR EXAM

For more information about why BarEssays.com is an essential study supplement for the California Bar Exam essays, read our FAQ: -- CLICK HERE TO READ THE BARESSAYS FAQ

BarEssays.com provides a database of more than 3,000 REAL examples of REAL essays and performance exams by REAL students that were actually taken during the California Bar Exam and graded by the California Bar Examiners. On BarEssays.com, you can search for any essay tested in the past decade and view REAL high and low scoring examples of that essay. BarEssays is recommended by law schools, tutors, and review courses as an essential supplement for the essay portion of the California Bar Exam and is successfully used by thousands of students annually.

BarEssays.com Standard Membership ($175)

A standard membership to BarEssays.com includes access to the essay database, featuring 3000+ real graded essays and performance exams returned from past California Bar Exams that includes a range of high and low scoring examples to every essay tested since 2005. All memberships (standard and premium) expire after the next bar exam.

The BarEssays essay database is the only service of its kind. No other review course or study program will provide you with a range of real graded high and low scoring examples for every California Bar Exam essay tested in the last decade. Typically, review courses will only provide model answers, written and heavily edited by professionals on staff. However, model answers are of limited help because they are far different from the average real high scoring essay. For this reason, review courses, tutors, and law schools recommend BarEssays as an essential supplement for any study program

BarEssays recommends that you write at least one essay each and every day . That is, print out an essay, time yourself for one hour, and write it out. After simulating your essay, search our database to look at high and low scoring essays to compare your essay to our graded examples. Learn from the mistakes on the low scoring essays. Emulate the positive aspects of the high scoring essays.

The more essays you practice, the more essays you review, the better you will become at essay writing! Through the process of self critique and examination, you will become adept at how to improve your scores. BarEssays members often report of an “aha!” moment where they understand what they need to do to write a high scoring essay.

-- CLICK HERE FOR A SCREEN SHOT OF OUR SEARCH ENGINE

-- CLICK HERE FOR A VARIETY OF SAMPLE GRADED ESSAYS

BarEssays.com Premium Membership ($225)

A premium membership includes all of the advantages of a standard membership, plus a lot of additional material:

• Model answers for every past essay question tested on the California Bar Exam since 2005, written by a professional bar grader.
• Professional Bar Grader Reviews - Over 300 reviews of California Bar Exam essays in the database, all written by professional bar graders, detailing in line by line “pop up” commentary why essays received specific scores and how the essay could have improved.

Note: You must install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to read the commentary.

Over 40 Essay Attack Templates (detailed roadmaps) for Commonly Tested Subjects

-- CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE ESSAY ATTACK TEMPLATE

Essay Submission Program ($99 and up) Practice Essay Grading

All members of BarEssays.com are eligible to participate in our Essay Submission Program, whereby you are able to submit your own practice essays and performance exams for detailed critique and grading by a bar exam professional at negotiated low prices.

As part of the Essay Submission Program, you can submit any essay tested on the California Bar Exam from 2002 to the present, to be graded within 48-72 hours. We receive tremendous reviews about our Essay Submission Program. The Essay Submission Program is only available to current members of BarEssays.com.

-- CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE GRADED PRACTICE CALIFORNIA BAR EXAM ESSAY

Live Essay Workshops Video Package of 14 Workshops Available for $249

Beginning with the October 2020 California Bar Exam, BarEssays has been conducting live essay workshops, taking students through specific essay questions and teaching how to deconstruct and answer questions in detail to receive maximum points.

The workshops are conducted by a former official grader of the California Bar Exam and long term bar exam instructor. The workshops became extremely popular and well received.

We are making available a package of 14 of the previous workshops videos and handouts for $249. This includes reviews of 24 previously tested questions and two performance exams.

**You can find detailed information about each workshop video at this link (click here).

**You may view a free sample community property workshop at this link (click here).

If you are a BarEssays member, click on this link to purchase access to the workshop videos. If you are not a BarEssays member, email us to purchase access to the previous essay workshops.

Future Live Essay Workshops

In addition to the videos of previous workshops videos, we will be conducting live workshops for each new examination. Announcements of these workshops will be sent to all BarEssays members and in the most popular California Bar Exam Facebook group.

Make This Your Last Time

Bar Exam Preparation

Suggested Resources & Supplements for Bar Preparation

Which bar exam supplements and study aids are you supposed to buy? Which ones are worth it?

You want extra help with bar prep, but the choices out there are overwhelming.

The more choices you have, the more confused you’ll be (and waste time on things that ultimately don’t help). No need to overcomplicate things. It’s better to pick a FEW resources that will work for you—and USE them.

“ Less is more when it comes to the amount of material to really master. “—Mercedes (Colorado Bar Exam passer)

After all, it’s not about which tennis racquet will let you beat Serena Williams. It’s about how you train your technique rather than obsessing over which racquet is the “best.” That said, I will recommend the below based on my own experiences and feedback from bar takers.

Here are simplified “supplement stacks” I put together to make it easier on you. Which exam are you taking?

California Bar Exam Supplement Stack

For the MBE

Select one: AdaptiBar ($40 discount code here ) or UWorld MBE QBank

Consider: Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE Vol. 1 Consider: Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE Vol. 2

Can’t decide between AdaptiBar and UWorld?

For the Essays and PTs

BarEssays ($25 discount code here )

Past CA essay and PT questions and selected answers (free) Essay answer bank (free) CA essay subject frequency and issue charts (free)

Consider: Mary Basick’s Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam Consider: Mary Basick’s California Performance Test Workbook

Magicsheets & Approsheets (CA)

Save $27 with a bundle. Comes with a Performance Test Toolkit and other bonuses.

UBE Supplement Stack

Consider: Strategies & Tactics for the MBE Vol. 1 Consider: Strategies & Tactics for the MBE Vol. 2

For the MEE and MPT

Past MEE and MPT questions and selected answers (free)

Magicsheets & Approsheets (UBE)

MBE Supplement Stack

Magicsheets (MBE)

Descriptions of featured bar prep supplements

General resources

• Strategies & Tactics for the MBE (Emanuel) Vols. 1 and 2  + Civ Pro resources [ MBE ]
• AdaptiBar  ( $40 off ) [ MBE ]
• UWorld MBE QBank [ MBE ]
• Law in a Flash  [ MBE ] [ Essays ]
• Magicsheets  [ MBE ] [ Essays ]
• Approsheets  [ Essays ]

CA-specific resources

• [CA only] BarEssays.com  ( $25 off ) [ CA Essays ]
• [CA only] Past California essays (by subject) and performance tests  [ CA Essays ] [ CA PTs ]
• [CA only] Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam (Basick)  [ CA Essays ]
• [CA only] California Performance Test Workbook (Basick)  [ CA PTs ]

UBE-specific resources

• [UBE] Past MEE essays, MPTs, and model analyses [ UBE/MEEs/MPTs ]

Books for additional guidance

California Bar Exam Rules by Edmond Aruffo

• Fck the Bar book preview
• Until I Pass book for California retakers

Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE Vol. 1

This is the MBE bible.

It’s great (and may be the only MBE supplement you need if you’re on a budget) because it comes with 635 representative MBE questions that are all genuine and were previously administered (now including 30 real Civ Pro questions and the author’s explanations starting in the 7th edition). 670+ questions total. I encourage you to study the real deal ( see why ).

Each subject is prefaced with a discussion of the tricky areas and how to deal with them. Some subjects have an overview of the major topics. There will be tips that revolve around multiple choice in general. The 200-question practice test at the back can be done to gauge your progress sometime in the final month leading to the bar.

How to use : Read the primer for each subject, answer every question on a separate sheet, and analyze their explanation in their entirety, including (A) through (D) for each question, including questions you get correctly.

So essentially, go through the book cover to cover (which is what I did). It’s worth it. Hey, I never said you wouldn’t have to put in the work.

So what does it look like inside? Pics incoming: Subject overview Questions Explanations

Link:   8th edition (2023)

Get it in very good condition at least so that you don’t see the previous owners’ markings.

If you have the 7th edition, you can still keep it. The major difference is having 120 more questions, most of which are real licensed questions, with 35 of them being simulated questions.

If you happen to have the 6th edition, you can still make good use of it as well, but I don’t recommend that you choose it over the 7th or 8th edition. The 6th edition adds:

• 30 actual Civ Pro questions (with explanations by the author). Civ Pro questions were author-written in the 6th edition
• New questions that have been tested more recently in other subjects

If you don’t have either of these, get the latest 8th edition. If you’re using AdaptiBar , then you can supplement with any of the 6th through 8th editions.

I do not recommend the 5th edition because it does not recognize Civ Pro as an MBE subject, which became an MBE subject in 2015.

Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE Vol. 2

This is the expansion to Volume 1, containing different questions. It’s in a format where the answer appears right beneath the question. If you’re doing a question for practice, you’ll have to carefully cover the answer as you do each question.

The valuable feature in Vol. 2 is how the questions are categorized into labeled topics. For example, a question might be filed under Chapter 5 Formal Proceedings – I. Grand Jury Proceedings – A. Self-incrimination and immunity .

For better or worse, some headings contain answer spoilers for the concepts. For example, Q46 on page 167 is filed under B. No right to have attorney present in grand jury room , which gives away the answer.

Nonetheless, if you liked Volume 1, this is great for additional authentic MBE questions, especially if you know or want to improve on specific issues.

How to use : Get it as an optional add-on to Volume 1. Don’t get it without Volume 1. Use as a supplement for specific issues.

What it looks like inside (from the 2nd edition): Question (1) Question (2) Table of contents (index)

Link:   4th edition (2023) (comes with 445 more NCBE questions not found in Volume 1)

AdaptiBar is another excellent addition or alternative to the above Emanuel’s books. UWorld is another online MBE question bank. Both use past exam questions from the NCBE. Comparison here.

What about Civ Pro? There aren’t a lot of questions to practice with.

The 8th edition of Strategies &Tactics for the MBE and the 4th edition of Strategies & Tactics for the MBE Volume 2 include authentic Civ Pro questions.

You can also get official Civ Pro questions from AdaptiBar , or the official NCBE MBE study aids . Note that some NCBE study aids may not come with explanations, so I don’t really recommend them.

For free Civ Pro MBE questions…

• BarPrepHero has a free practice exam with 5 Civ Pro questions  here
• The NCBE offers sample questions here
• Check this post for an unnecessarily exhaustive list of Civ Pro questions sorted by free/paid and real/unofficial

This is an online platform for MBE practice. If you’re on the fence, take a look at my detailed review.

This program is web-based and accessible via PC (desktop or laptop) and mobile devices. It automatically adapts and adjusts to your individual strengths and weaknesses.

It comes with all of the NCBE-released questions. In total, there are over 1,600 MBE questions (NCBE-released questions + 200 simulated Civil Procedure questions + simulated Real Property questions + new NCBE questions from 2021). Subject performance and timing analysis feedback are provided. In addition, the program allows users to create printable PDF reports of questions that were answered incorrectly.

AdaptiBar will adapt to your strengths and weaknesses (hence the name), analyze your timing, create printable reports of questions and answers you got wrong, and generate practice exams.

In addition to robust analytics, many students find the optional add-on lectures by Prof. Jonathan Grossman helpful.

Sign up or find additional information regarding the program here.

To sweeten the deal, grab a promo code for a 10% discount on ALL of their products (NEW!) , including the MBE Simulator and video lectures.

If you’re re-enrolling, there’s a substantial discount, no need for a coupon.

Link: Sign up for AdaptiBar here   ($355 with coupon )

BarMax’s MBE Question Bank is an alternative to AdaptiBar, including over 1,750 real MBE questions and software analytics. ($399)

UWorld MBE QBank

UWorld offers an online MBE question bank with visual explanations and charts. Feedback is where the learning happens, and the explanations are where UWorld shines.

The QBank comes with 1,575+ most recent licensed questions (including 200 of the newest questions released in 2021) and a total of 2,200+ questions, with new questions regularly developed by their legal team. Older NCBE questions are not used because they may be less representative of current exam questions.

Should you get AdaptiBar or UWorld?

Get AdaptiBar if you want more robust analytics and almost all of the 1,942 available NCBE-licensed questions. You’ll also have the option to buy video lectures.

Get UWorld if you prefer to learn from simplified, visual explanations. UWorld offers 1,575+ of the most recent licensed questions and has hundreds of simulated questions.

Here’s a direct comparison of both.

You can also check out the trials for both to see which you prefer: AdaptiBar trial UWorld trial

Law in a Flash cards

I bought 6 boxes of these to patch up my weak subjects.

They were especially handy when I had to be out, like when I was waiting in line at Starbucks to buy some scones to bribe a friend to give me used Barbri books, and I could whip out a few cards from my wallet to learn some tricky Evidence concepts. Or when I was trying to learn about federal jurisdiction while waiting inside a noisy store.

I’m generally against flashcards, but I have to admit that working through the various hypothetical scenarios helped explain the concepts.

Link :  List of LIAF products

Magicsheets

You don’t want to listen to lectures anymore? There’s no time to outline the ridiculous amounts of law, you say? You just want to get to the point and memorize and practice?

These battle-tested condensed outlines are organized in logical groups and indentations such that issue identification and memorizing are half done for you.

Link : Stop being overwhelmed with all the law with Magicsheets

I also have the perfect companion tool for attacking the essays below…

Approsheets

Even if you know all the law, you still need to present all the relevant issues and rules. You get ZERO points for an issue that you never raise, even if you know the rule for it. An IRAC can’t sprout from a seed that’s never planted.

Use these field-tested essay approach sheets (one page per checklist or flowchart) to make sure you’re answering each essay completely. If you don’t know how to begin or finish your essay, these roadmaps are intended to guide you through your essays in a sequential, systematic manner.

Link: Go from blank page to finished essay with Approsheets

Approsheets complement Magicsheets , and a bundle is available through either link.

[CA only] BarEssays.com

One of the most popular resources if you’re studying for the California Bar Exam.

What does it look like inside?

• Check out my ultimate BarEssays review: Why Practicing Is Not Enough
• Here’s a sample: Check out this essay that scored an 85! Imagine if you studied this and produced the same results on the bar…

If you’re wondering what makes a passing essay vs. what doesn’t on the California Bar Exam, this is a large repository of actual graded essays and PTs submitted by those who didn’t pass.

But this doesn’t mean the essays are all sub-par! While there are essays scored 40 and 50 that show what is not passing material, there are essays that earned 75, 80, or even 85.

The advantage of this repository is the variety of real answers you can study.

The State Bar’s selected answers  are top of the top answers. It’s unrealistic that your essay answers will look like them, although you could study these ideal answers to learn how to apply any rules you’re confused about. One answer taught me Rule 12(b)(6) because some nerd had written a treatise on it.

There are over 3,000 essays that you can search by subject, range of score, year/month, and even typed/handwritten/both (for anyone who wants to see handwritten answers). Some have grader commentary.

These essay examples are useful after you outline or write out an essay to check whether you discussed relevant issues and rules and used the facts properly. I’d look at least one below 65, at 65, and one above 65, with grader commentary if available.

High scorers tend to discuss all the issues and much of the nuances—but do not necessarily have excellent rule statements or analyses. While you want to look like the 70-75+ people, you’ll notice that they don’t always look like the impossible Barbri answers. These are real answers you can compare to see where you stand.

Link : Sign up for BarEssays.com here  

I secured a $25 discount for my readers. Use the coupon code here .

[CA only] Past California essays and performance tests

These might be the only free things you get from the CA State Bar. They release exam questions from each administration of the past 5 years.

Link: State Bar of California – Past Exams (essays and PTs)

Where to find more CA essays and PTs:

Downloadable CA essays, PTs (including links to similar MPTs), and sample answers going back to 2001

Going back to the 1980s to 2016, in text format: https://sites.google.com/site/easybarpasser/subjects . Focus on the most recent ones.

If you need to quickly find California essays organized by subject, check this out:

Here is a community-managed CA essay locator , a list of essays organized by subject (and partially by issues). This is editable, so please feel free to add notes that may help yourself or others.

[CA only] Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam (Mary Basick)

Also known as the “Basick blue book.” This was recommended to me by one of my readers, Deborah. See why in our convo here .

This is continued to be recommended by CA bar takers in the private Facebook group.

Link : Amazon (2nd edition covering 2018 Prof. Resp. rules)

[CA only] California Performance Test Workbook (Mary Basick)

This was recommended to me by Steph, who passed the bar on the second try after being in prison for 32 years .

This book “shows California Bar Exam applicants how to take the Performance Test from beginning to end, emphasizing the skills necessary to successfully write a passing exam answer. The text provides specific instruction on time management and offers numerous examples and tips on how to handle common pitfalls.” It also seems to include analyses of 6 PTs. Click below to take a peek inside.

Link : Amazon

[UBE] Past MEE essays, MPTs, and model analyses

Past essays and PTs/MPTs and answers/analyses are available for download from the NCBE (some free, some paid):

• MEE study aids ($15 per Q&A for one recent exam within 5 years)
• MPT study aids ($25 per MPT and Point Sheet for one recent exam within 5 years)

Also check these links to find more MEEs, MPTs, and model answers than you’ll ever need .

Simplified rule statements for the California Bar Exam. Get the book here .

Fck the Bar: Take Your Place at Counsel Table

Jessica Klein made the first five chapters of her book free, available as a preview here .

Get the whole book here .

Until I Pass

The academic dean at UC Davis Law co-authored a book with a repeating California bar taker. This book is a letter from someone who understands the repeater experience, to someone who just had this experience.

Get the book here .

California Bar Exam details

A typical california bar exam is a 2-day exam.

California Bar Exam information is subject to change without notice. Please verify with The State Bar of California Office of Admissions .

Please also reference the  NCBE Covid-19 updates page  for NCBE updates and individual jurisdiction announcements.

Bar exam details

• Three 60-minute essay questions (in the AM)
• Two 60-minute essay questions (in the PM)
• One 90-minute Performance Test (in the PM)
• Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a 200-question, multiple-choice exam (100 questions in the AM, 100 questions in the PM)

Subjects tested

• Constitutional Law
• Contracts/Sales
• Criminal Law/Procedure
• Federal Civil Procedure
• Real Property

California Essay Subjects

• Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations; and Limited Liability Companies)
• CA Civil Procedure
• CA Community Property
• CA Evidence
• CA Professional Responsibility
• CA Wills and Succession
• Plus all MBE subjects

California Performance Test

• “Closed universe” practical questions using instructions, factual data, cases, statutes and other reference material supplied by examiners.
• A scaled score of 86 on the MPRE is required for admission.

Click here to learn more about the MPRE .

The MBE score is 50% of the total score, while the written portion accounts for the other 50%.

A passing score of 1,390 or greater on a 2,000 point scale is required based on the combined scores of the California Performance Test, the essay questions, and the MBE.

Reciprocity

Acceptance of mbe score.

California does not accept an MBE score from an exam taken in another jurisdiction.

Admission on Motion

California does not provide for admission on motion. Examination is required of all applicants. Attorneys who have been licensed in another jurisdiction for four years may be eligible to sit for the attorney exam (written exam only).

Foreign law graduates and lawyers

If you are a foreign law graduate or lawyer, you may already be eligible to sit for a U.S. state bar exam with your current credentials.

California operates a relatively open policy in permitting foreign law graduates or lawyers to sit the bar examination, and does not impose restrictions to admission on grounds of nationality or residence.

Learn more about U.S. bar exam eligibility and requirements for foreign law graduates, lawyers, and U.S. LL.M. students.

BARBRI Bar Exam Digest

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How an Arizona indie bookstore adapted - adding a bar and hosting events - and is turning 50

It started with a love of books and $500.

Fifty years later, Changing Hands Bookstore is a community gathering space and a safe haven for book lovers.

With two popular locations in the Phoenix area, Changing Hands is no Arizona hidden gem. Instead, the bookstore has forged deep ties into the community it grew along with. It has survived the rise of Amazon and a global pandemic and cemented itself as the place to go for book recommendations and good conversations among friends and authors.

How has Changing Hands managed to survive and thrive? Maybe it has something to do with the foundation it was built on.

Pick your next read See USA TODAY's best-selling booklist

Check out: USA TODAY's weekly Best-selling Booklist

Changing Hands begins: 3 book lovers with a dream and $500

Gayle Shanks, Tom Brodersen and Bob Sommer met in 1972 while volunteering at an alternative school in Phoenix and bonded over their love of reading. For years, they talked about their dream to open a bookstore that would double as a community gathering space.

"It was just part of what we did and we knew the importance of books in our own lives. And we also loved the ideas that were in books," Shanks said.

"And so the idea of being a bookseller, which we thought meant you got to read books, to sell books, but really to just talk about books all day long with people who came in to buy them was our idea of the ideal job."

Brodersen purchased a struggling used bookstore's inventory for $500. It included books, bookcases and the oldest cash register they'd ever seen.

Now they had the supplies. They just needed the right space in the right location to attract book buyers.

On April 1, 1974, the first Changing Hands Bookstore opened in a 500-square-foot space on Fifth Street in downtown Tempe.

"We had this idea that books could change people's minds and help them become more critical thinkers," Shanks said.

"So, we thought we were going to have this bookstore that was going to be a place where people could come and talk about ideas that they had either read in books or were thinking about. And it's grown into a much bigger space, or two spaces."

Find your next favorite bookstore See USA TODAY's interactive bookstore map

Changing Hands moves to Mill Avenue

In 1978, Changing Hands moved to a bigger, more prominent storefront on Mill Avenue in Tempe, adjacent to the Arizona State University campus. In 1980, Brodersen stepped down, and in 2000 Cindy Dach joined the team. She became a co-owner in 2006.

The Mill Avenue store was a hit.

"I fell in love with Changing Hands in their original location on Mill when I went to ASU," said customer Jeff Moriarty. "I was a poor college student, so I frequently stopped in to browse the aisles and pick out cheap books to read and escape for a while.

"The place was so warm and inviting, and I came to realize it was the people who made it that way. The books were just the way they loved to connect with people and the community."

In 1998, rents in downtown Tempe were rising and Changing Hands moved again, this time to a plaza at McClintock Drive and Guadalupe Road in south Tempe, where they still are to this day.

Changing Hands Bookstore, First Draft Book Bar open in Phoenix

Changing Hands expanded beyond Tempe when it opened a second store in Central Phoenix in May 2014.

The owners wanted this location to have a little something extra.

The First Draft Book Bar serves up coffee, wine, beer and snacks in the middle of the brick-walled store. Seating is at the bar and in an adjacent room called The Commons, which doubles as a community gathering/co-working space and an event space for readings and other activities.

Authors such as Barbara Kingsolver and Terry Tempest Williams and poets including Alberto Ríos and Norman Dubie have come to speak at Changing Hands through the years.

How Changing Hands withstood Amazon, the pandemic and embraced BookTok

These special experiences may have been precisely what sustained Changing Hands through the rise of Amazon and the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.

The ease of having a seemingly limitless selection of books delivered to your door or your Kindle contributed to hundreds of chain and independent bookstores nationwide closing their doors.

"There were many, many moments when we didn't know how we were going to go on," Shanks said. "Amazon hitting us in the face was really difficult for a while, the recession hit us hard, and then of course there was a pandemic and we had to close our store for nine months."

"And we didn't know if we were going to be able to open the stores again, because who knew what was going to happen?"

But Changing Hands Bookstore continued to focus on its strength: listening to customers.

"Our ear was always to the ground and the ground was always our customers and our community, and as long as we listened, they told us what they needed. We wanted it to be their bookstore, not our bookstore," Shanks said.

According to an article at publishersweekly.com , booksellers across the digital and physical spaces have seen increased sales over the last couple of years thanks in part to TikTok's latest craze: BookTok. It's a TikTok space where people share what they're reading, show off special collectors editions and, of course, influence the algorithm.

"BookTok has definitely grown a certain segment of the readership that shops in our store and I feel really fortunate that they do," Shanks said. "We had 25 chain bookstores in the Valley at one point in the '90s, and Changing Hands managed to survive in spite of the fact that in five miles from us in every single direction, there was a chain bookstore."

And while Shanks isn't totally in love with all of the books from BookTok that bring customers in, she does love that it gets people started on their reading journey.

"Once you start reading, you get hungry for more," Shanks said.

Changing Hands Bookstore at 50: Still going strong

Thanks to the community support, Changing Hands Bookstores has enjoyed 50 years of passing down the tradition of reading from generation to generation.

As for the future, Shanks simply wants things to keep going as they are.

"Someone came in the other day and said, 'My mom brought me into the store when I was still in her womb, and this was the first place she ever took me, and I grew up in your store,'" Shanks said. "It's a really good feeling and I think in great part because that's why we wanted to be in business."

"I hope we have many more generations of readers who grow up in our store and continue to support us."

10 books to add to your reading list in April

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Critic Bethanne Patrick recommends 10 promising titles, fiction and nonfiction, to consider for your April reading list.

April’s book releases cover some difficult topics, including Salman Rushdie discussing his 2022 maiming, Leigh Bardugo’s fiction about the dark arts and Ada Limón’s poetry anthology about our fragile world. However, like April, there is also sunshine: Leif Enger’s wild Great Lakes love story, Helen Tworkov’s beautiful memoir of Buddhism and a collection of the inimitable Maggie Nelson’s essays. Happy reading, happy spring!

I Cheerfully Refuse: A Novel By Leif Enger Grove Press: 336 pages, $28 (April 2)

An unusual and meaningful surprise awaits readers of Enger’s latest, which takes place largely on Lake Superior, as a man named Rainy tries to reunite with his beloved wife, Lark. While the world around this couple, a dystopian near-future American where billionaires control everything, could not be bleaker, the author’s retelling of the myth of Orpheus (who went to the underworld to rescue his wife) contains the authentic hope of a born optimist.

The Familiar: A Novel By Leigh Bardugo Flatiron Books: 400 pages, $30 (April 9)

Bardugo departs from novels of dark academia in a standalone to make the hairs on your neck stand up, set in 16th century Spain. A hidden Sephardic Jew and scullery maid named Luzia Cotado matches wits with fellow servant Guillén Santángel. Luzia discovers a secret of Guillén’s, but she’s already fallen in love with him. And because he knows hers, too, they might both avoid the Spanish Inquisition. It’s a gorgeous tale of enchantments both supernatural and earthly.

The Sleepwalkers: A Novel By Scarlett Thomas Simon & Schuster: 304 pages, $28 (April 9)

A couple honeymoons at a Greek resort. What could go wrong? In Thomas’ hands, plenty – especially as the author has never written a comfortable story; her books, from “PopCo ” to “Oligarchy,” crackle with unreliable characters, as well as big philosophical ideas. In this case, the new marriage’s breakdown is chronicled through letters between the spouses, and sometimes bits of ephemera, that ultimately untangle a dark mystery relating to the title.

The Garden: A Novel By Clare Beams Doubleday: 304 pages, $28 (April 10)

Few novels of literary fiction are written as well as “The Garden,” let alone given its sadly relevant retro setting, a 1940s country-estate obstetrical program. Irene Willard walks through its gates having endured five miscarriages; pregnant again, she and her war-veteran husband George desperately hope for a live birth. But as Irene discovers more about the woman who controls all here, Dr. Bishop, she fears carrying to term as much as she once feared pregnancy loss.

Reboot: A Novel By Justin Taylor Pantheon: 304 pages, $28 (April 23)

David Crader, former teen TV heartthrob, just wants to reboot his career when his old show “Rev Beach” has a moment. His life has devolved through substance abuse, divorce and underemployment. But when he and colleagues launch a remake, devolution continues: The protagonist’s struggles are mirrored by climate-change issues, from flooding to wildfires. Despite that darkness, Taylor’s gift for satire might make this a must-read for 2024 beach bags.

You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World By Ada Limón (Editor) Milkweed Editions: 176 pages, $25 (April 2)

A wondrous artist herself, Limón is currently poet laureate of the United States, and this anthology is part of her signature project, “You Are Here,” which will also feature poetry as public art in seven national parks. Released in conjunction with the Library of Congress, the collection features 50 previously unpublished poems by luminaries including Jericho Brown, Joy Harjo, Carl Phillips and Diane Seuss, each focusing on a piece of regional landscape.

Like Love: Essays and Conversations By Maggie Nelson Graywolf Press: 336 pages, $32 (April 2)

While all of the pieces in Nelson’s new book have previously been published elsewhere, they’re made fresh here both through being collected and through their chronological placement. Readers can practically watch Nelson’s incisive mind growing and changing as she speaks with colleagues such as Hilton Als and Judith Butler, or as she writes about queerness, motherhood, violence, the lyrics of Prince and the devastating loss of a friend.

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder By Salman Rushdie Random House: 204 pages, $28 (April 16)

On Aug. 12, 2022, the author Salman Rushdie was speaking at upstate New York’s Chautauqua festival when a man rushed the stage and attempted to murder him. Rushdie, a target of Iranian religious leaders since 1989, was permanently injured. In this book, he shares his experience for the first time, having said that this was essential for him to write. In this way, he answers violence with art, once again reminding us all that freedom of expression must be protected.

Lotus Girl: My Life at the Crossroads of Buddhism and America By Helen Tworkov St. Martin’s Essentials: 336 pages, $29 (April 16)

Dworkov, founder of the magazine Tricycle, chronicles her move from a 1960s young-adult interest in Buddhism to travels through Asia and deep study in the United States of the different strands that follow the Buddha’s teachings. Tworkov mentions luminaries such as the artist Richard Serra, the composer Charles Mingus and the Dalai Lama, but she’s not name dropping. Instead, she’s strewing fragrant petals from her singular path to mindfulness that may help us find ours.

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War By Erik Larson Crown: 592 pages, $35 (April 30)

Even diehard Civil War aficionados will learn from Larson’s look at the six months between Lincoln’s 1860 election and the surrender of Union troops under Maj. Robert Anderson at Charleston’s Ft. Sumter. Larson details Anderson’s secret Christmas redeployment and explores this individual’s contradictions as a former slave owner who loyally follows Lincoln’s orders. The author also shares first-person perspective from the famous diaries of the upper-class Southerner Mary Chesnut. All together, the book provides a riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult.

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