We decided to play the Q&A game with the ABC staff, and asked all sorts of bookish questions. In the coming weeks we will be posting their (sometimes cheeky!) answers here on the blog, so you can learn a little more about us.
Enjoy!
This time around we talk with Sywert, Jack-of-all-trades and Horror books buyer in Amsterdam.
What are your top 3 favorite books or authors?
Peter F. Hamilton, Robin Hobb and John Gwynne for all-time favorites. Currently really liking Hailey Piper, Casandra Khaw and Dan Abnett.
What is your favorite genre to read?
Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror are my all-time favorites.
In which literary world would you like to live/go on vacation?
I’d love to take a short trip to Ankh-Morpork, the main city in the Terry Pratchett novels. I like eating weird stuff and would love to try one of the strange “meats” on a stick sold by Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler.
What is your favorite bookish animal (fiction or nonfiction)?
I’d like to say cats, ’cause cats are amazing. But for the nonfiction part I’ll go (shockingly!) with dragons. We have a couple of slightly dragon-obsessed colleagues at the ABC…
Do you have any reading tips for our customers?
Take your book with you everywhere! I never leave the house without a book. And when at home set out a dedicated reading hour. I don’t handle distractions very well when I am reading so I love a quiet room and a nice cup of coffee.
What non-book item at ABC can you not pass by without looking at it?
Games! Love playing boardgames almost as much as I love reading.
What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?
Chatting with customers about new titles, old favorites and recommending something is still the best part about the job.
What’s your secret for choosing the books you buy for your sections?
I follow a lot of horror book-related people on things like Instagram. And the Internet is always full of good reading tips. Horror is also one of the sections where you should definitely judge a book by its cover. The weirder and grosser it is… the better it most likely is.
About the Author: Lilia
