Congratulations everyone! We made it through January, which, as Damla likes to say, is three months dressed up in a trench coat. And while the wind is cold, daylight is returning and the signs of spring are everywhere if you take a closer look at the ground and the trees. 🥳 And now on to bookish news…
– Black History Month! First of all, happy Black History Month to all who celebrate, which hopefully is all of us. Look out for a display in the The Hague store later in the. month, and have a look through our annually updated highlights list to learn more about how Black people have shaped our lives across the globe.
– Awards! Congratulations to Karen Solie for winning this year’s T.S. Eliot prize with her poetry collection Wellwater. The Newbery and Caldecot medals were also awarded for the best children’s literature in the US at the end of January: All the Blues in the Sky by RenĂ©e Watson and Fireworks by CatĂa Chien and Matthew Burgess, respectively. In addition, the shortlist for the 2025 National Book Critics Circle has been announced recently, and there are many notable titles in the running.
– Trending on Screen! It is proving to be yet another great month for bookish movie lovers, as more adaptations have been announced. Movie rights have been sold for last year’s big hits Atmosphere and The Wedding People (one of Sophie’s staff choices), as well as Victoria Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue (one of Damla’s favorite authors). Hopefully, they will bear fruits soon, but in the meanwhile, you can get your literary fill on the TV with the adaptation of The Museum of Innocence coming to Netflix on February 13th, from the Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk.
– Interviews! Still waiting on the next installment of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series? Read what the prolific but procrastinating author has to say about his plans in his interview with the Hollywood Reporter. (Just write the book, George!) Publishers Weekly also has an interview with Julian Barnes about his final novel, Departure(s), one of Jonna’s Top 5 books of last year (no worries, she read an ARC!).
– Lists! Historical Fiction About Resistance (to tie in nicely with our recent Instagram posts on both the Amsterdam and the The Hague accounts, as well as our Topical Tips on Autocrats and Strongmen; sadly still pertinent), Wintry Reads for Hibernating Goblins (a term we are adopting immediately), and not one but 2 Valentine-themed lists: Romances Set Around the World and For the Love of Cinnamon Rolls. Which reminds us: are you coming to ABC’s Valentine’s Party in Amsterdam on the 14th?
– Bookclubs! We of course have our very own Book Chats, but we were also invited to invite you all to an international book club: LärOllika Book Circle. Their next meeting is on 12 February, and the idea is that you share a book you love, and others will do the same. So not a traditional book club in that sense, but definitely a danger to your TBR!
– Bookstreaming! Which is to say: reading out loud while live on social media. We wholeheartedly support this new trend, of course! As we do the influx of young male booktokkers/bookstagrammers who are (re)discovering the joy of reading.
– Under the Covers! Not just cosy or steamy, but also a great Instagram account that highlights book recommendations from authors and booksellers. If the makers are ever in Amsterdam or The Hague, come interview us!
– And finally, what if your “Favorites” shelf on your preferred book-tracking app came to life? It can, in this Tokyo bookstore. The shop Honmaru provides the option for their customers to rent shelves in order to highlight their favorite titles and to decorate the space with bookish knick-knacks for a truly charming, community-oriented space. (We unfortunately don’t have this service in the ABC at the moment, but if you enjoy the thrill of discovery and the charm of the personal touch this trend brings, you can of course always take a look at our staff choices in our stores!) And who knows? Maybe one day, the trend just might cross over to this side of the world.
