Natalia Archives - ABC Blog

Natalia (she/they) used to sell books at The American Book Center. She was the buyer for the Fiction and Romance section in our Amsterdam store.

She’s still an avid reader of mostly speculative fiction, young adult and contemporary romance novels; especially if they’re LGBTQIA+ – themed.

Besides having her nose in a book, she loves to cook, watch movies, learn a new language, or practice a hip-hop routine. She loves reading because books are a source of inspiration, recognition, and escapism for her; giving her the ability to travel through worlds far different from her own.

ABC Interview: Natalia

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 to Natalia, who [...]

Lilia2024-08-11T13:06:27+02:00Tags: ABC, ABC interview, Becky Chambers, Brené Brown, Dragons, Emily Henry, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Magic, Natalia, Romantic Fiction, V.E.Schwab|

All Boys Aren’t Blue

This powerful YA memoir-manifesto follows journalist and LGBTQ+ activist George M. Johnson as they explore their childhood, adolescence, and college years, growing up under the duality of being black and queer. From memories of getting their teeth kicked out by bullies at age five to their loving relationship with their grandmother, to their first sexual experience, the stories wrestle with triumph and tragedy and cover topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, inequality, consent, and Black joy.

Lilia2025-02-12T17:28:53+01:00Tags: Book review, Book Reviews, George M. Johnson, LGBTQ+, Memoirs, Natalia, Young Adult|

Juliet Takes a Breath

Hi, my name is Juliet Palante. I've been reading your book Raging Flower: Empowering Your Pussy by Empowering Your Mind. No lie, I started reading it so that I could make people uncomfortable on the subway. But I'm writing to you now because this book of yours, this magical labia manifesto, has become my bible. Juliet's head is spinning with questions.

Lilia2025-02-12T17:28:55+01:00Tags: Book review, Book Reviews, Gabby Rivera, LGBTQ+, Natalia, Young Adult|

ABC Staff Picks – Spring 2024

After a little time off to smell the spring flowers, we’re back with our staff picks! Luke and Iris love doing them. They get to ask our colleagues what they’re reading and loving and what our customers are enjoying. And of course, they get to talk about [...]

Lilia2024-04-24T21:08:15+02:00Tags: Alan Moore, Bob, Daniel Quinn, EmmaV, Fantasy, Fiction, Floris, General Fiction, Graphic Novel, Greek Mythology, Hiroko Oyamada, Horror, Iris, Japanese Fiction, Jeroen, Kristin Hannah, Laura Wood, Literary Collection, Lynn, Madeline Miller, Naomi, Natalia, Rachel Harrison, Samantha Shannon, Simone, T. Kingfisher, Translated Works, YA fiction|

Staff Choices: more romance we’ve read and loved

Put together by Lília Continuing our love mission, even more staff choices on romantic fiction. Love to all, I dare say! The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah Pleun: What an incredibly intense read this was. It reminded me of The Shining but without the horror. Then again, when [...]

Lilia2024-02-18T12:51:44+01:00Tags: Best of Lists, Book Reviews, Lília, Naomi, Natalia, Pleun, Romantic Fiction, Shirley, Sophie|

Staff Picks – the Love edition of 2024

Written by Lília With Valentine’s Day falling at mid-month, February is the LOVE month, and in this Staff Picks, Luke and Iris talk about books related to love—in all its forms. We put our heads together and came up with some interesting recommendations. [...]

Lilia2024-02-11T10:56:16+01:00Tags: Biography, EmmaV, Iris, Isabelle, Luke, Max M., Naomi, Natalia, Romance, Romantasy, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction, Shirley, Simone, Sophie, Zeynep|

Staff Choices: romances we’ve read and loved

Put together by Lília February is seen as the Love Month, so we've chosen some of our most loved reads from our romantic fiction sections for your delight. We love romance and it shows! Night Shift - Annie Crown Naomi: This is a romcom as it should be: [...]

Lilia2024-01-25T15:08:15+01:00Tags: Best of Lists, Book Reviews, Ester, Lília, Naomi, Natalia, Pleun, Romantic Fiction, Sophie|

IV: ABC Top 5 2023 Edition: Júlia, Natalia and Lynn

Here we go again with our 5(ish) favorite reads of 2023! We try very hard to keep it to five, but it’s not always possible. So, there may be five or six suggestions, an A and a B list, memorable reads or just plain marvelous books. This year we’re presenting [...]

Lilia2024-11-29T15:10:55+01:00Tags: ABC Top 5, ABC Top 5 2023, Best of Lists, Biography, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novel, History, Júlia, Lynn, Natalia, Nature, Our Top 5, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction, True Stories|

6 books under 200 pages to wrap up your reading challenge

Written by Natalia There are many reading challenges out there, with the most well-known ones on Goodreads or The StoryGraph. You can set your own goal to read a certain number of books or pages by the end of the year or challenge yourself to read more classics, more female authors [...]

Lilia2023-09-28T16:37:11+02:00Tags: Best of Lists, Fantasy, Fiction, Natalia, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction|

Staff Choices: what we’ve read and loved – Part 3

Put together by Lília Written by Renata, Martijn, Lília, Jouke, Sophie, Simone, Jonna and Natalia In this Part 3 of our Staff Choices the titles below were chosen by one or more ABC colleagues, and everyone has their own reasons for loving them. Read on to see what they are. You [...]

Lilia2023-08-22T11:26:08+02:00Tags: ABC, Best of Lists, Fiction, Greek Mythology, Jonna, Jouke, Lília, Martijn, Mythology, Natalia, Renata, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction, Simone, Sophie|

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