Sophie Archives

Bookseller, stock buyer, display maker & Girl Friday at ABC The Hague & ABC Leidschendam. Has been at ABC since almost the last millennium. Current sections under her care are YA, Politics & Current Affairs, Sports, Prizewinners, and Staff Choices. Loves any book that makes her think, learn, and look at life from a new angle, whatever genre. Cat person, feminist, easily bribed with Nutella, preferred state of being = barefoot in the garden.

Thanksgiving 2025

By Sophie It's almost time for our favorite day of the year, Thanksgiving! We've celebrated this very American holiday since we opened in 1972 as a way to say thank you to you, our customers, for supporting us this past year, and for being such an enriching part of our [...]

Sophie2025-11-11T10:19:32+01:00Tags: ABC Amsterdam, ABC Leidschendam, ABC The Hague, discount, Else, Iris, Sophie, Thanksgiving 2025|

Bookbits for 6 November 2025

By Sophie No Bookbits last month (vacation), but I'm happy to be diving into the book news again today! - Awards! Hot off the press: Helen Garner has won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with How to End a Story, her diaries detailing her life as a writer (and [...]

Sophie2025-11-07T15:21:23+01:00Tags: Awards, doorstoppers, Halloween, Interviews, lists, reviews, Sophie|

Bookish Business Gifts for this Holiday Season

By Sophie "A book is a gift you can open again and again." - Garrison Keillor The Holiday Season is fast approaching, an opportunity for companies, organizations, and schools to gift their employees some extra food for thought! (See what we did there?) We have some great ideas lined up [...]

Sophie2025-10-30T13:12:57+01:00Tags: Business, business gifts, Floris, gift guide, holiday gifts, holiday season, Sophie|

What we’re reading, watching, and listening to

by Damla Every so often we want to share what we're currently reading, watching, and/or listening to. We hope you'll enjoy our choices! Iris Reading: Currently reading The Last Gifts of the Universe by August Riley. It’s a sci-fi book about two siblings and their cat (called Pumpkin!), [...]

Damla2025-10-14T18:56:58+02:00Tags: Damla, Else, Iris, Mike, Read/Watch/Listen, Renata, Simone, Sophie, Sywert, what we're listening to, what we're reading, what we're watching, Yannis|

ABC Bestsellers – September 2025

by Damla September was a month for big and exciting names when it comes to publishing. Dan Brown's latest book in the thrilling Robert Langdon series, The Secret of Secrets, has hit the shelves after a long hiatus. Ian McEwan has also released a new book this month, called What [...]

Damla2025-10-10T15:43:10+02:00Tags: ABC Bestsellers, ABC Bestsellers 2025, Art, Bruna, Crime Fiction, Damla, Else, Fantasy, Fiction, Júlia, Matty, memoir, Nonfiction, Poetry, Psychology, Romance, Romantasy, Science Fiction, Sophie, Tiemen|

Banned Books Week

By Sophie This week, 20-28 September, is the first ever Week van het verboden boek in The Netherlands, and next week, 5-11 October, is Banned Books Week in the U.S. We're paying attention to it, not just because it is almost an epidemic by now over there, but because it [...]

Sophie2025-09-17T14:04:17+02:00Tags: Banned Books, banned books week, Graphic Novels, LGBTQIA+, Sophie, YA fiction|

Bookbits for 5 September 2025

By Sophie Happy September! The month that everything starts up again: work, school, and the book business, too - Katabasis hit our shelves a week and a bit ago, next week will see Dan Brown's The Secret of Secrets, and further on in the month we'll have The Gingerbread Bakery, [...]

Sophie2025-09-16T16:40:27+02:00Tags: Awards, Bookbits, bookstore blitz, Interviews, lists, obama's summer reading, Sophie, substacks, tiny bookshop|

ABC Bestsellers – August 2025

By Sophie It will come as no surprise that the biggest bestseller of August, despite it going on sale only on 26 August, was Katabasis by R. F. Kuang. We have 4 editions in our assortment, but that U.S. deluxe limited edition is going fastest - and no wonder, with [...]

Sophie2025-09-16T16:40:51+02:00Tags: ABC Bestsellers, ABC Bestsellers 2025, Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Matty, memoir, Romance, Romantasy, Science Fiction, Sophie, Sywert, YA fiction|

Back to School: Student and Teacher discount

By Sophie The South of the country already has a week of school under their belts, and the Middle and North will follow shortly: it's Back to School season! Now, at ABC we've always had a soft spot for schools, libraries, and learning - not exactly surprising, right? Those [...]

Sophie2025-09-16T16:39:34+02:00Tags: back to school, school fairs, schools, Sophie, student discount, students discounts, teacher discount|

Book Review: The Guncle

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. So when tragedy strikes and [...]

Damla2025-08-07T12:57:48+02:00Tags: Book review, Book Reviews, Fiction, LGBTQ+, Sophie, Steven Rowley|

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