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.

Reading Along with the 2023 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize Shortlist

Written by Sophie. If you've ever seen my Staff Choice list, or any of my recent Top 5s, you'll know I'm a huge Ursula K. Le Guin stan. There's just something about her fantasy and her social science fiction stories that connects very deeply and immediately to my being, and the [...]

Sophie2025-10-16T22:34:43+02:00Tags: 9-12 years, Akil Kumarasamy, Christiane M. Andrews, Fantasy, Nicola Griffith, Novellas, Prize winners, R. B. Lemberg, Readalong, Rebecca Campbell, Science Fiction, Short Stories, shortlist, Sophie, Ursula K. Le Guin, Yuri Herrera, Yvette Lisa Ndlowu, Zain Khalid|

Bookbits for 3 July 2024

By Sophie. Hey there folks! I hope you're enjoying the summer as much as I am, now that it's finally here. :-) First off, awards. The Women's Prize for Fiction was handed out to Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshanathan. This year also saw the inaugural Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, which [...]

Sophie2024-07-01T21:11:22+02:00Tags: ABC Events, author interviews, Awards, Book to Screen, Bookbits, Classics, Fiction, Obituaries, Science Fiction, Sophie, Summery Reads|

Farewell ABC Staff Picks

By Lília All good things must come to an end. And so, we say goodbye to our ABC Staff Picks on YouTube. Thanks to everyone who watched us over the years. A big thanks to hosts Luke and Iris and all our expert booksellers who have given [...]

Lilia2024-06-24T15:30:14+02:00Tags: Alexis Hall, Business, David Van Reybrouck, Else, EmmaV, Fantasy, Fiction, General Fiction, History, Iris, Japanese Fiction, Jeroen, Lília, Luke, Matty, Nghi Vo, Pierce Brown, Poetry, R. B. Lemberg, Rohinton Mistry, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction, Simon Sinek, Sophie, Toon Hezemans, Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Travel|

Bookbits for 5 June 2024

R.I.P. Alice Munro, who died on May 13th. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. For Independent Bookstore Day in the US (sadly no longer celebrated here on account of King's Day/Memorial Day/Liberation Day all happening then too), the president of children's book publisher Nosy Crow decided to visit [...]

Sophie2025-10-13T11:16:53+02:00Tags: author interviews, Awards, book lists, Bookbits, Bookish News, Obituaries, Sophie|

Summery Reads recommended by us!

After a year and a half of autumn, the sun and the warmth are beginning to show their faces, and I, for one, couldn't be happier! For me, summer is the ultimate reading time: the sunlight, the long days, the birdsong - it all whispers "find a shady spot, wiggle your [...]

Sophie2024-05-28T16:03:45+02:00Tags: Alix E. Harrow, Becky Chambers, Bonnie Garmus, Bruna, Elizabeth Gilbert, Else, Emily Henry, Erin Morgenstern, Helen DeWitt, Iris, Jessica Anya Blau, Jilles, Júlia, Kevin Kwan, Marlon James, Matty, Melissa Broder, Molly Ringwald, Nell Stevens, Nghi Vo, Parini Shroff, Phillippe Besson, Recommendations, Sigrid, Sophie, Staff Choices, Summery Reads, Taylor Jenkins Reid|

The Spear Cuts Through Water

The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family - the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors - hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace. But that god cannot be contained forever.

Sophie2025-02-12T17:41:08+01:00Tags: Book review, Book Reviews, Fantasy, Multi-layered, Sophie|

Bookbits for 7 May, 2024

R.I.P. Paul Auster, who died on 30 April of complications from lung cancer. NPR is one of the many sites with an obituary, and The Guardian gathered tributes by fellow authors. Awards! The Pulitzer Prizes were awarded last night, and the honorees are: Nightwatch (Fiction), Primary Trust (Drama), No Right to [...]

Sophie2025-10-02T11:14:25+02:00Tags: ABC Events, Awards, Bookbits, Bookish News, Obituaries, Recommendations, Sophie|

Bookbits for 1 April, 2024

I hope everyone who celebrates had a lovely Easter and Holi, and a wonderful Eid al-Fitr to come next week to all who celebrate that! What do South Africa's former first couple, Black inexpression, and Uyghur poets have in common? Books about or by them were all National Book Critics Circle Award [...]

Sophie2024-04-06T14:23:37+02:00Tags: ABC Booklover Bags, ABC Events, Awards, Bookbits, Bookish News, Obituaries, Sophie|

The Housekeeper and the Professor

Each morning, the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to one another. The Professor may not remember what he had for breakfast, but his mind is still alive with elegant mathematical equations from the past. He devises clever maths riddles ? based on her shoe size or her birthday ? and the numbers reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her ten-year-old son. With each new equation, the three lost souls forge an affection more mysterious than imaginary numbers, and a bond that runs deeper than memory.

Lilia2025-02-12T17:41:34+01:00Tags: Bella, Book review, Book Reviews, Chiara, General Fiction, Japanese Fiction, Simone, Sophie, Staff Choices, Yoki Ogawa|

Bookbits for 5 March, 2024

Let's start with bookish events in the country: Natali Simmonds hosts a resilience in writing workshop at ABC Amsterdam on 8 March, our Book Chats book club meets in Amsterdam on 22 March to discuss Scorched Grace, Emily Hund presents her book The Influencer Industry at the John Adams Institute on 18 [...]

Sophie2024-03-05T10:38:33+01:00Tags: ABC Events, Awards, Bookbits, Bookish News, Interviews, Sophie, Women's History Month|

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