How are you?
‘We have had a good six months.’
Do you not notice the inflation?
‘We are starting to see that a bit now, sales have declined slightly in recent weeks. But in general, June and July are good months for the bookstore because summer reading has started. People come to the store to get holiday books and travel books. Everyone is happy to be able to go on holiday again, so customers are happy too.’
What is a typical summer book?
‘Great readable books for by the tent or by the pool. Where the crayfish sing from Delia Owens, our number 2, and The secrets of the boarding school by Lucinda Riley, at number 10, are examples.’
What else stands out?
‘It is unbelievable how good Marcel van Roosmalens Total sells, an 800-page pill of his best coverage of the past twenty years. He is a phenomenon. After three days it has already gone into reprint, a new edition is now released every week. Press five is scheduled for the third week of June. It is on our 6 best-selling books, but that is because it was temporarily unavailable because it ran so quickly. It is now in the shops again.’
Do you recommend it as a summer book?
“It’s amazingly light for its size so I imagine you’ll pick it up for the tent!”
What is your book tip of the week?
†Anders – Gender through the eyes of a primatologist by Frans de Waal. A book that makes you think and pulls you out of your comfort zone. Suitable for readers who love biology and exact science, but also for those who are socially interested and concerned with gender and emancipation. De Waal writes beautifully and accessible. By the way, it also fits well with worm moonour best-selling book of the week, by Libris Prize winner Mariken Heitman.’
Top 10 best-selling books by De Vries Van Stockum in Haarlem
1. Mariken Heitman: Worm Man; Atlas Contact
2. Delia Owens: Where the crayfish sing; House Of Books
3. Yvette van Boven: From Boven in the wild; Single Publishers
4. Joe Nesbo: Rat Island; The Busy Bee
5. David Graeber and David Wengrow: The beginning of everything; Maven Publishing
6. Marcel van Roosmalen: Total; Meulenhoff Library
7. Isabel Allende: Violeta; World Library
8. Roxane van Iperen: Own well-being first; The Busy Bee
9. Yvette van Boven: From Boven in the wild – Pocket book: Single Publishers
10. Lucinda Riley: The Secrets of the Boarding School: Xander Publishers
De Volkskrant Boekenraad consists of Dominicans Maastricht, Godert Walter Groningen, The American Book Center Amsterdam, Adr. Heinen Den Bosch, De Vries Van Stockum Haarlem, Broese Utrecht, Waanders in de Broeren Zwolle, De Drvkkery Middelburg, Paagman Delft.