How are you getting through the lockdown?
‘The first week we had a lot of run-up. But it’s quieter now.’
What do people order?
Especially gift books with a positive message like Big Panda & Little Dragon , our No. 4, and dream big by Eva Jinek, no. 6.’
Your No. 5, 8, 9 and 10 are in English. Is that a trend in the book trade?
‘Many young people only read in English. The English-language departments in all bookshops will increase in the coming years. We are going to renovate this month so that the English section will have three times as much space.
‘In Zwolle we mainly sell young adult novels. No. 5, It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover was a #booktokhit. We’ve sold hundreds of them. The Dutch literature department cannot compete with that. Hoover’s books are about love, but also about fear and insecurity. They are not sugary stories.’
So is #booktok a permanent development?
‘Yes, but it is also a reaction because social life for young people is so restricted. As a young person you want to get an idea about what life has in store, what the promises are. Hoover’s stories are a substitute for the life they lack now.
What is striking about #booktok is that young people go to the physical bookstore and do not order online. But that’s not possible now. Are you afraid of losing them as a customer?
‘A little, because for that group it is a social outing: going to the bookstore with friends. That’s why such a lockdown is extra sour: you don’t sit behind a screen with the two of you to choose a book. No, young people want to see covers, study back covers and talk about it with each other. Such a group often buys different books and then you hear them agreeing to exchange it with each other.’
What do you give yourself as a present?
‘No. 1, The hedgehog, that’s me. Suitable for young and old. Toon Tellegen’s animal stories are short but grandly written. This book is the public’s favorite in Zwolle. Tellegen strikes a chord with everyone.’
Top 10 of Bookstore Waanders In de Broeren:
1. Toon Tellegen: The hedgehog, that’s me; Querido
2. Peter Vroege and Tjeerd Tichelaar: Bosatlas puzzle book 2; Keesing Netherlands
3. Jan Rotmans: Embrace the chaos; The Geus
4. James Norbury: Big Panda & Little Dragon; Fontaine
5. Colleen Hoover: It Ends With Us; Simon & Schuster
6. Eva Jinek: Dream big; Spectrum
7. Britta Teckentrup: A wonderful animal; WPG Children’s Media
8. Courtney Peppernell: Watering the Soul; Andrews McMeel Publishing
9. Desmond Shum: Red Roulette; Scribner Book Company
10. Margerie Swash: The woman, the Mink, the Cod and the Donkey; sphere
Top-10 best-selling of The Bestseller 60 (curated by the CPNB)
1. Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse; CookBook Center
2. Lale Gül: I’m going to live; Prometheus
3. Claudia de Breij: Amalia; Pluim Publishers
4. Eva Jinek: Dream big; Spectrum
5. Matthijs van Nieuwkerk & Rob Kemps: Chansons!; Meulenhoff Library
6. James Norbury: Big Panda & Little Dragon; Fontaine
7. Michael Pilarczyk: Master Your Mindset; Invictus
8. Annejet van der Zijl: Fortuna’s children; Dutch Deep
9. André Hoogeboom: Max; Xander Publishers
10. Barbara Stok: The Philosopher, the Dog and the Wedding; Nijgh & Van Ditmar
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.