Many bookstores are part of a chain, such as Bruna, Ako or Libris. You are independent.
‘The bookstore belonged to my parents, I grew up with it that way and I’m not used to it any other way. I like to pioneer and decide for myself what I can do. It’s a bit more work because you don’t get proposals from a purchasing organization. So I do the purchasing myself, have contact with publishers and go to as many book fairs as possible.’
Does your offer differ greatly per season?
‘Absolutely, summer and winter are a world of difference. In summer we have a wide range of books, when tourists from all over the country come to Terschelling on holiday. I also have more children’s books in the summer than in the winter. From January to March it is quiet. For us, summer is what December is for many other booksellers, in terms of peak.’
What is your summer book tip?
‘We are very excited about The Dutchman by Mathijs Deen, a Wadden Thriller, about a drowned mudflat walker. It is set on a Wadden Island, although Texel and not Terschelling, but Deen writes beautifully and we have been fans of him for some time, also because he wrote a history of the Wadden Islands before. If you are enthusiastic yourself, you will also sell well.’
Do you mainly sell thrillers in the summer?
Yes, and lots of feel good, like Lucinda Riley and Jenny Colgan’s books. We also see that non-fiction has grown enormously in recent years. Biographies but also books about the Second World War. ‘t Hooge Nest van Roxane van Iperen is already several years old, but still runs well.
And Trusan Knops Island of Hope – a Terschelling family history, 17th-20th century, sells well. This has won the Lutine Prize, a local literature prize.
‘The atlas of lighthouses at the end of the world by José Luis González Macías is a blast. A collection of more than thirty true stories about lighthouses, with beautiful illustrations and sea charts. A gift book that suits us especially well, because the shop is only 100 meters from our own lighthouse.’
Traditionally, many sailors come to Terschelling, what do they read?
‘We have a large maritime department. Unfortunately, few new nautical titles appear. hero at sea by Micha Jacobs, which appeared three years ago, remains popular and I have enjoyed reading it myself. About a carpenter from Wassenaar who breaks the ocean rowing world record, while he has never rowed before. And then participate in the toughest solo sailing trip in the world.
‘But also the books of Volkskrantjournalist Toine Heijmans, At sea and VHF messagessailors like to read.’
Is the delivery of books more difficult for you because you are on an island?
‘You touch a nerve here. We arrange the delivery via Centraal Boekhuis, we have a 24-hour arrangement. But at the moment we have a problem because Centraal Boekhuis has recently outsourced the delivery to PostNL. So I’m on the phone every week because every delivery is a day late. Very annoying! It is especially difficult for tourists if books are delivered later than agreed. Then people will go back by boat again.’
Has the delivery only changed for the Wadden Islands?
‘Centraal Boekhuis has come up with the idea that it is more economical for them to have it run via PostNL, at least for the Wadden Islands. Something goes wrong, but no one knows where. Fortunately, we have a boat connection every day. So a day later it is there. Fortunately, because if it got even later, we wouldn’t be able to compete with Bol.com. Fortunately, as a physical bookstore we have the good factor with us.’
Which book do you put in your suitcase yourself?
‘We’re not going on vacation until October, but I’ve just started an older biography of Andre Agassi, Open. I am a sports freak. We also sell sports books very well on Terschelling, especially those from Football Inside. The viewers of that program never read, but have now started to do so because of all the promotion of the program. And so we see they keep reading. They ask for tips and we are happy to give them. It’s nice to get those people to read.’
Who is Michael Funke?
Michiel Funke (46) will become a panel member of the Volkskrant Boekenraad after the summer. ‘This bookshop belonged to my parents, so I came here as a little boy. My father and mother have run the business for over forty years. I officially joined the business in 1998. Fifteen years ago, in 2007, I definitively took over the bookstore together with Cora van Herwaarden, now my ex-girlfriend. But we are still good partners between 9am and 6pm, as we say.
‘I myself obtained my middle class diploma in Leeuwarden, which was necessary at the time to start a business. We once started as a book and office supply store, but we have largely stopped with the office supplies. We took toys instead, because the local toy store on Terschelling closed. The upper floor is completely filled with books and the lower floor is a children’s section with toys, games and coloring books. Books are still the bulk of our store, even if you look at our turnover.’