October 28, 2024 • 22 mins
In this episode, I'm in conversation with Martijn Meerts, the co-director of the American Book Center in Amsterdam. Martijn's anthropology background subtly colors his approach to this role, and he shares how it adds a unique perspective to his daily work. We also uncover the enchanting history of the American Book Center, originally founded by Lynn Kaplanian-Buller and her husband, and how it has joyfully remained in the family for generations.
Martijn shares his love of The Hague and Amsterdam, capturing the essence of these cities' book culture and vibrant atmosphere. From the serenity of the canals to the artistic treasures of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam offers a backdrop to our discussions on literature's role in these communities. Martijn shares insights into the growing fascination with cozy crime novels and beloved Dutch children's stories, including the iconic Miffy series. Our episode serves as a tribute to the creative energy that buzzes through these cities and a celebration of the American Book Center's role at the heart of it all.
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The Miffy Children’s Books, Dick Bruna and Patricia Crampton
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly and I'm a
bibliophile.
Welcome to the Bookshop Podcast.
Each week, I present interviewswith authors, independent
bookshop owners and booksellersfrom around the globe and
publishing professionals.
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
(00:33):
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
When I started this podcast in2020, my intention was to
support indie bookshops andauthors and to produce a quality
podcast where listeners gaininsight to authors' lives and
their writing style and chatwith booksellers about what
they're reading.
I chose a format that isenjoyable for me, my guests and
(00:57):
my listeners a show withoutinterruptions from advertisers
cutting into conversations Withthe millions of podcasts out
there.
Thank you for choosing tolisten to the Bookshop Podcast.
If you'd like to financiallysupport the show, please go to
thebookshoppodcastcom.
Click on support the show andyou can donate through Buy Me A
(01:17):
Coffee.
I'm excited to announce that theBookshop Podcast has partnered
with Books in Homes USA andHeloise Press in the UK.
Books in Homes USA is anon-profit 501c3 that provides
free books of choice to childrenacross the country and works to
support childhood literacy andpromote a lifelong love and
(01:38):
enjoyment of reading.
For more information aboutliteracy rates in the United
States, please go tothebookshoppodcastcom.
Click on the video of mespeaking about this topic and
how you can donate to Books inHomes USA.
For up-to-date informationabout our partners, the Lunch
with an Author series in SantaBarbara and Los Angeles, sign up
(01:59):
for my newsletter throughthebookshoppodcastcom.
And one more thing if you're anAmerican citizen and haven't
sent in a mail ballot, pleasemake sure to vote in person on
Tuesday, november 5th.
Democracy, women's rights, theclimate crisis, creative freedom
, book banning and socialjustice are at stake.
(02:19):
Your vote makes a difference.
Okay, let's get on with thisweek's interview.
You're listening to episode 272.
The American Book Century is afamily-owned bookstore that
originated in Amsterdam andopened its doors in 1972.
(02:39):
Since then, the bookstore hasopened stores in the Hague and
Amstelveen.
The owner and founders of thebusiness are Lynn Ka.
In the Hague and Amstelveen,the owner and founders of the
business are Lynn, kaplanianBuller and her husband, who have
passed the business down eachgeneration of their family.
Director and manager of theAmerican Book Center, martijn
Mertz describes Lynn as beingthe heart and soul of the
(03:01):
American Book Center.
Hi, martijn, and welcome to theshow.
It's great to have you here.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Thank you, nice to be here.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Well, let's begin by learning about you.
What led you to become thedirector and manager of the
American Book Center inAmsterdam?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Well, good fortune, I suppose.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
That's a wonderful answer.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I just started there as a student, basically working
part-time, 25 years ago.
I was still in college inAmsterdam although I live in the
Hague, but the university is inAmsterdam and I studied there
anthropology, was tired of myold job and then my girlfriend
at the time suggested to me well, maybe you should ask over
(03:41):
there, since I was buying mybooks there anyway.
And that's what I did, gothired and then it went step by
step.
Basically, you just you know,yeah, you start to work and you
just work hard and take moreresponsibility when it's still
given.
And are you still?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
enjoying your job.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Oh, it's the best spot on earth, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
I don't think I've ever heard a bookseller or a
bookshop owner or manager saythey hate the job.
It's so wonderful to hear, buttell me, do you ever use your
anthropology degree?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Well, maybe subconsciously, I don't know, I
might.
Yeah, I'm not sure you learn tolook at stuff differently, I
suppose.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, Well, that right there is worth its weight
in gold, I think Now theAmerican Book Center was founded
by Lynn Kaplanian-Buller andher husband.
Is the bookstore still familyowned, and were they the
original owners?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Lynn was not the original owner.
She started working there whenit started but she took over
early 80s.
Then she bought the ABC withher husband, ava Kaplanian.
But she's been there from thebeginning and they still own it.
They do.
Yeah, her son and daughter arestill in the company, although
Paul the son is not working withus, but he still has a share in
the company basically.
So he's involved still.
But yeah, lynn is, she'ssemi-retired but she can't help
(05:06):
herself.
She just has to, you know, workwith the books and very
creative, still going strong.
So, yeah, we see a lot of herstill.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I can imagine that giving up a bookshop like that
would be extremely hard.
I don't think you could juststop and go cold turkey.
I think you would have to kindof gradually fade out.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, it is the buzz of it, and also it's well, it's
her child, more or less.
So yeah, you don't hand thoseout easily.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
That's for sure.
Okay, now the original store inAmsterdam has relocated right.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, twice, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Well, which one had the tree designed around the
staircase that's the current uhstore yeah, that's such a
fabulous and intricate design.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I love it yeah, what's a great uh uh thought of,
uh, an architect we hired atthe time.
Uh, he helped us out and he hadthis idea of, you know, a tree
through all three floors,basically, uh, because that's
where the books come from.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
The tree is symbolic for the paper yeah, in the
photos I really like the way thestaircase winds around the tree
and then you have the bookcaseson the side like a book wall
basically, yeah, uh, I mean wecan only reach up to, you know,
let's say, two meters and therest is basically wallpaper.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
But it looks amazing, plus its design, in such a way
you you sort of twist upward.
First time I was there at about10 years ago, I think it's hard
to find your way back down,it's you get stuck in the loop
on the second floor.
So that's, that's a reallygreat design.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Yeah, it sounds like it, but you also have stores in
the Hague and Leitschendam.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Leitschendam yeah, that's pretty new.
It's actually in the Westfieldmall and I don't know if you
have them in California.
Yes, we do and they startedthis huge mall which is very
undutch in a way, and that'sabout this huge mall which is
very undutch in a way, andthat's about six, seven
kilometers from here.
Actually, we saw an opportunitywe have a very cute little
(07:10):
bookstore in there.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
It's very expensive, but also there's a lot of people
coming there.
And what is it that makes eachstore unique?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Well, the locations I take it Amsterdam.
The store itself is very pretty, that's one of the main
attractions and of course it hasa lot more books than the other
two stores.
It's like a mothershipbasically that's Amsterdam.
But the city of Amsterdam is ofcourse, flooded with tourists
and this has an impact on thesales.
(07:41):
The books you sell basically Inthe Hague, which is sort of the
government city, where thegovernment is.
It's also an international citywith lots of international
companies and businesses, and soit's more of a civil workers
town diplomats, expats, so thatthe public is different, not so
(08:06):
many tourists, so you get adifferent mix of books again.
And Leidschendam is the mall ofthe Netherlands.
It's very touristy.
Obviously.
You just have the highlightsthere.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
And if you're driving , how long would it take to get
from Amsterdam to the Hague?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
About an hour.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, after hearing you explain about the
differences between the areasthat the shops are in, I'm sure
there's a difference in thecuration of the stores too.
So if you could talk about thata little bit.
And also I was wondering ifyour booksellers have a say in
the way the stores are curated.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well, amsterdam has probably about twice as many
books.
So we have the same categoriessections as the Hague, but
there's just more more choice,wider array and also because of
the Hague, because of the sortof customers it attracts, we
tend to be a bit more heavy onthe nonfiction books, like
politics and history.
(09:00):
Amsterdam has loads of bigcoffee table books, art books,
but not so much in the Hague.
So each store is just a littlebit different because of the
public, but in general you seethe same stuff, just a little
bit less of it.
We invest heavily on the staffbecause they are the curators,
(09:22):
they buy.
We don't have centralizedbuying.
If you come in, we train you ina few months to curate a section
, preferably one you'recomfortable with, not
necessarily so.
So I, for example, I buy humorbooks, business books, manga
books, music books very eclecticmix.
(09:42):
So you talk with the sales reps, you talk with the customers.
We of course, have our owntools on the web, in our own
interweb, to help us decide whatto put on the shelves.
But basically everyone hastheir own little shop in shop,
so to speak, and that's whatmakes us different from most
bookstores Also has a hugeimpact on what we put on the
(10:05):
shelves.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Well, that's a fabulous idea in so many ways.
For example, as a customer,when you come in and you're
looking for something inparticular in a certain genre or
nonfiction area, you can beguided to that particular person
who knows that inventory superwell and can guide you to the
best book for you.
But also it makes thebooksellers feel wanted and
(10:29):
needed and that they have animportant task to curate that
particular part of the store.
I think it's a fabulous idea.
And on another note too,booksellers are best when
they're selling the books theyhave read and love, and it's
also fun to kind of edge peopleaway from some of the
bestsellers.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I mean you'd need to have you know the bestsellers,
but next to that you can putinteresting stuff there and try
to convince your customers thatit's worth buying.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Some of the best books I've read and the ones
that I've enjoyed the most, I'vebought from a bookseller who's
taken the time to talk with meand find out what kind of books
I like to read.
Now, are all your books in thebookstores in English, or do you
have sections, for example,maybe in the children's section,
in other languages?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
No, no, it's all English language.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
So I'm guessing that, apart from the tourists, you
must have quite a large Englishspeaking community there.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, yeah, no, you're right.
Dutch people, like what I'veheard understand, like
Scandinavians, just are reallygood with English language.
They don't buy and plus, youknow, the amount of books you
can read in English is lots morethan what's been translated
into Dutch.
I guess it's also because ofthe Internet and the music.
(11:44):
I mean, everything comes fromthe States.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
And that brings me to another question.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Are children in the Netherlands taught English
pretty much from the time theystart school.
Well, in my days that startedat high school so around, which
is here around 11, 12 years old.
I think they start a bitearlier now.
Plus, we have bilingual, moreand more bilingual schools
popping up all over the country.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Well, that's fantastic.
Now, what else do you sellapart from books in the stores?
No, not much.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
I mean, we have some merchandise, but it has to be
related to books.
We're not a toy store.
We have magazines, we havecalendars, we have some games.
That's more or less it.
We just focus on the booksreally.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Yeah, your magazine section looks huge, it looks
fantastic.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, yeah, although I mean it's not doing as well as
it used to.
It's slowly sort of dying out abit, unfortunately, but I mean
there's other stuff in its stead, and you were just asking about
the English language.
But also after COVID, what wesaw was a lot more young people
coming into the store.
Actually it changed.
(12:56):
We used way more older peopleand not so much younger, and now
it totally shifted.
The YA section is where theystart to read.
Basically that's grown sinceHarry Potter into a huge section
, which is wonderful.
But I mean the demographics is.
It gives me a lot of hope forthe future because so many
(13:18):
teenagers that start to read andhopefully they'll keep coming
and, you know, at a certainpoint probably move over to
other sections.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Yeah, that warms my heart because many booksellers
have told me exactly the samething that since COVID, a lot
more younger people are buyingbooks and reading them, which is
fantastic, and coming back foranother book and another when
people say to me oh, you know,young people aren't reading,
they're on their phones all thetime.
I don't see that.
(13:46):
Yeah, I don't either, and Ithink they are reading and
buying the books, which isimportant.
They're not being bought forthem.
When parents ask me well, youknow my kids don't want to read,
what can I do?
I think it's often because theyhaven't found the right book to
read for them.
Just let them read whateverthey want to read.
Let them choose the books theywant to read.
(14:08):
Or, if they have no interest ingoing into a bookstore, think
about what they're reallyinterested in, what they're
passionate about, and find abook that maybe has something to
do with that.
If it's surfing, find anonfiction book about surfing,
or a fictional book aboutsomeone who's taken up surfing,
or memoir.
You're bound to get them insome way and just leave it
(14:28):
around the house.
I guarantee they will pick itup.
But I believe you have to letthem read what they want to read
, to get them excited aboutreading, and then they will
eventually move on to othertopics.
But if you cut off that love ofreading, I think that's
detrimental.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Yeah, I totally agree .
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Let's talk about beautiful Amsterdam.
The only time I've been therewas I was very lucky I was doing
the wardrobe for the DavidBowie tour the Glass Piter tour
in 1987.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Mm-hmm, I remember that yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Good.
Well, we started off inRotterdam doing rehearsals and
then a skeleton crew went offand we did a commercial with
David Bowie and Tina Turner forPepsi, I think it was and then
we came back to Amsterdam for aconcert and I was so taken with
the city.
I think it's beautiful.
It just has so much history andbeauty.
(15:21):
I adore the architecture, thepeople.
It was wonderful.
So, with this in mind, ifsomeone was in Amsterdam for a
few days, are there historicalsites, museums, hikes, that you
suggest they visit?
Speaker 2 (15:34):
There's so many.
I mean, I'm not from Amsterdam,but I enjoy going there.
It's an open air museum,basically.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I think they need to use that quote in their travel
brochures.
That's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Right, I prefer to walk along the canals, basically
, and just let my eyes do therest, because it's very pretty.
It's also very busy, so time itwell.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
And what about the?
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Hague.
Well, the Hague is smaller anda bit more quiet, but it's a
beautiful city also.
Plus, we have a beach, which isgreat.
That's one of our biggestpluses.
But Amsterdam, yeah, of courseyou have to visit the
Rijksmuseum.
I mean it's busy, but it hasthe most amazing masterpieces.
(16:21):
But there's so much.
What do you do in a few days?
Take a boat trip, but walk thecanals, I would say.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
There are a couple of things I love to do when I go
to a new city, a new town.
I love to walk around extremelyearly in the morning when
everything's just kind of quietand then you get the city coming
alive with workers.
And I love going to markets,farmers markets, supermarkets,
because I love to see whatpeople are growing and eating.
It's a good way to learn whatthings are called in another
(16:51):
language.
I just love that.
And of course, I love bookshops.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
The bookstores yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Martin, what are you currently reading?
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I just finished.
Very latest Richard Osman.
Do you know the he's so popular?
The Tuesday Murder Club series.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I know of Richard Osman, but I have not read that
series.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
They're filming it now, which is a little sort of
crime light but very British,very funny.
But he just started a newseries which is called we Solve
Murders.
It just came out last week.
We were all waiting for it.
I think most of the staff hasread it by now.
It's you know the cozy crime uhis is doing well also on the tv
(17:35):
with the only murders in thebuilding.
You know that very light, lightcrime I love it, it's fun yeah,
but it's great to read.
And now I'm going on in a seriesthat I've, you know, go back to
once in a while, which is alsobritish.
Well, actually, scottish crimeJD Kirk, dci, logan, that's now.
(17:56):
I just keep reading away.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Do you read many books by Dutch authors?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
You know, I haven't read a single Dutch book in
probably 30 years.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Except for kids books , of course, which we are really
good at.
But grown-up literature inHolland I'm not too familiar
with and it does not attract mereally.
But our kids' books are amazing.
I've read a lot of them myselfand also to my kids.
The best known worldwide isNijntje, you know the little
(18:32):
bunny Miffy Miffy in English.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
They're so cute and for people listening, who might
want to look at those books.
They are by Dick Bruner andPatricia Crampton.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
What about illustrators?
Do you have many of them inAmsterdam and the Hague?
I would think you would, justbecause it's so beautiful and
inspiring there.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, especially Amsterdam is a very creative hub
for all kinds of artists andmakers, but also very visual,
and that's also yeah, we get alot of requests, people wanting
to do stuff in our store.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Do you have a lot of events in the stores?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
We try to yeah, If the building suits it.
You know, if it's too big, wetry and rent another place for
it.
And what we also try and do issell books on locations, on
events, Like we have a hugeDutch Comic Con, for example,
where all the Marvel, the manga,fantasy cons.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah, they're popular over here too, and everybody
dresses up.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah, I mean we just have an enormous stall there
stand and sell books there acouple of times a year and
that's good for business.
But it's nice to go.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
And I'm sure it's reciprocated because it's great
for the community.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Plus, we let them know that we have a lot of that
stuff in the stores.
We have a lot of nerd culturewithin ABC.
Basically, I mean that in thenicest way possible, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
That's funny.
Martijn, it's been greatchatting with you and when I get
back to Amsterdam, which I hopewill happen in the next couple
of years I will come and visit.
I would love to see thebookshops.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, when you were in Amsterdam at
the time did you visit?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Oh, sadly not the bookstores, because you know,
when you were in amsterdam, atthe time did you visit?
Oh, sadly not the bookstores,because you know, when you're on
tour with someone you reallydon't get that much time off.
You know, I went and did somethings, but it was like one
afternoon and we just kind ofraced around, sadly well, if
you're coming, let me know, I'llgive you a tour well, I would
love that.
thank you, maybe I need to do alike a bookshop podcast tour and
take a group of people andwe'll go and visit bookshops in
(20:39):
different countries who havebeen on the show.
That would be fun.
Martijn, I wish you all thebest and thank you so much for
taking time out and being on theshow.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, you too, with the podcast and all else.
Bye, bye.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
You've been listening to my conversation with Martijn
Mertz.
He is the co-director of theAmerican Book Center in
Amsterdam and the Hague.
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
To find out more about theBookshop Podcast, go to
(21:15):
thebookshoppodcastcom and makesure to subscribe and leave a
review wherever you listen tothe show.
You can also follow me at MandyJackson Beverly on X, Instagram
and Facebook and on YouTube atthe Bookshop Podcast.
If you have a favorite indiebookshop that you'd like to
suggest we have on the podcast,I'd love to hear from you via
(21:37):
the contact form atthebookshoppodcastcom.
The Bookshop Podcast is writtenand produced by me, Mandy
Jackson-Beverly, Theme musicprovided by Brian Beverly,
executive assistant to Mandy,Adrian Otterhahn and graphic
design by Frances Barala.
Thanks for listening and I'llsee you next time.
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson-Beverly and I'm a
bibliophile.
Welcome to the Bookshop Podcast.
Each week, I present interviewswith authors, independent
bookshop owners and booksellersfrom around the globe and
publishing professionals.
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
(00:33):
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
When I started this podcast in2020, my intention was to
support indie bookshops andauthors and to produce a quality
podcast where listeners gaininsight to authors' lives and
their writing style and chatwith booksellers about what
they're reading.
I chose a format that isenjoyable for me, my guests and
(00:57):
my listeners a show withoutinterruptions from advertisers
cutting into conversations Withthe millions of podcasts out
there.
Thank you for choosing tolisten to the Bookshop Podcast.
If you'd like to financiallysupport the show, please go to
thebookshoppodcastcom.
Click on support the show andyou can donate through Buy Me A
(01:17):
Coffee.
I'm excited to announce that theBookshop Podcast has partnered
with Books in Homes USA andHeloise Press in the UK.
Books in Homes USA is anon-profit 501c3 that provides
free books of choice to childrenacross the country and works to
support childhood literacy andpromote a lifelong love and
(01:38):
enjoyment of reading.
For more information aboutliteracy rates in the United
States, please go tothebookshoppodcastcom.
Click on the video of mespeaking about this topic and
how you can donate to Books inHomes USA.
For up-to-date informationabout our partners, the Lunch
with an Author series in SantaBarbara and Los Angeles, sign up
(01:59):
for my newsletter throughthebookshoppodcastcom.
And one more thing if you're anAmerican citizen and haven't
sent in a mail ballot, pleasemake sure to vote in person on
Tuesday, november 5th.
Democracy, women's rights, theclimate crisis, creative freedom
, book banning and socialjustice are at stake.
(02:19):
Your vote makes a difference.
Okay, let's get on with thisweek's interview.
You're listening to episode 272.
The American Book Century is afamily-owned bookstore that
originated in Amsterdam andopened its doors in 1972.
(02:39):
Since then, the bookstore hasopened stores in the Hague and
Amstelveen.
The owner and founders of thebusiness are Lynn Ka.
In the Hague and Amstelveen,the owner and founders of the
business are Lynn, kaplanianBuller and her husband, who have
passed the business down eachgeneration of their family.
Director and manager of theAmerican Book Center, martijn
Mertz describes Lynn as beingthe heart and soul of the
(03:01):
American Book Center.
Hi, martijn, and welcome to theshow.
It's great to have you here.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Thank you, nice to be here.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Well, let's begin by learning about you.
What led you to become thedirector and manager of the
American Book Center inAmsterdam?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Well, good fortune, I suppose.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
That's a wonderful answer.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I just started there as a student, basically working
part-time, 25 years ago.
I was still in college inAmsterdam although I live in the
Hague, but the university is inAmsterdam and I studied there
anthropology, was tired of myold job and then my girlfriend
at the time suggested to me well, maybe you should ask over
(03:41):
there, since I was buying mybooks there anyway.
And that's what I did, gothired and then it went step by
step.
Basically, you just you know,yeah, you start to work and you
just work hard and take moreresponsibility when it's still
given.
And are you still?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
enjoying your job.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Oh, it's the best spot on earth, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
I don't think I've ever heard a bookseller or a
bookshop owner or manager saythey hate the job.
It's so wonderful to hear, buttell me, do you ever use your
anthropology degree?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Well, maybe subconsciously, I don't know, I
might.
Yeah, I'm not sure you learn tolook at stuff differently, I
suppose.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, Well, that right there is worth its weight
in gold, I think Now theAmerican Book Center was founded
by Lynn Kaplanian-Buller andher husband.
Is the bookstore still familyowned, and were they the
original owners?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Lynn was not the original owner.
She started working there whenit started but she took over
early 80s.
Then she bought the ABC withher husband, ava Kaplanian.
But she's been there from thebeginning and they still own it.
They do.
Yeah, her son and daughter arestill in the company, although
Paul the son is not working withus, but he still has a share in
the company basically.
So he's involved still.
But yeah, lynn is, she'ssemi-retired but she can't help
(05:06):
herself.
She just has to, you know, workwith the books and very
creative, still going strong.
So, yeah, we see a lot of herstill.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I can imagine that giving up a bookshop like that
would be extremely hard.
I don't think you could juststop and go cold turkey.
I think you would have to kindof gradually fade out.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, it is the buzz of it, and also it's well, it's
her child, more or less.
So yeah, you don't hand thoseout easily.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
That's for sure.
Okay, now the original store inAmsterdam has relocated right.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, twice, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Well, which one had the tree designed around the
staircase that's the current uhstore yeah, that's such a
fabulous and intricate design.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I love it yeah, what's a great uh uh thought of,
uh, an architect we hired atthe time.
Uh, he helped us out and he hadthis idea of, you know, a tree
through all three floors,basically, uh, because that's
where the books come from.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
The tree is symbolic for the paper yeah, in the
photos I really like the way thestaircase winds around the tree
and then you have the bookcaseson the side like a book wall
basically, yeah, uh, I mean wecan only reach up to, you know,
let's say, two meters and therest is basically wallpaper.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
But it looks amazing, plus its design, in such a way
you you sort of twist upward.
First time I was there at about10 years ago, I think it's hard
to find your way back down,it's you get stuck in the loop
on the second floor.
So that's, that's a reallygreat design.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Yeah, it sounds like it, but you also have stores in
the Hague and Leitschendam.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Leitschendam yeah, that's pretty new.
It's actually in the Westfieldmall and I don't know if you
have them in California.
Yes, we do and they startedthis huge mall which is very
undutch in a way, and that'sabout this huge mall which is
very undutch in a way, andthat's about six, seven
kilometers from here.
Actually, we saw an opportunitywe have a very cute little
(07:10):
bookstore in there.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
It's very expensive, but also there's a lot of people
coming there.
And what is it that makes eachstore unique?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Well, the locations I take it Amsterdam.
The store itself is very pretty, that's one of the main
attractions and of course it hasa lot more books than the other
two stores.
It's like a mothershipbasically that's Amsterdam.
But the city of Amsterdam is ofcourse, flooded with tourists
and this has an impact on thesales.
(07:41):
The books you sell basically Inthe Hague, which is sort of the
government city, where thegovernment is.
It's also an international citywith lots of international
companies and businesses, and soit's more of a civil workers
town diplomats, expats, so thatthe public is different, not so
(08:06):
many tourists, so you get adifferent mix of books again.
And Leidschendam is the mall ofthe Netherlands.
It's very touristy.
Obviously.
You just have the highlightsthere.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
And if you're driving , how long would it take to get
from Amsterdam to the Hague?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
About an hour.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, after hearing you explain about the
differences between the areasthat the shops are in, I'm sure
there's a difference in thecuration of the stores too.
So if you could talk about thata little bit.
And also I was wondering ifyour booksellers have a say in
the way the stores are curated.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well, amsterdam has probably about twice as many
books.
So we have the same categoriessections as the Hague, but
there's just more more choice,wider array and also because of
the Hague, because of the sortof customers it attracts, we
tend to be a bit more heavy onthe nonfiction books, like
politics and history.
(09:00):
Amsterdam has loads of bigcoffee table books, art books,
but not so much in the Hague.
So each store is just a littlebit different because of the
public, but in general you seethe same stuff, just a little
bit less of it.
We invest heavily on the staffbecause they are the curators,
(09:22):
they buy.
We don't have centralizedbuying.
If you come in, we train you ina few months to curate a section
, preferably one you'recomfortable with, not
necessarily so.
So I, for example, I buy humorbooks, business books, manga
books, music books very eclecticmix.
(09:42):
So you talk with the sales reps, you talk with the customers.
We of course, have our owntools on the web, in our own
interweb, to help us decide whatto put on the shelves.
But basically everyone hastheir own little shop in shop,
so to speak, and that's whatmakes us different from most
bookstores Also has a hugeimpact on what we put on the
(10:05):
shelves.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Well, that's a fabulous idea in so many ways.
For example, as a customer,when you come in and you're
looking for something inparticular in a certain genre or
nonfiction area, you can beguided to that particular person
who knows that inventory superwell and can guide you to the
best book for you.
But also it makes thebooksellers feel wanted and
(10:29):
needed and that they have animportant task to curate that
particular part of the store.
I think it's a fabulous idea.
And on another note too,booksellers are best when
they're selling the books theyhave read and love, and it's
also fun to kind of edge peopleaway from some of the
bestsellers.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I mean you'd need to have you know the bestsellers,
but next to that you can putinteresting stuff there and try
to convince your customers thatit's worth buying.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Some of the best books I've read and the ones
that I've enjoyed the most, I'vebought from a bookseller who's
taken the time to talk with meand find out what kind of books
I like to read.
Now, are all your books in thebookstores in English, or do you
have sections, for example,maybe in the children's section,
in other languages?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
No, no, it's all English language.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
So I'm guessing that, apart from the tourists, you
must have quite a large Englishspeaking community there.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, yeah, no, you're right.
Dutch people, like what I'veheard understand, like
Scandinavians, just are reallygood with English language.
They don't buy and plus, youknow, the amount of books you
can read in English is lots morethan what's been translated
into Dutch.
I guess it's also because ofthe Internet and the music.
(11:44):
I mean, everything comes fromthe States.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
And that brings me to another question.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Are children in the Netherlands taught English
pretty much from the time theystart school.
Well, in my days that startedat high school so around, which
is here around 11, 12 years old.
I think they start a bitearlier now.
Plus, we have bilingual, moreand more bilingual schools
popping up all over the country.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Well, that's fantastic.
Now, what else do you sellapart from books in the stores?
No, not much.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
I mean, we have some merchandise, but it has to be
related to books.
We're not a toy store.
We have magazines, we havecalendars, we have some games.
That's more or less it.
We just focus on the booksreally.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Yeah, your magazine section looks huge, it looks
fantastic.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yeah, yeah, although I mean it's not doing as well as
it used to.
It's slowly sort of dying out abit, unfortunately, but I mean
there's other stuff in its stead, and you were just asking about
the English language.
But also after COVID, what wesaw was a lot more young people
coming into the store.
Actually it changed.
(12:56):
We used way more older peopleand not so much younger, and now
it totally shifted.
The YA section is where theystart to read.
Basically that's grown sinceHarry Potter into a huge section
, which is wonderful.
But I mean the demographics is.
It gives me a lot of hope forthe future because so many
(13:18):
teenagers that start to read andhopefully they'll keep coming
and, you know, at a certainpoint probably move over to
other sections.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Yeah, that warms my heart because many booksellers
have told me exactly the samething that since COVID, a lot
more younger people are buyingbooks and reading them, which is
fantastic, and coming back foranother book and another when
people say to me oh, you know,young people aren't reading,
they're on their phones all thetime.
I don't see that.
(13:46):
Yeah, I don't either, and Ithink they are reading and
buying the books, which isimportant.
They're not being bought forthem.
When parents ask me well, youknow my kids don't want to read,
what can I do?
I think it's often because theyhaven't found the right book to
read for them.
Just let them read whateverthey want to read.
Let them choose the books theywant to read.
(14:08):
Or, if they have no interest ingoing into a bookstore, think
about what they're reallyinterested in, what they're
passionate about, and find abook that maybe has something to
do with that.
If it's surfing, find anonfiction book about surfing,
or a fictional book aboutsomeone who's taken up surfing,
or memoir.
You're bound to get them insome way and just leave it
(14:28):
around the house.
I guarantee they will pick itup.
But I believe you have to letthem read what they want to read
, to get them excited aboutreading, and then they will
eventually move on to othertopics.
But if you cut off that love ofreading, I think that's
detrimental.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Yeah, I totally agree .
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Let's talk about beautiful Amsterdam.
The only time I've been therewas I was very lucky I was doing
the wardrobe for the DavidBowie tour the Glass Piter tour
in 1987.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Mm-hmm, I remember that yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Good.
Well, we started off inRotterdam doing rehearsals and
then a skeleton crew went offand we did a commercial with
David Bowie and Tina Turner forPepsi, I think it was and then
we came back to Amsterdam for aconcert and I was so taken with
the city.
I think it's beautiful.
It just has so much history andbeauty.
(15:21):
I adore the architecture, thepeople.
It was wonderful.
So, with this in mind, ifsomeone was in Amsterdam for a
few days, are there historicalsites, museums, hikes, that you
suggest they visit?
Speaker 2 (15:34):
There's so many.
I mean, I'm not from Amsterdam,but I enjoy going there.
It's an open air museum,basically.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I think they need to use that quote in their travel
brochures.
That's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Right, I prefer to walk along the canals, basically
, and just let my eyes do therest, because it's very pretty.
It's also very busy, so time itwell.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
And what about the?
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Hague.
Well, the Hague is smaller anda bit more quiet, but it's a
beautiful city also.
Plus, we have a beach, which isgreat.
That's one of our biggestpluses.
But Amsterdam, yeah, of courseyou have to visit the
Rijksmuseum.
I mean it's busy, but it hasthe most amazing masterpieces.
(16:21):
But there's so much.
What do you do in a few days?
Take a boat trip, but walk thecanals, I would say.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
There are a couple of things I love to do when I go
to a new city, a new town.
I love to walk around extremelyearly in the morning when
everything's just kind of quietand then you get the city coming
alive with workers.
And I love going to markets,farmers markets, supermarkets,
because I love to see whatpeople are growing and eating.
It's a good way to learn whatthings are called in another
(16:51):
language.
I just love that.
And of course, I love bookshops.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
The bookstores yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Martin, what are you currently reading?
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I just finished.
Very latest Richard Osman.
Do you know the he's so popular?
The Tuesday Murder Club series.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I know of Richard Osman, but I have not read that
series.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
They're filming it now, which is a little sort of
crime light but very British,very funny.
But he just started a newseries which is called we Solve
Murders.
It just came out last week.
We were all waiting for it.
I think most of the staff hasread it by now.
It's you know the cozy crime uhis is doing well also on the tv
(17:35):
with the only murders in thebuilding.
You know that very light, lightcrime I love it, it's fun yeah,
but it's great to read.
And now I'm going on in a seriesthat I've, you know, go back to
once in a while, which is alsobritish.
Well, actually, scottish crimeJD Kirk, dci, logan, that's now.
(17:56):
I just keep reading away.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Do you read many books by Dutch authors?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
You know, I haven't read a single Dutch book in
probably 30 years.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Except for kids books , of course, which we are really
good at.
But grown-up literature inHolland I'm not too familiar
with and it does not attract mereally.
But our kids' books are amazing.
I've read a lot of them myselfand also to my kids.
The best known worldwide isNijntje, you know the little
(18:32):
bunny Miffy Miffy in English.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
They're so cute and for people listening, who might
want to look at those books.
They are by Dick Bruner andPatricia Crampton.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
What about illustrators?
Do you have many of them inAmsterdam and the Hague?
I would think you would, justbecause it's so beautiful and
inspiring there.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, especially Amsterdam is a very creative hub
for all kinds of artists andmakers, but also very visual,
and that's also yeah, we get alot of requests, people wanting
to do stuff in our store.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Do you have a lot of events in the stores?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
We try to yeah, If the building suits it.
You know, if it's too big, wetry and rent another place for
it.
And what we also try and do issell books on locations, on
events, Like we have a hugeDutch Comic Con, for example,
where all the Marvel, the manga,fantasy cons.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah, they're popular over here too, and everybody
dresses up.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah, I mean we just have an enormous stall there
stand and sell books there acouple of times a year and
that's good for business.
But it's nice to go.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
And I'm sure it's reciprocated because it's great
for the community.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Plus, we let them know that we have a lot of that
stuff in the stores.
We have a lot of nerd culturewithin ABC.
Basically, I mean that in thenicest way possible, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
That's funny.
Martijn, it's been greatchatting with you and when I get
back to Amsterdam, which I hopewill happen in the next couple
of years I will come and visit.
I would love to see thebookshops.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, when you were in Amsterdam at
the time did you visit?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Oh, sadly not the bookstores, because you know,
when you were in amsterdam, atthe time did you visit?
Oh, sadly not the bookstores,because you know, when you're on
tour with someone you reallydon't get that much time off.
You know, I went and did somethings, but it was like one
afternoon and we just kind ofraced around, sadly well, if
you're coming, let me know, I'llgive you a tour well, I would
love that.
thank you, maybe I need to do alike a bookshop podcast tour and
take a group of people andwe'll go and visit bookshops in
(20:39):
different countries who havebeen on the show.
That would be fun.
Martijn, I wish you all thebest and thank you so much for
taking time out and being on theshow.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, you too, with the podcast and all else.
Bye, bye.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
You've been listening to my conversation with Martijn
Mertz.
He is the co-director of theAmerican Book Center in
Amsterdam and the Hague.
To help the show reach morepeople, please share episodes
with friends and family and onsocial media, and remember to
subscribe and leave a reviewwherever you listen to this
podcast.
To find out more about theBookshop Podcast, go to
(21:15):
thebookshoppodcastcom and makesure to subscribe and leave a
review wherever you listen tothe show.
You can also follow me at MandyJackson Beverly on X, Instagram
and Facebook and on YouTube atthe Bookshop Podcast.
If you have a favorite indiebookshop that you'd like to
suggest we have on the podcast,I'd love to hear from you via
(21:37):
the contact form atthebookshoppodcastcom.
The Bookshop Podcast is writtenand produced by me, Mandy
Jackson-Beverly, Theme musicprovided by Brian Beverly,
executive assistant to Mandy,Adrian Otterhahn and graphic
design by Frances Barala.
Thanks for listening and I'llsee you next time.
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