I was a little afraid when I decided my reading destination this summer would be The Netherlands that I might not find enough books to keep me busy, but what a silly thought. This is the pile I have amassed so far (there are a couple of books still en route and a couple cut off in the photo and at least one ebook on the ipad I am using) and I clearly have far more books to read than the time in which to read them--even over the course of the next three (gosh, time is flying by--two and a half) months or so. I was afraid I might not have enough to talk about or share with you (silly, too, since this is only the first of three planned posts I am working on to finish out this week). For the time being, however, I have plenty to keep me busy here and offline, too.
Since you never know when you might have a hankering to pick up a book set in The Netherlands or translated from Dutch, I thought I would share my 'reading list'. Although there is a mishmash of books here, I have them subdivided in my head: Books set in The Netherlands but written in English or another language, fiction translated from Dutch, mysteries or crime stories translated from Dutch, classics translated from Dutch and nonfiction translated from Dutch.
Books set in The Netherlands (but written in English or some other language):
The Apothecary's House, Adrian Mathews
Love in Amsterdam, Nicolas Freeling
Maigret in Holland, Georges Simenon
Tulip Fever, Deborah Moggach
Shooting in the Dark, Carolyn Hougan
Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland (a reread--interlinked stories concerning the provenance of a Vermeer painting--loved this the first time I read it)
The Anatomy Lesson, Nina Siegal
The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton
The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan
After You've Gone by Jeffrey Lent
History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason
Dutch Fiction:
Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill, Dimitri Verhulst (translated from Dutch, but the author is actually Belgian--or is it more proper to say Flemish?)
Amsterdam Stories, Nescio
Villa des Roses, Willem Elsschot
On the Water, H.M. van den Brink
The Storm, Margriet de Moor
Dutch Crime/Mysteries:
The Amsterdam Cops: Collected Stories, Janwillem van de Wetering
Outsider in Amsterdam, Janwillem van de Wetering
Tumbleweed, Janwillem van de Wetering
Murder in Amsterdam, A.C. Baantjer
DeKok and the Somber Nude, A.C. Baantjer
DeKok and Murder on the Menu, A.C. Baantjer
The Sundial, Maarten 'T Hart
The Dinner Club, Saskia Noort
Close-Up, Esther Verhoef
Rendezvous, Esther Verhoef
Shadow Sister, Simone van der Vlugt
The Vanishing, Tim Krabbé
Dutch Classics:
Eline Vere, Louis Couperus
Inevitable, Louis Couperus
Ecstasy, Louis Couperus
Dutch Nonfiction:
Amsterdam: A Brief Life of the City, Geert Mak
An Island in Time: The Biography of a Village, Geert Mak
Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life, the Diaries, 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork
You'll definitely be hearing about some of these (a few as soon as tomorrow!). I'm happy to have them on my shelves for whenever the mood arises (for the ones I don't get to this summer). If you are curious what I am reading at the moment, you can check out my sidebar on the right. I've got a tag going for my posts. I know I have more than enough books to keep me busy for a long time, but if there is something really good I've left off my list, do let me know. I read according to whim, and it's always good to have a variety of books to choose from! I'm already nearing the end of two books so my thoughts are turning to the pile and which two books to read next.