Why settle for a staycation when I can go somewhere far away and new to me, a place I have long been curious about and a place I think I would like very much culturally, socially and geographically? Armchair travel via books has much to recommend itself. I thought of returning to Italy or maybe spending more time at the seaside. Then I thought perhaps traveling to as many big European cities as I could squeeze in over the course of the summer months would be fun, but it might be exhausting, too. Not long ago I picked up Eline Vere by Louis Couperus and as I have been enjoying it so much thought why not spend more time in the Netherlands? I've read so little Dutch literature and surely it is time to rectify that!
So I am packing my suitcases, am changing dollars for guilders (okay, I know it's Euros now, but guilders sounds so much more exotic) and have my ticket in hand--if only 'virtually'. Of course traveling through the pages of a book means I won't have to worry about spending too much money (except maybe on books!), or schlepping my luggage from place to place or endure lengthy flights. So . . . I won't get to sample any new foods, or get to hear Dutch spoken, but I can visit all sorts of neighborhoods in lots of different cities and even travel to different time periods. I might meet up with a few unsavory characters along the way, but I won't have to worry about ever feeling unsafe. If my reading is as varied as I hope it will be I might just get a sense of what life is like in this beautiful country.
I am busy assembling books to (potentially) read. Of course the pile is far larger than I know I will manage to read over the course of the next three months, but variety is good, library books can go back read or unread, and anything newly acquired will be happily received in my own personal library to read now or later. I thought I might have a hard time finding books translated from Dutch, but as you can see below I'm finding quite a few new authors and new books to explore.
I plan on traveling through as many cities/regions of The Netherlands as I can--novels, nonfiction, memoirs, short stories, mysteries and crime stories--whatever catches my fancy. I am hoping to post once a week from now through the end of August. I might even arrange a guest post or two from a Dutch friend. I'm not entirely sure what form my posts will take--likely I'll just share whatever happens to be in hand that I am reading. The postcard above was compliments of a fellow Postcrosser (and I have a fair few more of them to share, too). It's summer so things will be pretty laid back here and my plans will be very loose and follow whatever my mood demands.
I have already started my reading. I am thoroughly enjoying Eline Vere--so much so that I have found a few of Louis Couperus' other books and his 1900 novel, Inevitable, has joined Eline on my reading pile. (How handy to be able to finally find an early novel to fill a slot for my Century of Books, too). International crime novels are very popular these days, so I have found a number of them with a Dutch setting. At the moment I am reading a collection of short stories by Janwillem ven de Wetering called The Amsterdam Cops: Collected Stories and on my work ipad I have A.C. Baantjer's The Somber Nude.
More books to choose from later, in no particular order (but grouped according to genre):
Classics:
Eline Vere, Inevitable and Ecstasy by Louis Couperus
Nonfiction:
Amsterdam and An Island in Time: The Biography of a Village by Geert Mak
Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life, the Diaries, 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork
Novels:
The Anatomy Lesson by Nina Siegal
Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst
Villa des Roses by Willem Elsschot
On the Water by H.M. van den Brink
The Storm: A Novel by Margriet de Moor
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
The Apothecary's House by Adrian Mathews
Amsterdam Stories by Nescio
Mysteries and Crime Novels:
The Amsterdam Cops: Collected Stories, Outsider in Amsterdam, and Tumbleweed by Janwillem van de Wetering
Close-Up and Rendezvous by Esther Verhoef
The Dinner Club by Saskia Noort
Shadow Sister by Simone van der Vlugt
Shooting in the Dark by Carolyn Hougan
Dekok and the Somber Nude by A.C. Baantjer
I've fudged a little on my list of books as not all are by Dutch authors, some simply have Dutch settings and some books by Dutch authors are not set in The Netherlands. But they all appeal in one way or another. I am still waiting for a few titles to arrive in the mail. And as always, is there something good I am missing? Suggestions always welcome.