Het Boekenfestijn

I got these eight books for only €27!  Not a bad deal at all!

This past weekend I visited Het Boekenfestijn in Ahoy, which is a huge book festival that is held once a year to sell off books that were left over from the year’s stock.   I had never been and was curious about what it was like after hearing so many of my expat friends talking about it over the years.   We went a little late, at 4pm on the last day of the show, leaving us only two hours before they closed up shop.  I wish I’d thought to take some photos inside but I was far too busy looking through the thousands of books they had on display.

I think it’s safe to say that there is something for everyone at the boekenfestijn.  There were thousands of Dutch books about every possible subject, an entire section of English paperbacks, and other English books mixed in with the books that were sorted by category.    I had gone in hopes of getting a set of the Twilight books for a little cheaper as I only have them as e-books.  They were there in plenty, but all in Dutch… helaas pindakaas! (that is a saying that means the same as “too bad!” in Dutch, but translated directly means “unfortunately peanut butter!”.  I love it, those crazy Dutch!).   I did find other things I really like though.  In fact, I had to narrow it down to the eight because there were many other books I wanted.

I also made a point of getting books that will help me try to achieve my New Years wishes.  A book of recipes to help me get a bit of variety in my diet. Only €1,50 for a cookbook of chicken recipes from around the world!  A book with 100 tips for digital photography, which I’ve only read up to tip #30 and have already learned quite a few things I didn’t already know!  Two books about crafts to keep me busy, off the computer and living a bit more in my real life than my virtual one and a handful of novels to keep me entertained on the cold winter evenings ahead.

The books are all new, so it really is quit a deal considering the price of books these days.   I can definitely see why my fellow expats make this a yearly outing, as I’m already rubbing my hands together in anticipation of next year’s visit!