The American Book Center is 50! Join the celebrations.
Saturday, April 11th
ABC Amsterdam, Spui 12 1012XA ABC The Hague, Lange Poten 23 2511CM ABC Leidschendam, Westfield Mall of the Netherlands, Kornoelje 15 2262AX
Join us in celebrating our birthday this year!
🎂 All three stores will have cake to share with you all (as long as supplies last of course).
🎒 We will also be giving away special, limited edition mini Booklover Bags to anyone who buys something in our physical stores on this day.
🪪 Those lovely folks who have a valid ABC Booklover Card get 10% extra discount (so 20% discount in total) in our physical stores on this day.
ABC The Hague will have a few extra things going on, as we are celebrating our 50th birthday there:
🖼️ Come have a look at our ABC museum display, with 50 years of memories. Do you remember our old location? What staff t-shirts have we worn throughout the years?
📚 We’ll also have two trivia quizzes in the afternoon, at 12:00 hrs and at 15:00 hrs. Come test your literary knowledge, and we’ll also sprinkle in some ABC The Hague trivia! Maximum group size for participation is 3 people, it’s first come first serve as far as space goes, and we’ll have some fun goodie bags for the winners! The trivia quizzes will be held upstairs, but please note that unfortunately we do not have an elevator, so the these will not be wheelchair accessible.
In the spring, when tulips bloom across the Netherlands, we created a temporary bookstore called daydream bookshop. The Hague, the country’s only major seaside city, is known for its elegant atmosphere and its role as a political and financial center. Within this structured and multicultural environment, we chose the everyday space of a bookstore to approach what may seem like a vast subject. This is the first time Taiwan, as the initiating organizer, has brought together disability arts organizations from five European countries for an exhibition within Europe. Yet we are not driven by scale, nor do we seek spectacle.
A bookstore carries ideas, histories, and futures. It holds many ways of seeing the world. Here, one may encounter new perspectives, including different understandings of disability.
In collaboration with the independent bookstore Nowhere Bookstore in The Hague, artworks are placed among the shelves. We are curious whether artists from different cultural backgrounds, responding to their lived experiences, can create resonances beyond language, borders, and physical difference.
──────────────────── daydream bookshop Euro-Asian Disability Arts Touring Exhibition ──────────────────── location｜Nowhere Bookstore, Piet Heinstraat 42, The Hague dates｜March 14 – April 5, 2026 closed｜Mondays and Tuesdays 10:00–17:00 (weekends until 18:00) opening event｜March 14, sat. 2pm Live Performance
The opening afternoon will also feature live DJ sets by local artists, creating a relaxed atmosphere where visitors can experience the artworks while moving through the space.
Angelika Regossi is an author and former international journalist who grew up in Soviet Ukraine and has lived across Europe, Canada, and Asia. She has been based in the Netherlands since 2015. Her writing reflects her experiences of migration, integration, and belonging.
She has shared this article below which draws on her personal experiences of leaving the USSR, moving across several countries, and gradually building a life in the Netherlands. It reflects on how small moments of connection and discovery shape the feeling of belonging for internationals.
In 1988, in Soviet Ukraine, a great artist painted my fear.
I didn’t ask him to. He had been observing me quietly while I worked at the Bokshaj Art Museum in Uzhhorod, where I organized exhibitions and wrote about art. One summer day, he invited me to pose for a portrait. I was in my twenties, silently preparing to leave the Soviet Union, and I never told him. In those years, speaking openly was dangerous; silence was survival.
Yet somehow, through his brushstrokes, he captured what I never said. In the portraits he made, I am a sad young woman. Sad because I knew I would have to leave everything behind: my home, my work, my family, and step into the unknown. It felt like standing on the edge before a parachute jump — thrilling, terrifying, and life-changing all at once.
That moment stayed with me for decades. Years later, after moving across several countries, I settled in the Netherlands. My life here didn’t hinge on dramatic milestones or sudden revelations. It was shaped by small discoveries: learning to navigate Dutch directness and pragmatism, finding joy in simple daily routines, and embracing both rainy writing days and sunny gardening days. These ordinary experiences mattered far more to me than any formal measure of “integration.”
As internationals living in The Hague, many of us know this feeling well. Integration isn’t a single moment of accomplishment. It’s the accumulation of small victories: the first time you successfully navigate the train system without panic, the first Dutch recipe you master, the first neighbor who greets you with warmth rather than suspicion. It’s learning to laugh at misunderstandings, to adjust expectations, and to cherish fleeting moments of connection in an unfamiliar environment.
For me, belonging came slowly. It arrived in the quiet evenings spent walking through the city’s canals, in conversations with friends who became like family, and in the comfort of routines that once felt foreign. And it arrived with the realization that my past — the fear, secrecy, and challenges I carried from the USSR — did not prevent me from building a new life. Instead, it gave me a perspective on resilience and human connection that I carry with me every day.
Every expat’s journey is different, but the common thread is often the same: small moments create the tapestry of home. It’s in the ordinary and mundane that belonging is forged. In a place like The Hague, with its international community, cultural diversity, and daily reminders of being “foreign,” these small moments gain even greater significance.
When I reflect on my own path, I realize that integration is not about erasing your past or fully adopting a new culture. It’s about weaving your experiences into a life that feels authentically yours — learning from the local culture, contributing to the community, and finding ways to feel grounded amidst constant change. Every conversation, every meal shared, every day spent learning something new adds up. These are the moments that make a home.
I hope sharing these reflections encourages fellow internationals to notice the small, often overlooked victories in their own lives. Integration is not a checklist; it’s an accumulation of lived experiences, each small moment a step toward feeling at home.
An author based in The Hague has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Bö, an experimental fantasy novel rooted in the everyday landscape and quiet folklore of Leidschenveen.
The campaign went live earlier this month and aims to fund a self-published hardcover edition of the book. While originally arriving in the Netherlands to explore the country, the author found himself settling in Leidschenveen, where the neighbourhood and its atmosphere gradually became part of the story he was developing.
Set near the British School in the Netherlands, Bö unfolds across the familiar streets of Leidschenveen but approaches them from an unusual angle. The narrative combines multiple perspectives, including that of a dog, and explores themes of memory, identity and perception. Elements of dream-like storytelling are woven together with a form of magic based on sound and sensory experience, creating a world that blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination.
Many of the novel’s details are drawn from the author’s own life in The Hague, including his observations of the neighbourhood and his daily walks with his Tibetan Mastiff. Rather than presenting a traditional fantasy setting, Bö reimagines a recognisable local environment through a highly personal and imaginative lens.
The Kickstarter campaign offers supporters the chance to back the hardcover release of the novel and support the author’s literary debut. The project sits at the intersection of experimental fiction and sensory storytelling, with a strong connection to place at its core.
About the author Joerg Fritsch is a long-term technical writer and independent creator based in The Hague. Alongside his professional writing work, he has been developing Bö as a personal creative project inspired by his surroundings and experiences in Leidschenveen.
Get Tickets (Tickets are free but please sign up for the event in The Hague)
Leidschendam: Saturday, November 29th 16:00-17:00
ABC Leidschendam, Westfield Mall of the Netherlands, Kornoelje 15 2262AX
No need to sign up for tickets in Leidschendam
Please join us in welcoming author and humorist Colleen Geske to The Hague for a talk and book signing! She will present Stuff Dutch People Hate, the latest entry in her sharply-observed and witty series of books on Dutch culture.
About the book You’ve all heard what the Dutch love: stroopwafels, bicycles and of course, gezelligheid. But what about the things that make their blood boil? From tourists on rental bikes to stable governments and soggy bitterballen, this book dives deep into the world of Dutch discontent. Find out why the Dutch despise lateness, expats and e-bikes. What does equality have to do with crappy customer service? And why does pragmatism take the center stage in nearly all Dutch decision making? While the title of this book may sound negative, you’ll see that the Dutch are defined just as much by what they dislike (aka “hate”) as by what they like. With the signature wit and sarcasm of the Stuff Dutch People Like series, this hilarious guide exposes the tiny (and not-so-tiny) things that drive the Dutch gek. Whether you’re Dutch or just curious about their quirks, this book will have you laughing, learning and questioning how a nation so small can have such big opinions. Warning: May contain dangerously high levels of Dutch directness. Read at your own risk.
About the author Colleen Geske is a writer, humorist and passionate observer of Dutch culture. With a knack for blending wit, sarcasm and insightful observations, she’s made it her mission to demystify the quirks of the Netherlands while keeping her readers laughing along the way. Originally from Canada, and having lived in the Netherlands for nearly two decades, Colleen has developed an undeniable fondness for hagelslag and filet americain. If you ever meet her, don’t be surprised if she has some strong opinions of her own, it’s just her way of passing on the gift of Dutch directness. Colleen currently lives with her family in Amsterdam. Allard Westenbrink co-host of the Stuff Dutch People Like podcast, will interview Colleen. Allard is a comedy and drama television director who is passionate about deep-friend dutch snacks, vintage knick-knacks and a well-sung smartlap.
Please note: the event will be held upstairs, but we unfortunately don’t have an elevator in The Hague. If you have mobility issues we invite you to Colleen’s Meet&Greet at ABC Leidschendam on the same day, where you can meet and chat with her at ground level.
At ABC, Thanksgiving has always been our favorite day of the year and an important moment to share joy and gratitude. Thank you to all of you, our amazing customers, for supporting us this past year, and we hope you enjoy this day as much as we always do.
First and foremost, on Thanksgiving Day we give everyone 10% extra discount on our stock, both in the physical stores and on web-orders. And yes, that means that all of you who normally already get 10% off now get 20% discount! More information and details on this can be found at the bottom of this post.
The Hague
Now, if that discount is not enough to lure you to spend a bit of your day with us we also have the following planned in The Hague:
– Baked Goods Potluck: sharing a meal has always been an important part of Thanksgiving. We’d love for anyone who loves baking to join our potluck. You can bring cookies, cupcakes, a bit of that sourdough — anything you fancy making and sharing. All bakers will receive a little gift voucher as a token of our appreciation.
– Book Swap: between 16.00hrs and 18.00hrs upstairs. Bring a book you’d like to swap and pick another from our table!
– Blind Book Bundles: three Blind Book Dates in one parcel for a nice price. This year’s themes include “AI with Anxiety”, “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”, and “Back to (Magic) School”.
– Bundle Golden Bookmark: hidden inside one Blind Book Bundle per store (Amsterdam, The Hague, Leidschendam) is a Golden Bookmark. Find it, and you’ll win an exclusive ABC Booklover Box, packed with literary goodies.
– Cozy BBDs: if 3 Blind Book Dates in one parcel is too much for you, no worries! We’ll have special cozy- and family-themed single BBDs available as well.
– Bookstore Golden Bookmark: we’ll also hide a Golden Bookmark in a book in the store. Find it and win a €25 ABC Gift Certificate!
– Thanksgiving Book: write down what you are thankful for in our book, and see what others shared as well, also from last year.
– Prize Draw: guess the answer to our ABC-related trivia question for a chance to win a €25 ABC Gift Certificate.
– Booklover Card Raffle: leave you ABC Booklover Card number in the box for a chance to win a €25 ABC Gift Certificate.
Keep an eye on our social media for more details. We really hope to see you then!
Leidschendam
– Baked Goods Potluck: sharing a meal has always been an important part of Thanksgiving. We’d love for anyone who loves baking to join our potluck. You can bring cookies, cupcakes, a bit of that sourdough — anything you fancy making and sharing. All bakers will receive a little gift voucher as a token of our appreciation.
– Book Swap: all day on the book cart by the register. Bring a book you’d like to swap and pick another from our cart!
– Blind Book Bundles: three Blind Book Dates in one parcel for a nice price. This year’s themes include “Feline Companions”, “If the Shoe Fits”, and “Dark Romance for Beginners”.
– Bundle Golden Bookmark: hidden inside one Blind Book Bundle per store (Amsterdam, The Hague, Leidschendam) is a Golden Bookmark. Find it, and you’ll win an exclusive ABC Booklover Box, packed with literary goodies.
– Cozy BBDs: if 3 Blind Book Dates in one parcel is too much for you, no worries! We’ll have special cozy- and family-themed single BBDs available as well.
– Bookstore Golden Bookmark: we’ll also hide a Golden Bookmark in a book in the store. Find it and win a €25 ABC Gift Certificate!
– Prize Draw: guess the answer to our ABC-related trivia question for a chance to win a €25 ABC Gift Certificate.
– Booklover Card Raffle: leave you ABC Booklover Card number in the box for a chance to win a €25 ABC Gift Certificate.
Keep an eye on our social media for more details. We really hope to see you then!
Thanksgiving Discount Details On Thursday, November 27th, all ABC shoppers will receive a 10% discount in all of our stores – Amsterdam, The Hague, Leidschendam and online!
Complimentary discount: students and other groups Students and others who receive a complimentary discount will also receive 20% off their purchases on Thanksgiving! This extra discount does not apply to our webshop, so visit our brick-and-mortar stores on Thanksgiving and show your valid student ID at the register.
