AnnetteTx

Don't know whether to say thank you or not

Just spent more than a month's salary!

What a wonderful site. So well organized and easy to use. It is going to be difficult to stay away from there for a while!

Gold stars 4U

Glad to be of help -- with the books, that is, not the bills!

After reading the "Books set in England/London" thread, you should see my reserve list from the library!

The Longitude Books people are very nice -- I bought several books when we thought we were travelling to Wales. When we changed our plans to Amsterdam, they gladly accepted my return and exchanged them for the Amsterdam books I wanted.

Annette

If you'd like to add a few mysteries to your list, I suggest the Van Der Valk series by Nicholas Freeling and the Grijpstra and De Gier series by Janwillem van de Wettering. They go back a few years but should still be available in pb.

For history, The First World War by John Keegan is excellent, also in pb. I second the Coffee Trader. Got it on CD abd put it on the old iPod for a trip last year.

There is a W H Smith (at least in 2003) on 71 blvd Adolphe Max in Brussels with a good selection in English of books on belgian subjects. I got The Sorrow of Belgium, Tall Man in a Low Country and Belgian Adventures-A European discovers Belgium. All good reads in thier catagories.

For Holland I suggest Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies. If you have read the Diary of Anne Frank, you will remember her as the secretary of Otto Frank, who assisted the family when they went into hiding ,gives a look into how she helped them and what was happening to the world within the confines of the "house in the back".

Pandajudy

I was undeer the impression that Tintin was a comic strip character...no?

More than a comic strip character - Tintin's practically a national hero in Belgium! His adventures are still widely read by children and adults alike

Awww Gee Annette, and here I thought for a minute (split second?) that you were offering to help with the cost

I have already been back to visit the site and 'window shop' 2X !! I am going to have to lock up my credit card somewhere that I can't get to it :-< at least till net month...

Thank you PandaJudy.

Brussels will be my last stop - just one night and 2 1/2 days, so I don't want to wait till then to get some of these great books that have been suggested.

Have added your suggestions to my wish list with the Miep Gies book on my *must* read list.

"...but should still be available in pb"
What is "pb", please?

paperback?

For an amazing look into the amazing tulip bubble and panic try "Tulipomania: the story of the world's most coveted flower and the extraordinary passions it aroused" by Mike Dash.

"Through the Gates of the Netherlands" by Mary E. Waller is a beautifully written account of an American couple who packed up and moved to the Netherlands -- 100 years ago. Many things, particularly the character of the Dutch people, have changed very little.

More contemporary and amusing is "The Undutchables: an observation of the Netherlands, its culture and its inhabitants" by Colin White and Laurie Boucke. These folks have a web site with equally amusing reviews at http://www.undutchables.com/.

OOPS! Sorry about the abreviations! pb=paper back, hb= hard back. My own private shorthand. I write the names of books I see on shelves or read about in reviews etc (with the intention of reading them some century) in a small book I carry with me and use pb, hb, tb (trade paperback) to remind me of the format!
Pandajudy

Dorothy Dunnett's Niccolo Rising starts out in Bruges in 1460ish.

My goodness but this is marvelous.
So many choices. The only problem is my income Good thing that I have a few months yet before the trip.

I am enjoying all this very much. Many thanks to all of you.

<b>Meredith</b> - Hope that you too are finding answers to our question?

<b>Hopscotch</b> - I really enjoyed the undutchables site very much. Their book is now on the first on my wish list.

Yes, &quot;Tulipomania&quot; has also been added to the list. &quot;Through the Gates of the Netherlands&quot; does look interesting too.

Thanks.

<b>Pandajudy</b> - Thanks for the translation! <b>Cimbrone</b> guessed it right! What an excellent idea. I often see books that I know I will want to read 'somewhen', but often forget which they were. I will have to try your method.

<b>hanl</b> - Any idea where the Tintin comics might be available in English? Any special ones that you recommend?

Thanks <b>Nonconformist</b> Will look into that one too!

Hi,
The Tintin books are widely available in English. If you don't come across them at home (I'm pretty sure you can find them on Amazon), don't worry, as they are very easy to get hold of in Belgium, even in English. There's even a Tintin shop not far from the Grand'Place (though the merchandising - t-shirts, figurines and the like - is rather overpriced).

Although they were originally published in a Belgian newspaper in the late 20s, they soon came to be published as hardback books, each one covering a particular adventure. The stories are beautifully drawn, and usually take place in foreign countries (although some of the attitudes now seem decidedly colonial), with roving reporter Tintin and his cynical dog Snowy getting into all kinds of tricky situations. When I was a child, my favourites were Tintin in Tibet, the Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure.

I don't know if there are English translations of the Suske &amp; Wiske comic books that are popular here; these are very very Belgian.

Hi, UnaS,

Yes, I am getting some good ideas! Unfortunately for me, I don't have much time to seek out these books, as I am leaving this Friday (yahoo!!!). I did pick up &quot;Girl in Hyacinth Blue&quot; from the library - thanks to Cimbrone for reminding me about it. I read this book several years ago and loved it. I figured it's worth a re-read, since I'll actually be seeing Vermeer's work in just a few days!

Thanks hanl. Guess that I will wait on that then and see what I can find locally.

Meredith
I am downright jealous! I have to wait months and months yet. Oh well, at least I will have time to read some of the great book suggestions here meanwhile

Have a great trip!

<font color="red"> Looking forward to a full trip report ! </font>