A few weeks ago Brussels hosted a huge traveling book fair, called "Het Boekenfestijn". It's operated by a Dutch company called De Centrale Boekhandel, and throughout the year it travels throughout the Netherlands and Flemish-speaking parts of Belgium. A friend of mine who has lived here for several years told me you could get some amazing deals on books (in English too!), greeting cards, wrapping paper, etc., so despite it being on the other side of town, Carl and I decided to check it out.
Boy, am I glad we did! We got a total of 9 books (a mix of hardcover and paperback), a box of holiday greeting cards and some fancy holiday ribbon, all for about €39! What a steal!! These weren't obscure titles that no one wants to read either - there were lots of newer books from best-selling authors available, along with cookbooks, reference books, travel books, you name it! Sometimes the books are what they called "slightly damaged", but when we found that to be the case the damage was so minor that it was a complete non-issue. They said some can be previous editions as well, though I perused the travel section and never noticed anything out-of-date.
Anyway, we are now huge fans of Het Boekenfestijn, and can't wait to visit it again when it comes to town! They won't be back in Brussels for a while, but they'll be in Ghent in December and Leuven in February, so we might just have to hop a train and make a day of it!!
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2 comments:
Cool! Please tell us when you go the next time. We might want to join you!!!
Volker
This weekend (until the 11th I believe) there is a similar expo in Antwerp (at the .. euh... Antwerp Expo) called the Boekenbeurs. This is a yearly event. It's been years since I've been there, but this Monday (Nov 10) I'm heading over there. If you're looking for another book fest this is well worth a visit! They're expecting about 60 000 books and a lot more visitors this year...
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