Tweet08-09-2010 om 12:12 by Amanda Potter

I love to read, especially on rainy autumn days. Mostly I read science fiction and urban fantasy, but I occasionally pick up history titles as well. Here are a few resources for finding different types of books in Maastricht.

Biggest Bookstore
The largest bookstore in Maastricht is the Selexyz Dominican. Located in a beautiful, refurbished cathedral, this bookstore is a bit like the Borders chain in the US. They have a good collection of Dutch fiction and nonfiction, a little English fiction, and textbooks for University students. They also have a large collection of magazines. A smaller Selexyz is located by the hospital and carries more textbooks and slightly more non-fiction in English.

English-Language Dutch History
English language books about Maastricht are tough to come by; you’re better off learning enough Dutch to start working through the regular ones. But the VVV does carry some books about Maastricht in English to get you started. The De Slegte also carries a lot of books about the Maastricht region, but only in Dutch.

Used Reads
The De Slegte, located on Grotestraat, is the largest used bookstore in Maastricht and actually carries a mix of used and new titles. We like them for their comics room. Non-Dutch language titles are slim and the nonfiction is generally mixed in with everything else, but with four floors, it’s likely you’ll find something you want to check out.

Online Outlets
Since the Maastricht region is squarely in the middle of Europe, you could make a trip across the border into Belgium for French language books, or over to Germany for German. But online outlets also have a lot to offer in several languages with relatively low shipping costs. For English language books, my preferred outlet is Bol.com, although the American Book Center in Amsterdam also have a good website. Since the Netherlands doesn’t have it’s own Amazon location, you can explore the French, German, and UK ones for your language needs.



Free Reads
And don’t forget the library. For a reasonably yearly fee, you can check books out from the Centre Ceramique library here in Maastricht (or from your own local library in town). Maastricht’s library has tons of fiction & nonfiction in Dutch, as well as a decent collection of English fiction. Stop in and explore for other languages or a specific title. Or just to have a cup of coffee in their little cafe.

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