Dominicain Bookrepublic

Hey guys,

A couple of months ago it was ‘crazyshoppingtime’ at Maastricht in the Netherlands. As the shopaholic I am, I had to go there. After an hour and a half of driving, we arrived. We left very early so we would be in time when the stores opened at 10. But we were  to early, because apparently the stores opened only at 12 hour. So we just went to a coffeeshop and had a hot cup of coffee to wait till the stores opened.

The sales are crazy over there. Normally I find nothing here in Belgium in my size, or at least something pretty, but in Maastricht… To keep it short, I went home with a lot of bags. And luckily for this blog, shopping isn’t the only thing I did over there…

For a long time I’ve heard there’s a bookstore in a very old building, more specifically: a church (Bookstore Dominicanen). No sooner said than done, I went over there to take a look.

It was actually a very nice location to find some new books. The content of the books in the store weren’t very special, it were just the general kind of books you find in every store. I thought about it as a ‘Standaard Boekhandel’. (a normal kind of bookstore in Belgium, and nothing’s wrong with that because I LOVE IT). So to keep it clear: you could find all the books you can find in your local bookstore.

But the store has another kind of angle of incidence. It also sells secondhand books. The ground floor is filled with the regular, newer books. But in the middel of the chruch there are also platforms where you can climb up the stairs and get to area’s full of other books. Special books, not the normal kind. I thought it was a very succesfull concept. The building gives a mature, cultural and majestic atmosphere, allowing you to feel very special when you search for a good book.

Personally I don’t love secondhand books. I prefer to buy them new. But I do love vintage and the look of old things, so I certrainly did have a look at those books.

I didn’t get out of the store with something new, I guess I just didn’t think the books where that innovative. I did have a great experience because of what a bookstore can accomplish with just the setting. It’s definitely a must-see store for booklovers, at least in my region!

Did you already know this store, or do you want to visit it? Do you have special booksplaces in your neighbourhood? Let me know 😀

LOTS OF LOVE

SARIE