Educatieve Faculteit Amsterdam : International Degree in English Education

Reading List

General Info / Foundation Year / Year One / Year Two / Year Three

General Info
New Books, Second-Hand Books, Book Markets, Other Soruces
Many of the non-literature books can be obtained from the Athenaeum bookshop in the EFA building (D.0.31), however, you can usually find these at other bookshops in Amsterdam or in the UK at a better price. For most modules, you will also be required to buy module/LP guides or handbooks, which are only available at the Athenaeum bookshop.

The following is a short list of some bookshops you may want to visit.

From an ethical perspective we recommend some good shops where you can buy new books (and sometimes second-hand too); for pedagogical reasons, we would also like to indicate a few perfect places to find cheaper, second-hand books.

New Books (back to top)
The American Bookstore
Kalverstraat 185
020-6255537
Mainstream fiction in the basement, other books on three more floors. Some good bargains to be had through an increasing second-hand choice. Students can get a 10% discount on their books with their student card and an extra 10% discount on Thanksgiving (usually the last Thursday in November).

Waterstones
Kalverstraat 152
020-6383821
Four floors of mainly new books; some discounts offered on some books.

Scheltema
Koningsplein 20
020-5231411
A huge place with a good English fiction choice. Very large scientific/academic sections too.

Martyrium
V.Baerlestraat 170-172
020-6732092
A reasonably good section in recent English and American literature, and some interesting bargain books.

Athenæum (mostly Dutch books in fiction)
Spui 14-16
020-6226248
Very good books shop for more theoretical works in English; the fiction department in English is not as big as in the other three stores.

Second-Hand Books (back to top)
Barry's Book Exchange
Kloverniersburgwal 58
020-6266266
Probably the best place in Amsterdam through the sheer number of books in all areas, set in a beautiful building. Very good mainstream fiction section, plenty of linguistics, history etc. Not necessarily the best place for recent theoretical works. Prices can be high, but mostly are reasonable.

Book Traffic
Leliegracht 50
020-6204690
Smaller than Barry's but has a very solid mainstream fiction and Poetry sections; they also have some Dutch books. Prices reasonable, albeit not always.

De Slegte
Kalverstraat 48-52
020-6225933
De slegte is a second-hand books chain with a multiplicity of stores around The Netherlands. The one in Amsterdam has two mainstream fiction departments in English: one the ground and second floors. Very good bargains to be found. Note also the large section in all academic subjects, notably Linguistics, Literary history/criticism and Political science.

Perdu
Kloverniersburgwal 86
020-4220542
A very thorough store dedicated to non-fiction works, most notably Literary theory and criticism and social sciences; not always cheap, but sells books that are usually, when new, horribly expensive.

Books Markets (back to top)
Spui (centre of Amsterdam):
Every Friday.
Books are usually rather expensive, but there are a few stalls with cheap second-hand paperbacks, and not only in Fiction. Deserves a good search. There are also many stalls with more artistic and scientific interests.

Waterlooplein (also in the centre of Amsterdam):
Everyday market which is much more than simply about books (it is in fact a flea-market). There are a few good stalls with great bargains (1, 2 euros per book at most), but finding what you are looking for could take a while. Great for browsing.

The Dam :
Periodically in the summer, on a Sunday, there is a large second-hand books market opposite the Palace. Very large, very varied, not always very good but potentially a great place to go to.

Other Sources (back to top)
There are naturally many more places in Amsterdam, both for new or second-hand books. Do not forget, for example, the Athenæum bookstore in the Kohnstammhuis.

Do not forget either that your student card enables you to obtain a free card to all the University of Amsterdam libraries, certainly the best ressource in Amsterdam for theoretical works.

Finally, there are a number of good sites on the Internet where you can order new – and sometimes second-hand – books. In any case, the Internet is a good source to gather basic information on the books and authors themselves.

www.bol.com
www.amazon.co.uk
www.proxis.com

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