Read all about it
Technology races on, but there’s something very special about a good old-fashioned bookshop where reading is a real passion
‘Friendly’ and ‘serene’ are two words that come to mind when entering Sterling Books, the biggest independent English bookshop in Brussels. Between the warm smiles and earnest book recommendations of the staff, you get a real sense that reading is a passion here. So it isn’t surprising to hear the store’s manager and fiction buyer, Eva Manhaeva, declare working here “the best job in the world”. It’s a sentiment that’s reflected in the number of CVs that Sterling Books receives. “People seem to have this dream of working in a bookshop,” says Manhaeva.
Sterling Books opened in 1997 on one of Brussels’ most curiously named streets, Rue du Fossé aux Loups. The street, which traces the city’s medieval walls, was named Wolvengracht after a man called De Wolf, and was then mistranslated into the French, meaning roughly Wolves’ Ditch Road. Owner Patrick Snoeck, surprisingly, is no English squire but a burgher from Ghent. The descendent of a family of printers, he bought a rundown furniture store in the centre of Brussels, where the big windows now provide a luminous atmosphere in which to peruse the 50,000-odd books on display.
So why name it Sterling? “It has this connotation of quality. It also sounds good,” says Eva. The focus on quality seems to have paid off: the store has a loyal following and Eva reveals that “many of the customers are very emotional about the shop.” It’s not just homesick Brits either. “We have a very mixed clientele, who come from all over Europe.”
Strong, emotional relations with clients are what all bookshops need as they face huge competition from online stores and e-book readers. But maybe that’s why Eva seems pretty relaxed about the future. “Most people prefer paper books to e-books,” she says. “We focus on providing a quality service and knowledge so people have a nice experience.” No doubt the e-book vs paper book debate will rumble on at the forthcoming Brussels Book Fair, which takes place at Tour & Taxis from March 1 to 5, but at Sterling, the verdict is already out.
Sterling Books
38 Rue du Fossé aux Loups
Brussels
Photo by Bart Dewaele
