English Bookshops in Brussels

For those in the market for English-language books in Brussels there are three main choices: for students and teachers of EFL the best choice is Audivox on Rue de la Violette, just off Grand Place. It’s small, but has plenty of material. I use it quite often. For those wanting a more classic bookshop there is Waterstones near Place Rogier and Sterling Books near Place de la Monnaie. I prefer the latter. If there is a choice between an independent shop and a corporate chain giant that’s hell-bent on world domination I will always choose the former.

Waterstones is one of the corporate giants dumbing down Britain. Their shelves are filled with celebrity autobiographies, celebrity chefs plying their third or fourth book and various other twaddle that has no literary merit. WH Smith are also guilty. I was in one at Gatwick airport a couple of months ago, desperate to find a dictionary. I couldn't find one, but I did come across an entire wall of Women's Lifestyle magazines and three books by Katie Price, aka Jordan. Having Women's Lifestyle magazines in a bookshop is a worrying trend. The titles of these magazines show the reading level required to understand them; none has more than three syllables: 'OK', 'Now', 'Heat', 'Closer', 'Pick Me Up'. I wonder what happens when these people look at something like 'National Geographic'. Do they just give up after the word 'national'?

Sterling, on the other hand, hasn't yet turned itself into a cultural cesspool. I went there recently because I was in the rather unfamiliar position of not having anything to read. I finished Ian Mcewan’s ‘Enduring Love’ a couple of weeks ago (a great novel that I highly recommend) so I was looking for a non-fiction work. Non-fiction is a huge genre, comprising biography, history, politics, current affairs and the environment. I like to dabble in a bit of everything, so going to a bookshop with non-fiction as the only requirement means navigating quite a few shelves. Luckily there are ways to tell the wheat from the chaff.

First, be aware of titles that use the phrase ‘change the world’ in any shape or form. It’s such a vague and overused term that can be applied to just about anything. A quick browse through the politics and current affairs section will throw up a number of titles with it or a similarly hyperbolic and nonsensical phrase in the title. ‘Addicted: How Oil Changed the World’. ‘How Cocaine Took Over the World’. ‘1492: The Year China Discovered the World’. And my personal favourite: ‘Tuna: The Fish That Changed The World.’

Be wary of books that aren’t actually books, but collections of articles that you could read online for free. George Monbiot is one of my favourite environmental and social justice campaigners, but even has succumbed to this marketing trend of just publishing a collection of his articles in book form.

When it comes to biographies and autobiographies I only choose those of people who are dead or very nearly dead. Bookshops nowadays are saturated with “tell-all” autobiographies of celebrities who are simply trying to cash in on their fifteen minutes of fame, knowing that it’s soon to run out. Worse still, these idiots still have about half their life left to live. My personal exception to this guideline is footballers autobiographies, but even then I try to limit myself to good ones. So far I’ve read Keane’s, Beckham’s, Bobby Charlton’s and Pele’s. I would recommend all but the latter.

With this in mind there was still plenty to choose from. Sterling has a comprehensive history section, but nothing that grabbed my attention. There were lots about global warming and how to save the planet, but it’s all stuff I’ve heard before, and I feel I already have a good idea of how to change my own life to help the environment. Similarly, though I admire Richard Dawkins greatly, I’m not going to spend time reading a vast book when I agree with the central premise. The same goes for a very important book and film, ‘The End of the Line’, which documents the immense damage being wrought by the fishing industry worldwide.

There are all kinds of books that document the crimes of the US government lo these past fifty years. Noam Chomsky almost fills one shelf on his own. I decided I was a bit sick of that, that I needed something uplifting. I had a feeling the nature section could provide it, and I wasn’t wrong. Colin Tudge is one of Britain’s finest naturalists, and I managed to grab the last remaining copy of his new book, ‘The Secret Life of Birds’. Yes, I thought: Birds. Beautiful, elegant, wondrous birds. They won’t let me down. They won’t depress me. Good old birds.

So for a comprehensive collection and a pleasant browsing experience, go to Sterling. Just stay clear of the very small magazine rack and its Women's Lifestyle section.