The American Book Center in Amsterdam has been named the best book shop in the world by international lifestyle magazine Monocle in its inaugural Top 25 Retail Awards.

‘Starting off as a small bargain book store in 1972, the philosophy of Amsterdam’s American Book Center has always been to ask regular customers what they want to read and then fill the shelves accordingly,’ the magazine writes.

‘Over the years the selection has become an eclectic assortment where literary classics sit side by side with manga and new-age poetry.’

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