John's two-month move to the Netherlands (April 2011)
story · status: told 2×, last update 2012 · last event: retold (2012-03-27)
In April 2011 John moved with his family to Amsterdam for two months to finish his new novel, The Fault in Our Stars, and flew home in mid-June 2011. In 2012 he recalled those months, writing much of the book in Amsterdam's Central Library while often sick and anxious.
Told alongside: John, Sarah and Henry's Queen's Day in Amsterdam (2011)
About: Netherlands, Plainfield, Indiana, Amsterdam, John's untitled novel (2011), Sarah Urist Green, Venice Biennale, lawn
| date | event | what | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-11 (happened 2011-04-15) | told | John tells Hank he is moving to the Netherlands for two months on Friday, after a reading and signing in Plainfield, Indiana on Thursday. | Is My Boyfriend Gay? Is He Cheating? 00:00:03 |
| 2011-04-15 | update | John signs off saying he has to go to Amsterdam. | Humpy Hank 00:02:03 |
| 2011-04-20 | update | John reports he is now in Amsterdam for two months finishing his new book; the Yeti is in Europe for her Venice Biennale work. | Tulipomania 00:00:03 |
| 2011-05-09 | update | During his stay in Amsterdam, John spends Queen's Day in the city with Sarah and Henry. | Trading Underwear for Rice Crispy Treats: Queens Day in Amsterdam (Thoughts from Places) 00:00:01 |
| 2011-06-10 | update | John's two months in the Netherlands are almost over; he lists what he will miss about Amsterdam. | Then I Took Off My Bra 00:00:00 |
| 2011-06-15 (said on 2011-06-14, implied) | update | John will spend tomorrow flying across the world with a baby, ending his stay in the Netherlands. | Question Tuesday! Paula Deen Riding Me (and critical reading) 00:00:17 |
| 2011-06-20 | update | John's next-door neighbour is unhappy that John left the country for two months during lawn-growing season; the lawn is full of dandelions. (playful) | On Religion 00:02:46 |
| 2012-03-27 (happened 2011) | retold | John recalls the months he lived in Amsterdam while finishing The Fault in Our Stars, writing much of it in the Central Library, often sick and crippled with anxiety. | Wrong but Right: Thoughts from Places Amsterdam 00:02:01 |
Dates are upload dates, which set the order. Where the speaker gives a different recording date in the video, it is added as "said on YYYY-MM-DD, implied" (derived from the date said in the video).
What is said about it
9 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).
- 2011-04-11 · Is My Boyfriend Gay? Is He Cheating? — John signs off saying he has to go upstairs and pack. — 00:02:47
- 2011-04-15 · Humpy Hank — John tells Hank he has to go to Amsterdam. — 00:02:03
- 2011-04-20 · Tulipomania — John says he is really in Amsterdam, not before a green screen, for two months finishing his new book; the reason for Amsterdam will become obvious when you read it. — 00:00:03
- 2011-04-20 · Tulipomania — John says the Yeti needs to be in Europe because she is working on the U.S. pavilion for the Venice Biennale. — 00:00:07
- 2011-04-25 · Meeting Greg Mortenson — announcement: The description announces a few public events with John in the Netherlands and Belgium over the next couple of months, listed by his Dutch publisher Lemniscaat, with probably one more in Amsterdam to come. — video description
- 2011-04-29 · Peanut Butter Face Question Tuesday — John cannot speak Dutch: when he tries to get through a whole interaction only in Dutch, the person says they don't understand and asks if he wants a beer. (playful) — 00:00:23
- 2011-04-29 · Peanut Butter Face Question Tuesday — John: Amsterdam is great, John says, and the peanut butter is delicious. (playful) — 00:01:58
- 2012-03-27 · Wrong but Right: Thoughts from Places Amsterdam — John: On the trip John visited the Central Library of Amsterdam, where he wrote much of The Fault in Our Stars. — 00:01:13
- 2012-03-27 · Wrong but Right: Thoughts from Places Amsterdam — John: Recalling the months he lived in Amsterdam, much of the time sick and crippled with anxiety, John now thinks only of how much one can love and miss made-up people. — 00:02:01