Becoming a Professional Bookworm

What is your dream? What did you always want to become when you were older? I have had big dreams ever since I was a little girl. Some of them were realistic (such as living in England for a while), and others weren’t that at all (my mum keeps reminding me that no, I would never have been able to become a professional volleyball player). But now, one of my dreams has come true. I’ve had the same one for a long time and finally made it happen. Want to know which dream it was? Read on!

I know exactly when it happened. A friend called me and asked whether I would be interested in giving a lecture at the Waterstones, the bookshop in Amsterdam, about Philip Pullman. Of course I would, I said, they’re only my favourite books in the entire world! I read them every year, and when I visited Oxford this year, I was so happy that I could finally be close to the characters in these novels. Anyway, when I was standing there in Amsterdam, talking about identity and growing up, watching these twenty-odd people listening to me, I knew a new dream was born. I knew at that moment, on Friday 20 October 2017, that I wanted to give book lectures for a living.

A few more lectures followed, some on Pullman, others on Harry Potter. Then I started my blog. Then Covid happened. And then, a year later, I was asked to do lectures for this book club, which I still do each year – my next series is in March, where I’ll discuss Paul Auster’s last novel Baumgartner. I also gave a lecture in the local library in Groningen, and I talked about Charles Dickens. As you can see, I give more and more lectures each year.

And now everything’s changed. Last September, I thought it would be fun to give lectures on new books. I thought it would be interesting to talk about its author, about themes that often return to their books, about their style, and other such literary elements. I’d also focus on books that are similar, so my audience would leave with a ton of new books to read (which they could then, conveniently, buy at the bookshop I’d give these lectures in). I sent an email to a bookshop, and to my surprise, they were just as excited as I was. And that’s how my very own lecture series starts this March.

Last Tuesday I registered The Open Book (sounds familiar?) at the Chamber of Commerce, which means it’s all become official now. I now have my very own company, which consists of giving lectures about books.

My dream has come true.

What is your dream? Which publication dates are you looking forward to? Which writers would you like to know more about? Please let me know in the comments! Also, don’t forget to follow me for more book-related posts, news, and, of course, lectures!