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    53 months ago

    “De Grote Zaal” by Jacoba van Velde. For school we had to read many books. In the earlier years this could be anything as long as it was Dutch, so translated versions of English books were fine. I could read stuff like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc. However, at some point the requirements shifted, and we were only allowed to read Dutch (non-translated) works of literature. This shit single-handedly killed all my fun in reading. Dry books about old people or about the war.

    “De Grote Zaal” is the one that I remember the most. It’s a short book, but it goes pretty much nowhere and doesn’t at all speak to the imagination of a teen guy. To me it represents the death of reading as a hobby. I’ve tried to pick up reading again, but it has since been replaced by other things and I just don’t make the time for it anymore.