I feel like we should briefly discuss my trip to the Netherlands. How should I do it? Numerically? Okay. Numerically.

1. Amsterdam is the greatest city in the world. I know that I haven't visited all the world's cities, but I have visited a lot of the ones that are purportedly "great," and Amsterdam is the best by far. I expected it to be a little seedy and debaucherous, but it wasn't. It was just beautiful, and clean, and well-run, and friendly. Honestly I have seen as many people smoking weed on my block in New York City as I did in Amsterdam.

2. Although the Red Light District is kind of gross. But it's not gross in the way that, say, Las Vegas is gross. As red light districts go, it is quite family friendly.

3. There are almost no private schools in the Netherlands. When I was told this, I frankly did not believe it, but it appears to be true. There are a few International schools (I visited an excellent one in Amsterdam), but almost all people send their kids to public schools. This means that there is something approaching equal access to education there, which I find just mind-boggling. (I mean, in America we talk a lot about equal access to education, but we all know it's a pipe dream.)

4. If we were not committed to moving to Indianapolis (Motto: "The Amsterdam of Central Indiana"), I really think we would probably move to the Netherlands, partly because...

5. There is still a vibrant book culture there. I was amazed by the quality of discussion about books in the Netherlands, both with teen readers and with reporters. Here, reporters usually ask you a lot of questions about your childhood, and how you came to be a writer, and etc etc etc etc. The questions are always about YOU, and the questions about the book are generally, "Is this character like you?" I think this is because America is a very personality-driven culture. We're more interested in who Kirsten Dunst is dating than in the quality of her performance in "Spiderman 3." (I'm guilty of this also, I should say.)

But when I was interviewed in the Netherlands, the questions were about the books. Long, thoughtful, critical discussions of my books as books, and very little about books as autobiography. It was so refreshing, and so fun. Here, for instance, is one such conversation.

Also, people there live longer. There is much less violent crime. Lower teen pregnancy rates. Better scores on standardized tests. Okay. Okay. I'll stop. I should stress that I don't think that the Netherlands is some kind of utopian paradise. I just think that they do some things well that I wish America did better.

Thanks very much to everyone at Lemniscaat for making me wish I was Dutch.

Join the discussion at Brotherhood2.com.

Updates about my amazing, amazing, amazing trip to the Netherlands soon.

If the rain in New York City holds off, Sarah and I are leaving for the Netherlands this afternoon. we'll be there for a week, enjoying ourselves and also touring on behalf my new book, 19 KEER KATHERINE. I'm sure there will be many videographic portraits of this trip over at Brotherhood 2.0 (and probably cross-posted here).

If you are in the Netherlands, you should try to come see me! UPDATE: I don't really have any public events (all meetings and school visits and interviews), but I do have a spare hour for coffee: more info at brotherhood2.0.

Related: For the next week, I will probably not be answering very many emails. I mean, not that I am Solid Gold about answering emails in ordinary situations. But I will be particularly not solid gold for the next little while.

And finally: How about that season finale of The Office? Team Pam's faith in Pam has been vindicated, and now even Claire Zulkey has to admit that Pam has grown a pair. I wonder if old Rob has come around yet.

I have cried while watching a sitcom twice in my life:

1. 1992: Doogie Howser is at a high-school dance.

2. 2007: Also featuring Neal Patrick Harris, Marshall and Lily get married on "How I Met Your Mother."

1. Hank and I don't post the Brotherhood 2.0 videos here everyday anymore, because A. it is kind of a pain, and B. we are lazy, and also, C. the actual brotherhood2.com site is so good and so fun and so lively that we don't really want to detract from it. (Visit now for a fascinating discussion on the ethical implications of killing an infant Hitler.)

2. Former Brotherhood 2.0 guest star and excellent writer Emily Gould has written a book with Zareen Jaffery. The book is called "Hex Education," and it is as good as its title (which, I think we can agree, is very good indeed).

3. I reviewed Chris Raschka's new picture book, The Purple Balloon, in this week's New York Times Book Review.

4. As first reported by ecogeek, yahoo is looking greener these days.

In which John talks book banning, Britney, nerd fighters, spelling, house hunting, and "the puff."

In which Hank shows all the different ways in which his birthday was spectacular, and then thanks everyone for helping make it that way.

There's a Birthday Party for Hank going on over at brotherhood2.com. Notes:
1. Thank you all so, so much; 2. have fun trying to identify your commenter-friends; 3. I know the video is long but I figure we can let it slide this once; 4. if I missed anyone, SORRY! Email me (john at sparksflyup dot com) and we'll rectify it; 5. Excellent job keeping the secret! Hopefully he will be at least a little surprised.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!!!

OUR NEW SECRET SISTER MAUREEN GETS MEN TO DANCE FOR 12-YEAR-OLD FRANK GREEN

The full version of Ed and Ann's songtastic TSP video

Sheryl's SUV-oriented TSP video

Joy's First Vlog Is a TSP Video for Hank

Kayla's excellent TSP video from Montgomery, AL includes a Happy Dance!

And Secret Brother Tom's full-length video is still to come!

Maureen Johnson's novel "The Bermudez Triangle" has been taken off the shelves of a high-school library in Oklahoma. I though I'd share the email I just sent to the members of the committee who banned the book:

Dear Mr. McCauley, Mrs. Verner, and Dr. Rosenberger,

My name is John Green. I am the author of the novels "Looking for Alaska" and "An Abundance of Katherines." I am deeply distressed by your decision to remove Maureen Johnson's novel "The Bermudez Triange" from the Bartlesville Mid High library. It is an excellent novel of considerable merit, and it makes absolutely no sense to deprive your students of the opportunity to read it.

Your decision is perhaps explained by the fact that, apparently, none of you has actually had the chance to read "The Bermudez Triangle." I would be happy to send you each a copy of the book free of charge so that you may read it. Also, as thanks to librarian Susan Hunt for defending intellectual freedom, I would like to donate other critically acclaimed and award-winning works of young adult literature to your high-school library.

Please let me know if these donations would be acceptable to you and the address to which I should send them. If you'd like to discuss this matter over the phone, please feel free to call me at (phone number redacted*). I can also be contacted at this email address. But you shouldn't worry too much about getting in touch. If I don't hear from you for a while, I'll just call you.

Best wishes,
John Green

*Nothing personal, guys! I would totally publish my phone number if I didn't always go over my minutes each month.