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Ramon’s Year In Books

Ramon’s 2025 Year in Books

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Ramon’s Bookshelves

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Britta Böhler

7,207 books | 1,469 friends

Eric Guerra

562 books | 10 friends

Lily Golightly

1,482 books | 54 friends

Gabrielle Yetter

194 books | 131 friends

Weh Yeoh

38 books | 257 friends

Stormingways

410 books | 45 friends

Claire Polders

1,273 books | 416 friends

Kara

108 books | 40 friends

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Ramon Stoppelenburg

Goodreads Author

Born

in Leiden, Netherlands

Website

http://www.hereigoagainonmyown.com

Genre

Travel, Biography, Fiction

Member Since

September 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/ramonstoppelenburg

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Ramon left a mark on the internet before it all got very big and social, has published several books in The Netherlands and moved to Cambodia in 2011, Georgia in 2021, ended up in Morocco in 2022 and now lives in Portugal. He does not settle easily.

He was the first ever digital nomad as he had his own social network already running in 2001. Others even called him the Godfather of Couchsurfing.

In 2018, the Dutch Royal Library designated the Letmestyaforaday.com website as UNESCO Digital Heritage, internationally recognized in the 2003 UNESCO Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage.

In 2020, he was among the final 50 candidates out of a total of 2,400 applications for NASA’s astronaut candidate program. He didn’t make it to the fi ...more

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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

Ramon Stoppelenburg Living alone in Phnom Penh, I always heard my neighbor lady crying through the thin walls every night. Yesterday I learned the apartment next door has…moreLiving alone in Phnom Penh, I always heard my neighbor lady crying through the thin walls every night. Yesterday I learned the apartment next door has been empty for three years.(less)

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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Ramon Stoppelenburg In 2001, I created one of the first social networks on the internet — Letmestayforaday.com — which connected me with over thousands of strangers who o…moreIn 2001, I created one of the first social networks on the internet — Letmestayforaday.com — which connected me with over thousands of strangers who opened their homes to me across five continents. For almost three years, I lived this radical experiment in trust, a journey that UNESCO later recognized as digital heritage.

But here’s the mystery: what happened to all those people?

These weren’t just hosts — they were early digital pioneers who believed in a stranger’s story before Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram even existed, before algorithms decided who we should trust.

Then the internet changed. From 2007 social media took over. Most of them vanished, their change of ISP changed their email addresses forever. Some moved country. Some died. Many just disappeared into the digital ether.

The book would follow a protagonist trying to track down those lost connections 30+ years later — only to realize that some of them never existed quite the way he remembered. Were the connections as real as they felt? Did the digital personas match the people behind them? And what happens when you start to question whether your most meaningful relationships might have been performances all along?

It’s part detective story, part meditation on digital identity, part reckoning with the mythology we create around our own past. Because maybe the real mystery isn’t where those people went — but whether the version of myself who lived that adventure was ever real to begin with.

That’s actually what my Dutch novel-in-progress, Het Laatste Hostel, explores — the gap between who we are online, and who we are when nobody’s watching.(less)

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Ramon Stoppelenburg’s books

Average rating: 3.08 · 26 ratings · 2 reviews · 1 distinct work

Letmestayforaday: zonder een cent op zak de wereld rond

3.08 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions

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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

31 posts
Ramon Stoppelenburg's Blog

Why Most Freelancers Become Invisible on Upwork

Most freelancers do not fail on Upwork because they lack skill. They fail because they become invisible. And there is a difference worth understanding. Browse the platform for ten minutes and you will see what I mean. Hundreds of profiles offering writing, design, translation, development, marketing. Many of them competent. Many of them experienced. Most of them never hired. Not because the platfo

Ramon is Currently Reading

Ramon Stoppelenburg is currently reading

De overbodigen

by Herman Koch

bookshelves: currently-reading

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May 10, 2026 10:50AM

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Ramon’s Recent Updates

Ramon Stoppelenburg started reading De overbodigen by Herman Koch	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 10, 2026 10:50AM · like
Ramon Stoppelenburg rated a book it was amazing Schooljaren (Dutch Edition) by Ernest van der Kwast	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
De vijf jongens van de verwarminggroep, Ashraf, Dave, Erinç, Mo en de naamloze verteller, staan iedere pauze bij dezelfde verwarming naast de ingang. Dat is hun plek, opgeëist en verdedigd. Wie er anders bij gaat staan wordt "vriendelijk doch dringen ...more
May 06, 2026 11:54PM · 2 likes · like · see review
Ramon Stoppelenburg has read Schuld by Walter van den Berg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 15, 2026 11:51AM · like
Ramon Stoppelenburg finished reading In de mist van Golden Gate Park by Murat Isik	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 15, 2026 11:50AM · like
Ramon Stoppelenburg finished reading Secret Bump by Chloe Maine (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 15, 2026 11:49AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Secret Bump by Chloe Maine. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Secret Bump by Chloe Maine <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ramon Stoppelenburg rated a book it was amazing Zanger Ronald zingt de blues by Walter van den Berg (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Met Zanger Ronald zingt de blues laat Walter van den Berg zien hoe ver hij is gekomen. Niet door zijn stem glad te poetsen, maar juist door deze scherper, preciezer en menselijker te maken. Goddomme, man. Dit is Van den Berg op zijn best. Het verhaal ...more
Jan 31, 2026 10:51PM · 1 like · like · see review
Ramon Stoppelenburg rated a book it was amazing Dancing With The Moon: A Collection of Poetry and Reflections by Gabrielle Yetter	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dancing with the Moon is one of those rare poetry collections that feels less like a book and more like a companion, meeting you in places you didn't know needed tending. From the opening poem, Gabi weaves a quiet thread of humanity through every pag ...more
Dec 09, 2025 12:23AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dancing With The Moon by Gabrielle Yetter. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dancing With The Moon by Gabrielle Yetter <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ramon Stoppelenburg wants to read Adem by Saskia Noort	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 27, 2025 10:10PM · like
Ramon Stoppelenburg rated a book liked it The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6) by Dan Brown (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dan Brown delivers exactly what his fans expect with The Secret of Secrets: a relentless page-turner that drags you through the streets of Prague at breakneck speed. Unfortunately, the novel also shows Brown at his most formulaic. The short chapters ...more
Sep 27, 2025 10:06PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ramon Stoppelenburg finished reading Munt by Richard Osinga (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2025 09:26PM · like

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Ramon’s Quotes

“Don't you think it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life?”
― Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

tags: life

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