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The Anthropocene Reviewed: The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Kindle Edition
by John Green (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green
The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.
Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book.
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Print length
271 pages
Language
English
Publisher
Ebury Digital
Publication date
May 18, 2021
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for The Anthropocene Reviewed
“The Anthropocene Reviewed is the perfect book to read over lunch or to keep on your nightstand, whenever you need a reminder of what it is to feel small and human, in the best possible way.” –San Francisco Chronicle
“There is something of the sermon in [Green’s] essays as he mixes curiosity and erudition with confession, compassion, and wit, searching for illuminating life lessons amid life’s dark chaos. His particular mix of irony and sincerity enables him to embrace both the sublime and the ridiculous.” –Booklist
“Lyrical and beautiful, funny and hopeful, intricate and entertaining all at once.... Green may have made his name by writing fiction (and for good reason), but this first foray into nonfiction is his most mature, compelling, and beautifully written book yet.” –Shondaland.com
“What Green is really telling us with these unexpected stories about Sycamore Trees, Canada Geese, and Dr Pepper is how much there is to love in the world and why that love is worth the effort.” –NPR.com
“Each short review is rich with meaning and filled with surprises and together, they amount to a resonant paean to hard-won hope.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review
“In his novels, John Green conjures richly imagined, heartfelt drama that lovingly explores the human condition. With The Anthropocene Reviewed, John pulls off the same magic trick while writing about the largest ball of paint...and it is glorious. Every page is full of insight. I loved it.” –Roman Mars, creator and host of 99% Invisible
“The Anthropocene Reviewed somehow satisfies all the contradictory demands I have for a book right now: it stimulates my brain while getting me out of my head while taking me to faraway places while grounding me in the wonders of my everyday. I’m so glad it’s here. I need it.” –Anna Sale, host of Death, Sex & Money and author of Let’s Talk About Hard Things
“If loving something out loud takes courage, and I think it does, John Green is Evel Knievel and The Anthropocene Reviewed is a series of ever-more-impressive motorcycle jumps.” –Latif Nasser, co-host of Radiolab --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From the Introduction
When I reviewed books, “I” was never in the review. I imagined myself as a disinterested observer writing from outside. My early reviews of Diet Dr Pepper and Canada geese were similarly written in the nonfictional version of third-person omniscient narration. After Sarah read them, she pointed out that in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants. She explained that when people write reviews, they are really writing a kind of memoir—here’s what my experience was eating at this restaurant or getting my hair cut at this barbershop. I’d written 1,500 words about Diet Dr Pepper without once mentioning my abiding and deeply personal love of Diet Dr Pepper.
Around the same time, as I began to regain my sense of balance, I reread the work of my friend and mentor Amy Krouse Rosenthal, who’d died a few months earlier. She’d once written, “For anyone trying to discern what to do w/ their life: PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO. That’s pretty much all the info u need.” My attention had become so fractured, and my world had become so loud, that I wasn’t paying attention to what I was paying attention to. But when I put myself into the reviews as Sarah suggested, I felt like for the first time in years, I was at least trying to pay attention to what I pay attention to.
•••
This book started out as a podcast, where I tried to chart some of the contradictions of human life as I experience it—how we can be so compassionate and so cruel, so persistent and so quick to despair. Above all, I wanted to understand the contradiction of human power: We are at once far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough. We are powerful enough to radically reshape Earth’s climate and biodiversity, but not powerful enough to choose how we reshape them. We are so powerful that we have escaped our planet’s atmosphere. But we are not powerful enough to save those we love from suffering.
I also wanted to write about some of the places where my small life runs into the large forces of the Anthropocene. In early 2020, after two years of writing the podcast, an exceptionally large force appeared in the form of a novel coronavirus. I began then to write about the only thing I could write about. Amid the crisis—and writing to you from April of 2021, I am still amid it—I find much to fear and lament. But I also see humans working together to share and distribute what we collectively learn, and I see people working together to care for the sick and vulnerable. Even separated, we are bound up in each other. As Sarah told me, there are no observers; only participants. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
About the Author
John Green is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author of books including Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars, and Turtles All the Way Down. His books have received many accolades, including a Printz Medal, a Printz Honor, and an Edgar Award. John has twice been a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and was selected by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is also the writer and host of the critically acclaimed podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed. With his brother, Hank, John has co-created many online video projects, including Vlogbrothers and the educational channel Crash Course. He lives with his family in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can visit John online at johngreenbooks.com. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
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Product details
ASIN : B08QTNR1M6
Publisher : Ebury Digital; 1st edition (May 18, 2021)
Publication date : May 18, 2021
Language : English
File size : 5940 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 271 pages
Lending : Not Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #96,997 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
#12 in Biographies of Environmentalists & Naturalists (Kindle Store)
#76 in Essays (Kindle Store)
#188 in Environmentalist & Naturalist Biographies
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4.8 out of 5 stars 3,840 ratings
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John Green
John Green is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan), and The Fault in Our Stars. His many accolades include the Printz Medal, a Printz Honor, and the Edgar Award. John has twice been a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and was selected by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. With his brother, Hank, John is one half of the Vlogbrothers (youtube.com/vlogbrothers) and co-created the online educational series CrashCourse (youtube.com/crashcourse). You can join the millions who follow him on Twitter @johngreen and Instagram @johngreenwritesbooks or visit him online at johngreenbooks.com.
John lives with his family in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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john green anthropocene reviewed give the anthropocene diet dr pepper high school highly recommend crash course pay attention youtube videos little bit human-centered planet collection of essays thank you john brother hank human experience give this book easy to read auld lang makes you feel laugh and cryTOP 50 REVIEWER
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Aadil Naik
5.0 out of 5 stars Reigniting curiosity and seeing beauty in the mundaneReviewed in India on July 1, 2021
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The Anthropocene Reviewed is an odd book to define, but very easy to recommend. It’s a collection of essays delving not merely into the things John has seen through his life, but spending copious amounts of time on all the thoughts that those experiences birthed. It’s random. It’s inspirational. But most importantly, it is incredibly thought provoking, heart warming and calming. It reminds us to see what’s in front of us, and what’s in front of us is beautiful. It’s a review and a unique insight of modern civilisation. And bring short 5-10min essays, it makes for easy reading.
Green artfully spends time in the origins of things, because it really does add perspective. And these are things we take for granted, never wondering about the unique circumstances that birthed them. From the invention of air conditioning (did you know it’s first use was for a printing press?) to the first grocery store to have aisles and self service, Green is masterful in how he makes it a story.
He effortlessly switches between essays on uncommon- but general- topics like Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating competition and daily topics we just don’t think about, like sunsets. But then he also writes about topics very specific to his life experience, like the movie Penguins of Madagascar. But what truly sets all of these apart is unlike a newscaster, he does more than merely narrate facts. He adds non-general insight and inference of a deeply personal nature; of how he sees it, and the value it has added to him and his thoughts, and this is where the book truly shines, because John effortlessly walks the fine line between being an individual and being a member of a collective species.
While the insights are personal opinions, none of them are myopic or only relevant to his life’s experiences. They zoom out all the way, to view it as a human experience, what it means for us as a culture and what it could mean for the future.
The underlying tone throughout is one of immense gratitude and appreciation for life (human and otherwise) and the experiences that are a part of it, with a healthy dose of caution to avoid the mistakes of the past.
Above all, though, I think John Green, through this book, exemplifies one core characteristic of humanity- curiosity. We are all born inherently curious, but then have it beaten out of us through our education systems, capitalism and the myth that careers are THE most important thing in life, and everything else must be rendered a lesser priority. In such a society, the importance of curiosity is greatly diminished, which is tragic. The essays in this book, though, cover such a myriad of topics, that one truly can’t help but marvel at not just the author’s breadth of interests, but how you, the reader are suddenly just as interested in all these random things. It’s also a testament to the fact that there remain sooo many intriguing and interesting things in the world. Some are admittedly very obscure but most are littered in the things we see and do on a daily- if only we choose to look at them a little deeper.
The Anthropocene Reviewed, then, is a hard book to define. It’s about the world. It’s about events. It’s about the past, and it informs about the future. And it’s been written in a style that has so far left me very intrigued, in a very good way. John’s mastery of narration is unlike any I’ve come across. His writing is the only one that consistently moves me to actual tears, through its propensity to connect on a deeply emotional and visual level. I still don’t understand how he does it. I dream of being able to write like him, and having the same emotional and mental connect he does with his readers.
In conclusion, if there was ever a book that reminds us of what means to be alive- truly alive- then this is it. The book also feels like it’ll age very well. It will still be relevant years later, and it’s one of those that you can read repeatedly ever so often.
So, as John Green would say, ‘I give the Anthropocene Reviewed a solid 5 stars’
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Epettz
5.0 out of 5 stars Read this bookReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2021
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I don’t often read non-fiction, this was a recommendation and something of an impulse buy. I’m so glad I did, this book resonates with me unlike anything I’ve read since The Alchemist. The author writes so engagingly and openly, bearing his often cracked or damaged soul, that it draws you in and you realise that much like old oil paintings, the cracks are part of what makes it beautiful. What makes us beautiful. I cannot recommend enough, read this book. I give it ten stars.
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liz
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth a read!Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 2, 2021
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My favourite of John’s books so far, although I have loved them all. The Anthropocene Reviewed is a great book if you’ve only got a little bit of time as you can read a chapter here and there. It’s helped me actually get some sleep as I haven’t felt the need to read it all in one sitting, and therefore it has given me many more hours of entertainment than a novel. John makes all the topics interesting. I now know a fair bit of interesting info about Dr Pepper, despite having never tasted it.
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J. Atherton
5.0 out of 5 stars Great bookReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2021
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I loved this. I haven’t listened to the podcast but I think I will start. I have some favourites in this collect of essays but I loved them all. Really interesting and insightful. I recommend this book to anyone.
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Beda Shruti Prasad
5.0 out of 5 stars Here's a Nerdfighter giving The Anthropocene Reviewed 5 stars!Reviewed in India on June 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
It's a signed edition!! What more could a Nerdfighter ask for? John Green lucidly binds a few of the various snippets the constitute the anthropocene, that is, the current age that's affected by humans. It's almost similar to the audiobook and overall, it will be a healthy and wholesome read for anyone who's feeling apprehensive or lost or pensive. 😊
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==
The Anthropocene Reviewed
by John Green (Goodreads Author)
4.47 · Rating details · 27,801 ratings · 5,468 reviews
A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green
The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.
Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book. (less)
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Hardcover, Signed, 293 pages
Published May 18th 2021 by Dutton
Original TitleThe Anthropocene Reviewed
ISBN0525555218 (ISBN13: 9780525555216)
Edition LanguageEnglish
Literary AwardsGoodreads Choice Award for Nonfiction (2021)
Other Editions
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
The Anthropocene Reviewed
Tu mundo y el mío. Postales del Antropoceno
Wie hat Ihnen das Anthropozän bis jetzt gefallen? - Notizen zum Leben auf der Erde
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Is this just a transcription of the podcast, or does it contain new essays?
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Fran The majority of it is content that has previously appeared in the podcast with some new essays. Regardless, it is not a transcript of the podcast. Ess…more
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Which episode of Heavyweight features the interview with John that was mentioned in 'Googling Strangers'?
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Katie I was trying to find the answer to this myself. While John is on the episode Fran mentions, it's not the one that he mentions in "Googling Strangers."…more
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2,546 books — 3,503 voters
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COMMUNITY REVIEWS
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Gabby
May 15, 2021Gabby rated it really liked it
Shelves: arc-or-won-or-received, audiobooks-i-listened-to, read-in-2021, 4-star-books, memoir-or-nonfiction, reviewed
I don’t fail to see the irony in reviewing a book that’s essentially all about reviews, but I was actually pretty surprised by this book. One minute he’s talking about hot dog eating contests and Dr. pepper and the next he’s talking about human loneliness and connection and life during a pandemic. It was actually really cool to read a book that talked about COVID and the struggles of living during a pandemic, this is the first book I’ve read that really talks about it. I also really enjoyed hearing about his relationship with his brother Hank, and their discussions about the meaning of life. This book ends on a really great note, the ending gave me goosebumps.
Thanks so much to Libro.fm for providing me with an advanced listening copy! (less)
flag342 likes · Like · 3 comments · see review
Rincey
Jun 12, 2021Rincey rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
I give John Green's ability to make me view the world with hope and wonder 5 out of 5 stars
Watch me discuss this book in my May wrap up: https://youtu.be/ouTm4bZ6TQw (less)
flag277 likes · Like · see review
Mari
May 08, 2021Mari rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2021, favorite-reads-of-2021, non-fiction
I received a copy of this audiobook, read by John Green, through libro.fm and their ALC Program.
I am not super familiar with the podcast of the same name, but still, I knew that I was predisposed to love this. And love this I did.
This is perfectly what I enjoy in a collection of essays: each essay well crafted, but all tied together by a strong central theme. Green writes with the flair of a seasoned storyteller so that I can imagine even readers who are not usually fond of or used to non-fiction would find it easy to sink into The Anthropocene Reviewed. These are stories, after all, told accessibly, in beautiful language, and by a keen observer.
In his postscript, Green reflects on the contradictions of the human experience, the wonder of it all alongside the misery of it all. Throughout this work, Green captures those contractions well. He flawlessly ties together bits of human history and invention with personal stories, presenting both with equal skill. The macro parts of the story are clear, concise and well presented. The micro parts are vulnerable and full of emotion. I found myself also experiencing the highs and lows alongside the author. It was particularly emotional hearing Green muse on his own writing, on the pandemic, and on his relationship with his family, themes that appear throughout. Also layered throughout is a love of art and literature. At the end, Green wonders if his work is too full of quotes, as he is too full of quotes, but any other readers also full of quotes will find it a joy.
I finished the book and wanted immediately to listen again. To slowly go back through and pick out those quotes, to do a few deep Google searches into Monopoly or geese or the QWERTY keyboard. To experience again the coziness of someone telling me an interesting story, about himself, but also about myself, and also about us all.
I give The Anthropocene Reviewed 5 out of 5 stars. (less)
flag202 likes · Like · 2 comments · see review
Regina
Jul 09, 2021Regina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Anthropocene (noun): the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.
Have you ever heard that term before now? I sure hadn’t before coming across John Green’s excellent 2021 essay collection, written during COVID lockdown, in which he reviews a wide range of aspects of our existence.
Yes, John Green is the author of uber-popular Young Adult novels like The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska. But no, this is not really a book targeted to those readers. Rather, it’s written for those who delight in the mundane and revel in the extraordinary. Nonfiction lovers who read to learn could do a heck of a lot worse than to give a chance to Green’s first nonfiction foray.
In this collection, topics covered include anything and everything: teddy bears, Kentucky bluegrass, velociraptors, whispering, viral meningitis, Monopoly, Diet Dr Pepper, sunsets, and many more. Green gives a bit of historical or contextual background, shares his perspective on the subject, then rates it on a 5-star scale.
I rarely quote from books in my reviews, but seeing as how this particular one is quite meta in that I’m reviewing a book about reviews for people that primarily read and write reviews, I found this section of the Introduction fascinating:
“The five-star scale has only been used in critical analysis for the past few decades. While it occasionally applied to film criticism as early as the 1950s, the five-star scale wasn’t used to rate hotels until 1979, and it wasn’t widely used to rate books until Amazon introduced user reviews. The five-star scale really doesn’t exist for humans; it exists for data aggregation systems, which is why it did not become standard until the internet era. Making conclusions about a book’s quality from a 175-word review is hard for artificial intelligences, where as star ratings are ideal for them.”
And with that, The Anthropocene Reviewed = 4.5 stars.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/ (less)
flag137 likes · Like · see review
Elyse Walters
Jun 15, 2021Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing
Shelves: audiobook-favorite
Audiobook…read by John Green
…..10 hours and 3 minutes
Nothing prepared me for how wonderful this book is.
I’m thrilled that I own it. Paul listen to parts, and now he wants his own copy on ‘his’ phone.
I haven’t had so much enjoyment learning about trivial things that are not really trivial but may be trivial things from an audiobook as much as this one.
And I haven’t thought about the really important issues of life — like this — (to my awareness) either.
I’ve always liked John Green….
I like his young adult books….
But my god…
“The Anthropocene Review:
Essays on a Human-Centered Planet”…..
IS HIS BEST BOOK….
It’s OUTSTANDING- FANTASTIC- INFORMATIVE- MOVING - THOUGHT PROVOKING…..
I LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!!!
I will listen to this again. I look forward to it! I laughed, I got teary-eyed, and I continue to be in ‘awe’!!!
To miss a this gem… would be a shame—
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE!!!
John Green reads his own book with so much heart —
we need a new definition to the word heart!
I have pages of notes…. but I’m going to hold back sharing them as tempting as it for me.
I could be too much of a a gem-give-a-way- chatterbox.
I’m trying to discipline myself here —holding back my tongue.
GO IN BLIND….
Regardless of how wonderful reviews are— no matter how descriptive, and thoughtful they are, this is a book that simply has to be experienced.
AFTER taking one’s own turn reading it — there are themes, topics, issues, thoughts, feelings that are soooooo worth discussing with others who have read it.
But don’t cheat ‘yourself’ ….
Trust this book is worthy to be read!! ( listening was an added treat)…. but I’d like to own the physical book,
and read it too.
Great book club pick!!
5 stars for sunsets 🌅
5 ++++++++ and more stars for John Green and this wonderful gift he gave us. (less)
flag129 likes · Like · see review
Maxwell
Jul 28, 2021Maxwell rated it it was amazing
Shelves: owned, non-fiction
I would like more non-fiction from John Green please! I loved it. I give my experience reading this book 5 stars.
flag120 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
Lotte
Jun 03, 2021Lotte rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2021-release, a-non-fiction, ge-essays, 2021-audiobook
4.5/5. Such a ✨ soft ✨ book, I loved it.
John Green gave this review 4 out of 5 stars. (less)
flag113 likes · Like · 2 comments · see review
Melanie
Sep 05, 2021Melanie rated it it was amazing
Recommended to Melanie by: Lea (drumsofautumn)
Shelves: audible, favorites, anthologies, read-in-2021
rtc, but this was very powerful and exactly what i needed right now in my life. <3
Blog | Instagram | Youtube | Ko-fi | Spotify | Twitch (less)
flag111 likes · Like · 3 comments · see review
Liberty
May 12, 2021Liberty rated it it was amazing
Shelves: libro-fm, nonfic-general
I give John Green ... 5 stars
flag102 likes · Like · comment · see review
Kelsey (munnyreads)
Jul 02, 2021Kelsey (munnyreads) rated it it was amazing
Note: Rounded up to five stars because John literally reviewed the font in the copyright section in his own book.
“We all know how loving ends. But I want to fall in love with the world anyway, to let it crack me open. I want to feel what there is to feel while I am here.”
Short chapters/essays, but very entertaining, educational, and thought-provoking, The essay topics range broadly all the way from Air Conditioning to Sunsets, and even The Penguins of Madagascar. John ties the history of the topics with his own personal experience and connections to show an appreciation for the mundane world around us. Very vulnerable and human. I give The Anthropocene Reviewed four and a half stars. (less)
flag94 likes · Like · 3 comments · see review
Nev
May 19, 2021Nev rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2021, nonfiction
I loved this so fucking much. Apparently non-fiction essays were what I needed to rekindle my love for John Green’s writing. Through reviews of different facets of the world he tells stories of his own life, inventions, human connections, loneliness, mental health, living through a pandemic, and so much more.
Some of the aspects of his writing that I started to not appreciate so much in his YA novels definitely work better here in adult non-fiction. His worldview, use of quotes, and deep musings sometimes seemed a bit much for all of his teenage characters, but coming directly from him I really enjoyed it. I hope he publishes more non-fiction in the future because this book was phenomenal.
I definitely recommend checking this one out. The reviews are short but impactful and flow like you’re reading a piece of fiction. This is a really special book and one that I know I’m going to continue to revisit in the future.
(less)
flag88 likes · Like · 3 comments · see review
Diane Barnes
Jun 10, 2021Diane Barnes rated it really liked it
Shelves: bedtime-books
This turned out to be a great choice for my bedtime book. John Green writes YA books, most notably "The Fault In Our Stars", which was also a popular movie. I read that one during my years at B&N to stay abreast of the teen section, and liked it a lot, though YA is not my favorite genre. It was an emotional novel about two cancer patients who fall in love during their therapy, so of course it was sad in parts, but also well written and not sappy.
This is his first foray into writing for adults, based on a podcast of the same name he co-hosts with his brother. The Anthropocene is our present day era, so each essay takes some aspect of our society important to him, good or bad, he explains it, dissects it, then gives it a star rating between 1 and 5 at the end. My explanation makes it sound dull, and it's not at all. It's uplifting and inspiring and informative in the best way, as his subjects are eclectic and very personal to him.
Each essay was easily read in the time it took for me to nod off, sometimes 2 or 3 of them. Green is everything I look for in an essay writer, funny, honest, descriptive, and able to make obscure thoughts clear and understandable. I consider E.B. White a master of the essay, and Green is right up there with him. I hope this isn't the last of the Anthropocene collection, as there is no end of subjects to write about.
Recommended to everyone, teens included. (less)
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Samson
May 19, 2021Samson rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
The inherent and possibly intentional ridiculousness of having to write a review for this whole book is hilarious— and stupid. It's a truly, freely, un-ironic, heart-felt examination of what we love, how we love it, and who we love it with. It's humanity reviewed, renewed, examined and explained. The final "chapters" are almost entirely memoir, reflecting John's own participation in The Anthropocene. It's contemporary and classic and entirely, totally timely. It's the best, calmest, most responsible response to this hellish, extended age of lockdown and uncertainty. Hope may be the thing with feathers, but John Green is the giver of that hope.
I give this book five stars. (less)
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Dave Schaafsma
Jul 29, 2021Dave Schaafsma rated it it was amazing
Shelves: environment, psych, non-fiction, auto-bio-memoir, books-loved-2021
“We all know how loving ends. But I want to fall in love with the world anyway, to let it crack me open. I want to feel what there is to feel while I am here.”
I got sort of sick of John Green's YA novel voice--his clever boarding school witticisms, his quirky wise-cracking heroes that all sound alike, but knew I had to listen to John Green's actual voice reading this book, as I read many books on climate change and the Anthropocene, most of them grim and frightening. I find in this book that like me, Green is near despair about the state of the world, but chooses hope. Green is maybe as well know for his Vlog Brothers podcast with his brother Hank as his YA, though The Fault in Our Stars, about a romance between two adolescents with cancer, was clearly an international sensation. I have seen some of his podcasts, and understand that most of this book is culled from those podcasts.
I wanted to see how a clever guy like Green would approach the End of the World as We know It. Would he make light of it in some way? But Green goes the way of science as he talks of his own serious illnesses, his OCD, his depression, and tries to balance those traumas with his love of his wife and kids and so many nerdy relatable topics as to make any casual reader think he really is making silly asides to distract us from our global traumas.
Green jumps from topic to topic that he has become obsessed about and connects them to the Anthropocene in seemingly whimsical, meandering trips through: Halley's Comet, the Lascaux Cave Paintings, Air-Conditioning, The Yips, Monopoly, Hiroyuki Doi's Circle Drawings and Penguins of Madagascar, rating them along the way consistent with the five star rating system he also identifies as ubiquitous in our age.
"I am thoughtful—full of thoughts, all the time, inescapably, exhaustingly."
Green weaves in truly frightening science about the times we are living in, from Covid to Cholera and The Plague, so he is not using any topic to merely escape. Monopoly is a game about capitalism, a warning, for instance. Are you worried about the remaining freshwater resources on the planet? One third of the drinkable, freshwater usage in the US goes to watering lawns (time for this practice to end? I say so, but have said so for fifty years).
The most moving and heart-breaking couple of essays are about his OCD obsession with signing over 400 thousand copies to slip into copies of Fault, to calm himself (as Doi did circles), and the story of the last recording, in 1987, of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, a bird now extinct for decades. Since we have the podcast and this audiocast, Green plays this call, which begs for a response from a mate but of course hears none:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2KH5...
I listened to this book during the week when my friend Ann came to my comics class, which I actually zoomed from Grand Lake, at the western entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park, seeing for the first time the devastation of the two worst forest fires in Colorado history (that came perilously close--eleven miles--to joining forces and doing even more damage). This is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, where we saw herds of elk, deer, moose, and gorgeous landscapes somewhat obscured by the smoke from million acre fires in Oregon and California. The last time I was here, three years ago, at my sister's cabin, we also breathed that western forest fire smoke as we hiked here.
Here we see the place in the Columbine area of Grand Lake where fifty+ homes burned to the ground and some are being rebuilt, where a now blackened landscape with sentinel trees bearing testimony to climate devastation, and new grasses and flowers at the same time. Trauma is my theme of this little road trip, and recovery, the things we do as John Green has done to hold on to life and laughter and love. Such as the families we bring together on this trip.
One of my sons witnessed with his own eyes, just before we left on this trip, a man mutilated by a train. He was literally feet from this killing, as he came home from a Chicago Fire again. He will never in his life unsee that, this his trauma (and the trauma of the man's family and friends, of course!). But hen e came to the door we gave him a big family group hug, and we are supporting him.
My friend Ann is the survivor of four different kinds of cancer--real and lasting trauma of various kinds--and I am helping her develop and publish a graphic memoir about it. She came to my class and told us she does stand-up and has never cried in all of this time. I don't have time for that, she says. My class loved her and will be part of making this book happen.
Again, trauma and art as hope, as Green makes clear in his book, which made me kind of fall in love with the clever nerd Green all over again.
“For me, finding hope is not some philosophical exercise or sentimental notion; it is a prerequisite for my survival.”
Great audiobook, great podcast essays, great message. One of my favorite books of the year, that I highly recommend. (less)
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Sara
Jun 02, 2021Sara rated it it was amazing
The Anthropocene Reviewed is a collection of essays in which the author, John Green, reviews everything from famous art pieces to the QWERTY keyboard (yes, really!).
The reviews are insightful, well researched and utterly captivating, the language is beautiful and each and every essay leaves an impression.
I already want to listen to this again.
I give "The Anthropocene Reviewed" 5 stars (less)
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Olivia (Stories For Coffee)
Sep 04, 2021Olivia (Stories For Coffee) added it · review of another edition
Shelves: audiobook, nonfiction
Beautiful, hopeful, and introspective
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Rachel Reads Ravenously
Jun 03, 2021Rachel Reads Ravenously rated it really liked it
Shelves: audiobook, nonfiction-and-or-memoirs, library-checkout
4 stars!
I have to admit, when I found out John Green was releasing an adult nonfiction book, my very first thought was “I’m not smart enough to read it”. And then I found out the book was a collection of essays about the current geologic age and I was immediately relieved because I knew I could handle that. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Green and I thought it was fantastic. We got to hear all his thoughts and insights as he intended and it was a great experience.
So many topics were covered in this book, everything from dinosaurs, to a feud with a creature in his garden, to feelings about living in a pandemic. When I was listening I experienced a range of emotions. There were so many times when I was laughing out loud, and one time when I teared up. I think this is a really excellent book and I can see myself recommending it to a lot of people.
I give this book 4 stars. (less)
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Timothy Hickson
Oct 21, 2021Timothy Hickson rated it it was amazing
The Anthropocene Reviewed asks only one thing of you: to stop and think a bit more deeply about the world we live in. John Green's first foray into non-fiction, it's very clearly a personal memoir in many ways. While framed as a deeper look at unknown and misremembered stories about humanity, it's more truly a deeper look into Green himself—which he willingly admits. As a consequence, it is a book that will appeal more to people who are already familiar with John Green, but I think it's well worth reading, even if you aren't familiar with him, anyway.
The Anthropocene Reviewed is insightful without being obtuse and intelligent without being condescending. Green more invites you to participate in a conversation about life, humanity, hope, the past, and the future, than he does tell you why the world is the way it is.
My only real criticism is that it was too short. The book flies by from essay to essay, making every single one digestible and poignant, a work on their own. I remember getting to the final essay and expecting there to be more. It did not have an 'ending'. It was a collection of moments, but perhaps that is what life is—we have to connect the dots ourselves. (less)
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Tom Ives
Sep 24, 2020Tom Ives rated it it was amazing
One of the most beautiful podcasts becomes a book. Such a simple concept, but so illuminating about what it is to be alive, the power of the human spirit and the absurdity of it all. I will always carry googling strangers with me. He is alive.
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Megha
Aug 28, 2020Megha is currently reading it
I need this badly
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Hamad
Jul 13, 2021Hamad rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2021-reads, non-fiction, e-books
This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷 Support me ☕
“We all know how loving ends. But I want to fall in love with the world anyway, to let it crack me open. I want to feel what there is to feel while I am here.”
I read three of Green’s books and I was not really a fan of them, I never got the hype and I thought that the writing was almost pretentious! I don’t usually give authors more than 2-3 chances but the thing is this is a non-fiction book and I had a feeling it would work better with Green’s style and it looks like I was right! For once in my life, I can say that I genuinely enjoyed a John Green book!
The book is a collection of essays written by the author and is inspired from his podcast with the same name. I don’t follow the Green brothers on YouTube because I simply don’t regularly watch videos and I have very few subscriptions! I did not know about the podcast even but after reading this book, I am kind of intrigued! I may give the podcast a chance at one point although the audio format rarely if ever works for me.
The essays involve all kind of subjects and I loved how it can range from personal experiences to well researched subjects! It took me a few essays to warm up to the book and get used to the format but once I was past that, I found it highly enjoyable and addicting! There are approximately 50 essays or so (just a rough estimate, I am not sure of the exact number) and they discuss countries to food to songs and even illnesses. I also loved how an essay about a sport for example would be discussing something deeper and more important than the title of the essay sounds!
The writing did not feel pretentious and it felt professional! There were a lot of great quotes and overall it was just easy to read! I also loved the introduction about ratings and the way Green rated things mentioned in the essays hence the name of the book! For its smart design and emotional writing, I give The Anthropocene Reviewed 4 stars1
“One of the strange things about adulthood is that you are your current self, but you are also all the selves you used to be, the ones you grew out of but can’t ever quite get rid of.”
(less)
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alexandra
Jun 05, 2021alexandra rated it really liked it
Shelves: audiobook, read-2021
short, sweet, and just what i needed. i can’t wait to revisit some of these chapters for years to come.
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Theresa Alan
Jul 29, 2021Theresa Alan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
“Wonders do not cease. It is our attentiveness that is in short supply, our ability and willingness to do the work that awe requires.”
I hadn’t expected to learn something reading a collection of essays, but I learned a lot of strange stuff that I’m pretty sure I never even thought about before. Like how the Jurassic Park’s version of velociraptor is based on a different dinosaur with a less dramatic name, or how we chill offices to accommodate middle-aged males in suits rather than a woman who may not want to wear a jacket but ends up layering like she’s on an Artic expedition. Green reflects on the environment, art, lawns, the history of penicillin.
It’s a beautifully written collection, as you would expect from John Green. (less)
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Amina
Dec 05, 2021Amina rated it it was amazing
⭐️❤️BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR⭐️❤️
I've seen a lot of books lately with gorgeous, inviting, colorful covers. John Green's The Antropocene Reviewed is just that, and when I saw it was a sort of autobiographical non-fiction by The Fault in the Stars author, I decided to give it a read.
Wow! This guy knows ALOT. He gets sick with some sort of inner ear issue during COVID and decides to write down his rambling thoughts while on bed rest for six weeks. When I say random, I mean random; the world's largest ball of paint, whispering, Monopoly, the yips. Yeah, it was a wonderful smorgasbord of thoughts.
John Green--living the Midwest suburbia life, recanting his obsession with scratch and sniff stickers, the finite taste of root beer, and college angst mixed with cigarettes. I mean this was JUST the book I needed.
Green has an art for writing and even the most mundane topics like air-conditioning are interesting are well thought out. His chapter on sunset was so poignant, I could feel his words tumbling off the page and onto my own moments of solitude and sunsets.
I can't say enough about this book, it was just right, and perfect, and positive. It’s fitting to rate/review this book on Goodreads because Green professes the modern age is defined by ratings. Every random idea he discusses ends with a rating on a scale.
I choose to give Green 4 stars for wonderful writing, and an extra star for keeping me engaged with every topic.
Wow!! Just saw this was the winner of Goodreads nonfiction’ yayyy! (less)
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Tatiana
Sep 04, 2021Tatiana marked it as dnf
Shelves: why-the-hype, 2021, non-fiction, i-am-so-over-you
Wow! John Green must have spent A LOT of time watching Nat Geo and wiki-ing. So have I. I wish I had his conviction of a white rich man to spin all the trivia I know into a series of banal and sappy essays where I talk like I am an expert on every thing in this world via reciting easily googlable factoids. But alas, I have a full-time job.
John Green's following is still strong, judging by the average rating of this drivel. I can understand why kids would be impressed by it, but I am stunned this is an adult book? (less)
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Alice Lippart
Jul 12, 2021Alice Lippart rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-2021
Well written, insightful and honest.
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Tiernan
Sep 09, 2021Tiernan rated it it was amazing
This got better and better as I went, and I read it pretty slowly over a couple months. So intriguing and deceptively emotional.
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destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]
Oct 11, 2021destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: nonfic, z-2021-reads, adult
I didn't have "falling back into head-over-heels love with John Green's writing" on my 2021 bingo card, but here we are.
I grew up on JG's books, and they meant so much to me for so long, but somewhere along the way, I think I lost the connection a little. I wasn't even sure I wanted to read this collection of essays, but I decided to borrow it from the library and give it a try — and within the first essay, I was wholeheartedly sucked back into the beautiful way John views the world.
I learned so much, felt so much, related to so much, and am beyond happy to have read this book. The Anthropocene Reviewed feels like a book I'm going to carry in my heart for a long time to come.
———
twitter | booktok | bookstagram | blog (less)
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Megan Berchem
May 23, 2021Megan Berchem rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
I don't know if I can even properly put into words how special this book is, to me at least.
I recently started rereading "Looking for Alaska" for the first time in my adult life, and I found myself understanding the criticisms of John's YA fiction. For example, the language; the characters that are hyper fixated on an author/poet or some niche subject such as last words; references to a wide array of texts, etc., etc., are not usually elements present in the conversations of most high schoolers which renders the voice unrealistic. (I am fully aware that these are among the lighter criticisms of his work, but the others are a topic of discussion for a different time.)
However, these elements completely transcend into the realm of non-fiction. These essays are beautiful narratives on the human condition interwoven with personal stories, references to works of art, historical facts, scientific studies, and many more. These essays left me with the feeling you experience right after you have a much-needed cry that you have to get out of your system. It's very easy for me to get into a negative spell. To feel like there isn't a point to anything that we are doing. To get sucked into that dreaded meaninglessness feeling. This book is the perfect reminder that the world is crazy, but crazy can be good. The Anthropocene is both awful and wondrous.
I give The Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.
Note: I understand that non-fiction and John's writing are not for everyone. However, there are three essays that I truly believe that everyone should read. First, "Googling Strangers" is hauntingly beautiful. Second, "The World's Biggest Ball of Paint" explores the everchanging world of art and its impact. And then there my favorite, "Auld Lang Syne." When I say that I have listed to this specific episode of the podcast of the same name too many times to count, I mean it. It is the single best piece of writing of John's that I have had the privilege to read. "Auld Lang Syne" captures the entire essence of this book and the podcast series. (less)
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fatma
May 25, 2021fatma rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2021-favs, audiobooks, 2021-releases, non-fiction
such a big-hearted, brave book. john green writes with real vulnerability and grace, and the result is a collection of essays that's empathetic, thoughtful, and so moving. (less)
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