The Anthropocene Reviewed

John Green tells us about his life, experience, and appreciation for the world in the Anthropocene through reviews of everyday things from sunsets, to Diet Dr. Pepper. At times funny, at times ponderous, at times surprising. He shows how reviews often reflect more on the reviewer than the thing being reviewed.

I give "The Anthropocene Reviewed" five stars.

Jeg ser gjennom bunken av bøker jeg har lest i år, og det har blitt et godt leseår, selv om jeg enda ikke er helt i mål. Men jeg tror jeg kan si at høydepunktet kom med denne diamanten av en bok, en varm, menneskelig og god samling av essays om hvordan det er å være menneske på søken etter en forklaring i den antropocene tidsalder. Jeg elsker essays, og jeg liker filosofering, og John Green gir meg mye av begge. Noen vil hevde at dette er hobbyfilosofi, og at det er for enkelt, men det meste av dyp filosofi er ikke annet enn enkle innsikter forklart i et språk som søker én ting: Nøyaktighet. Det bidrar til en opplevelse av dybde, og stenger murer for det enkle. Dette er den boken jeg trenger, og jeg tror det er mange andre som gjør det også, en liten flik av håp og optimisme i en verden som er vanskelig å forholde seg til. Jeg får litt den samme opplevelsen som når jeg leser Matt Haig og Anthony Doerr, varme, menneskekjære forfattere som ikke vil gjøre ting for vanskelig for leseren, samtidig som de vil at du skal sitte igjen med noe.
Green gir gjennom en rekke korte og litt lengre essays beskrivelser av mange ting som berører mennesket i antropocenen som han gir karakter. Så beveger han seg videre til neste ting, og jeg har det fint mens jeg leser det. Det er til meg, og det er akkurat det jeg vil. Årets høydepunkt blant mange godbiter. Så langt.

Full disclosure, I was a fan of the podcast before that podcast turned into a book. And yet, this book is very strong on its own merits. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and I didn't want to put it down so badly that I read it end to end in a just little bit over one month. The only thing I was missing was John Green's voice, and that can be achieved by the audiobook. Highly recommended.

I’ve been a fan of John Green since 2014 when a fellow undergrad mentioned Looking for Alaska. I fell in love with Green’s writing like Hazel Grace falls for Augustus—slowly and then all at once. Ever since that first taste, I’ve read everything he’s published. So, when The Anthropocene Reviewed hit stores, I was the first person at my local Barnes & Noble to receive a copy. They literally had to open a box so I could purchase the book.

I realize John Green has discussed similar things in a podcast of the same name but, as of this post, I haven’t listened to an episode. I went in with nothing but the notion I would learn more about one of my favorite authors and finished with exactly what I expected. Though there’s nothing novel about John’s rating format, I enjoyed his ramblings and heavily sourced material. I learned about many things I would have never stumbled across myself, and for that I am grateful.

Though I don’t usually offer my favorite quote from books, this one stood out among the many other gems: “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.”

I give The Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.

"Jerzy Dudek’s Performance on May 25, 2005" - A MUST READ!

(I'm going to assume that you already know and love the podcast, because, well, that's a pretty safe assumption. If you don't, go listen to a few episodes right now. Thank me later).

So: why bother with the book? It's (mostly) just the same material, isn't it? Not quite.

I enjoyed the book because I loved revisiting some of those episodes, none of which I remembered well enough to recite start-to-finish. Because I learned from them, even the ones I did remember well. Because there is new and lovely material. Because I can skip back and reread; or pause to reflect on a sentiment; or skim. Because, after all, I love books; because I only listen to podcasts while driving, and I seldom drive. Because there are footnotes and end notes. Mostly, though, because I really love this series and love Green's gentle compassionate irony, his sense of wonder and delight despite the absurdities of the human experience.

What does it mean to review a book of reviews? I don't know, but this book made me think all sorts of deep thoughts about life, death, humanity, mental illness, and other Big Heavy Topics without necessarily feeling like I was tackling Big Heavy Topics. The structure of the five-star review for each topic works well, and the things reviewed vary widely and connect to aspects of Green's life in unexpected ways, which makes for a great read. The essays are short and thought-provoking, so I found it worked best for me to read a few at a time and then pause for a bit for reflection; it's not really a "binge" book. Like the rest of John Green's work, it's a little pretentious in a way that works for me. I'm definitely going to check out the podcast of the same name for more reflections on a human-centered world.

I give The Anthropocene Reviewed four and a half stars.

5/5 as per usual for John Green. Such a fantastic writer, whether he's doing fiction or nonfiction. I love the podcast, and I adored this extension.