bbygirl21's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced

4.0

I was thoroughly surprised by this book. I went in open minded, but I fully expected not to enjoy this book. I don't usually read nonfiction books. I don't go out of my way to find nonfiction books and beyond that general hesitation with nonfiction, the premise of the book didn't really interest me all that much when going into it. But I surprisingly really liked it. I did start to feel a little bored with the book near the end of it. But overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend.

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franzi_'s review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.75


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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

 - Honestly, who gave John Green the right? Who let him make me experience the fullness of the human condition via audiobook?
- So many essays in this book had me thinking, oh this will be silly. Rating the Disney Hall of Presidents? This will be a laugh. Yes, but then he'll take a roundabout through a seemingly unrelated anecdote and suddenly you're crying while commuting to work.
- I do think a lot of the power of this book comes from the fact that Green wrote much of it during the early stages of the pandemic, and he frequently references that in the text. But it also adds more layers to the essays, helping to bring our current moment into the context of the whole of human history (whether or not that makes you feel better about the state of things...I'm not sure).
- I do recommend the audiobook for this, as Green puts so much emotion into his reading. Plus, you must hear the call of the extinct bird included in one of the essays. I hear the print version has additional notes, though, so I'll be checking that out as well. 

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scruffie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I could hear John's voice in my head while reading this book. Simultaneously sad and anxious and hopeful, it felt very comforting to me; exactly what I needed right now. Medium-paced most of the time, but also slow-paced, on occasion.

Probably like others before me, I give the Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.

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mathildem's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

5.0


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robiok's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

5.0


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kimi72714's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book pulled me out of my reading slump in the way that only the writing of John Green can do. 

I knew many of the stories from Vlogbrothers videos, and so, even without the audiobook, John was reading aloud to me in my head. 

This book made me cry laugh with lines like "But you do so much yoga!", and real laugh with lines like "I've read more books on Hamlet than parenting". 

The pandemic is still going, and I'm still huddled inside my house to keep myself and my community safe, but this book reminded me how to fall in love with the world. 

The wind is whipping around my house as a big weather front moves through, which is very common this time of year. But I can hear the kids next door squealing in delight as they play in their backyard, and I'm grateful for a connection to the wider world. 

I give The Anthropocene Reviewed five stars. 

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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective relaxing sad

5.0

the irony of leaving a 5 star scale review on a book that has so much commentary on the 5 star scale is not lost on me, and initially I didn't want to review it for that reason, but I loved it so much that I felt like I should tell you all that. My relationship with John Green as an author goes back almost 10 years. I've always loved his books, his Tumblr posts, and to borrow a line from TFIOS, I would read his grocery lists. Through his fiction he has always captured humanity through such a beautiful and sometimes ugly lense and so when I found out he was coming out with essays on the human condition, I was signed up immediately. It did exactly what I thought it would do. It brought me comfort, made me cry, made me laugh...specifically the chapters "Auld Lang Syne" and "Sycamore Tree" really got me. He reviews things that seem trivial like Dr. Pepper and then a chapter later he's talking about the meaning of life itself. I've really never read anything like this and at the same time I feel like I've read this before because the person who wrote it seems so familiar to me.

For its insight, it's softness in this rough time, and for keeping me company when I can't sleep at night, I give John Green's the anthropocene reviewed 5 stars.

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phobosm's review

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informative reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

The audiobook is a pleasure to listen to. Audio clippings of near-extinct birds and a singing John Green. Way too saturated with disease and pandemic ramblings scattered throughout the book, got stale eventually.

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skudiklier's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I loved this book more than I can say. It's so unique and I honestly think almost anyone could love it; it's probably the only John Green book I will unreservedly recommend to anyone, regardless of their interests.

I've listened to every episode of the podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed, meaning I had kind of already read a great deal of this book before it came out. I do have to admit that I think some of the really impactful moments in these essays are more impactful when you hear them read aloud by John; however, they don't lose much in their written form, and he has gone back and added quite a bit too.

I also really love the mini reviews he has for things like back page book ads and the font used in the book. They gave me so much delight to notice.

You already know this, but I give The Anthropocene Reviewed five stars. 

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