Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet

"The Anthropocene Reviewed"

Method: audiobook by the author

One thing about me is: I love a theme. Themed events, themed locations, themed decor: give me something with a clearly-stated uniting category attached to it and I will be happy. And never more so than when it comes to collections of writings - be they essays, poems, short stories, letters, what have you - give me a clear overarching connection and I will be happy.

As themes go, "The Anthropocene" is broad enough to potentially be self-defeating. If it could be anything about human life (which in a piece of media made for humans essentially means 'anything at all', since everything we communicate about will always come back to us), what's the point in having a theme at all? Maybe that's me being too simplistic, but honestly the broadness of this theme does brush against the reason why I love them so much - I like being able to categorise things, and (to a somewhat lesser extent) to compartmentalise them, and a theme like this doesn't really allow for that sort of thing.

But my own personal taste in theming aside, I freaking loved this book. From the opening review of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical 'Carousel' - a song I also have a personal connection to, with my very first time performing in a stage show having been as one of the Snow children who appears onstage during this song, in an experience which helped spark the love of theatre that has had such a profound influence on my life - I was hooked. My favourite reviews are the ones on the 1950 drama film "Harvey" (which serves as a deeply personal and empathy-facilitating explorarion of Green's experience with depression) and on the folk song "Auld Lang Syne" (which serves as a beautiful tribute to the work of his departed friend and mentor Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and has given me a variation on the song to sing which I will remember for the rest of my life). This book has so many interesting, at times hilarious and at times profound reviews in here that are well worth reading - it's just that I love these two most, in equal measure.

One of my favourite things about art is how it begets more art - both from a creative perspective (artists, writers, musicians, etc. being inspired by those who came before them and by their contemporaries), and from an audience perspective (one of my favourite examples of this is finding music for the first time through great needledrops in film and television). And to me, this book is at its best when it highlights some of the beautiful and strange and intriguing things that humans have created. I personally lean more towards the artistic ones, but the exploration of some of the more pragmatic human creations, such as vaccines, is also excellent - informative and evocative, in equal measure.

And this book does what so many of the books I deeply love do - it makes me want to write more, and it makes me want to participate more in the world. It makes me want both, in equal measure.

I give "The Anthropocene Rewiewed" four and a half stars.

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limiwh's review

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informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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maxaroni46's review

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I’ve read two of John Green’s novels and adored them both, but this might be my favorite book by him. It’s so vulnerable, and his ability to capture the messiness that is humanity on Earth is breathtaking. I don’t normally cry reading books, but this book made me cry twice. (Also: I listened to the audiobook, which was read by John himself, and I think gave so much life to it.) I give The Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.

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bootrat's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

A series of essays on humanity, our nature, our interests, and our impact on the world. I love John Green, and this book is a real change of pace from his novels.

It was interesting to reflect on all the various things John talks about and reviews, both on the surface level and as an analysis of humanity. I loved the way this book was written, and reading it as an audiobook and getting to hear John actually speak about everything really enhanced the experience.

I give the Anthropocene Reviewed 4.5 stars.

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cryptofauna's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

holy shit.
laugh out loud funny but also reverent, emotional and touching. the depth of human experience that green shows in this book is mind boggling and insane. both deeply relatable and such a wonderful picture into a very different mind and world. came out of this one feeling so different about the universe.
I rate the Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.

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liiiizzzk's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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anni_o's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I liked it! I learned a lot about John and about his life but also about the world. Some essays were super interesting, some really not my thing. It moved me a lot in several parts and I did cry like, 4-5 times. The through line with the star reviews was nice, but it is a short story collection and maybe I just prefer Mr. Green's long story formats. Since I did very much enjoy myself though, it is a solid 4 stars. A good book club discussion book, just because of the small separate stories though!

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grace33's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

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