Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

15 reviews

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

2.75

Formatting would have benefited greatly with the use of footnotes, which in turn would have helped with pacing and flow.

I found myself reading an essay or two about topics I had varying levels of interest in, and on to the next essay I would read the title and often put the book down because I had had enough of the meandering stream of consciousness associations for that session.

There were some things that I found value in, but it wasn’t really my cup of tea.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, War, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Deportation, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Classism, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, Child death, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

bbygirl21's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Confinement, Genocide, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, Animal death, and Antisemitism

takarakei's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

THE AUDIOBOOK! John narrates it himself (I find his voice so soothing) & one of my favorite essays was an audio exclusive. I just described this book to someone as a 'pop culture' book, but I think that does it a great disservice. This book is just so much more than that. I actually have not read any of John Green's novels (yet), but I have been following him and his brother Hank (read The Carls!) for a couple years, so I knew going in that John has a way with words. You may flip through the table of contents to read the titles of the essays and think this book sounds rather ordinary, but John is able to take even the most seemingly mundane topics and weave beautiful connections to (the often brutal) humanity. There were several times when I was misty eyed.

I give John Green's book 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

Minor: War, Slavery, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, and Antisemitism

Animal death -

extinction of species, descriptions of hunting and animal cruelty (zoos, captivity, human disregard for animal well being/sentience) - all of which are told in historical context

cemeterygay's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad

5.0

I did not expect for a John Green non-fiction book to become one of my favorite books but here we are.

I very casually read a couple of John Green's fiction books when I was younger but I grew out of that brand of YA pretty quickly. When I heard about The Anthropocene Reviewed I expected more of the same, but I was incredibly surprised.

If you need some joy and hope with a twinge of bittersweet sadness during this hell of a pandemic, I cannot recommend this book. This book helped me find beauty in the mundane but to cope with some of the most horrific parts of life in a way that didn't feel like either romanticization or denial. I especially adored the explorations of mental health and community throughout the entire book.

While I did like John Green's writing style previously, it never really stuck with me but I think the format and subject material of this book made it really stick with me. 

This book was an incredibly intense rollercoaster with high highs and low lows, that still managed to give me hope for the future and remind myself of the beauty that humanity can be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Death, and Child death

Additional CW: Heavy discussions of pandemic and death (particularly COVID-19), discussions of systemic oppression including antisemitism, discussions of mental illness including OCD, anxiety, and depression

readandfindout's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, and Bullying

Minor: Cancer

beforeviolets's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

You know when you have a late night chat with a friend, the topics of your conversation shifting from deep personal intimacies to inside jokes to silly stories and back again without judgement, and when it's all over, you feel like a layer of your shell just cracked a little bit, and like a part of you just healed a little bit, and like you just loved and were loved? That's how reading this book felt.

The Anthropocene Reviewed is an ode to humanity. It's simultaneously an examination and a love letter to life both collective and individual.

There are few books that have genuinely impacted my outlook on life, and it is no small thing to say that this is one of them. 

Thank you, John Green, for the tears, for the laughs, for the FASCINATING history of Monopoly, but most importantly for the hope. Because, in the end, that's really what this book is. A little beacon of hope.

I give the Anthropocene Reviewed 5 stars.

CW: immense discussion of death, pandemics, and mortality; discussion of anti-semitism and systemic oppression of marginalized communities; discussion of mental illnesses including OCD, anxiety, and depression.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Child death, and Antisemitism

scruffie's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Body horror

Moderate: Antisemitism and Terminal illness

Minor: Vomit, Slavery, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Drug use, and War

mathildem's review

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Antisemitism

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Genocide, and War

kimi72714's review

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Islamophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

ntvenessa's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

A scrapbook of memories reflecting on the life of one, John Green, in the modern world, the Anthropocene. Indeed, it is phenomenon forward, and analyses our human relationship toward such phenomena. It shows that the distance between person and subject is not so distinct as we imagine, and that our experiences of a thing, contribute to the thing, as well as vice versa. It is about the density and quality of connection hewn in the modern world. The writing is deeply introspective and generous, and the themes broadly applicable to all. The essays capture the experiences of events spread across the spectrum of a life well lived, and indeed still living. Ultimately it is a beautiful, hopeful read, and personally my favourite Green novel. I rate The Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Antisemitism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and War