novella42's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0


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basicbookstagrammer's review

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emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0


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marsspider42's review

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hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.0

Part pop science and history, part memoir, in this book John Green details how he has enjoyed the Anthropocene so far. Written primarily during 2020, this book reflects on the distinctly 21st century things that have shaped Green's life and how they interact with his mental health, especially in the current time. 

This book will make you want to cry about things you have never before heard about. I think the audiobook version would be fantastic. Recommended to anyone who likes trivia and genuine love of the world.

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takarakei's review against another edition

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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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mari_library's review against another edition

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4.0

This has to be one of the best non-fiction and audiobook experiences I have had in my short reading life. 

This book feels like watching John Green on YouTube. It feels like a conversation with a friend. It's so incredibly intimate and yet knowledgeable. It's filled with panic-striking ideas and yet bubbling with optimism and logic. 

When John Green discussed his anxiety, I felt seen and connected. I remember thinking, "Finally, someone gets it." I think that pretty much sums up my feelings about the book. John Green gets it. Not everything about this book is mind-blowing, but it is very human. And that's a good thing. 

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illgiveyouahint's review against another edition

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4.0

The Kauaʻi ʻōʻō  story made me bawl my eyes out. I think I'm gonna have to buy the physical copy so that I can reread it at some point and highlight favourite passages. But also I think it's great to hear an audiobook of a book of essay by the author himself. With fiction it can feel weird since they're narrating their characters but with essays they're narrating their own thoughts which I think is nice. 

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emilyexley's review against another edition

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5.0


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hanz's review against another edition

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4.0


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erosikessel's review against another edition

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5.0


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robynlynae's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 stars. Do I feel giddy giving this book of reviews a review? Yes. Do I feel hopeless in the pressure to review this book as eloquently as John Green reviews Diet Dr. Pepper or Sunsets? Yes. Alas, I will try my best. 

This book was refreshingly vulnerable and raw. It amazes me how Green can relate the most mundane day-to-day things to great existential ponderings in a way that make me feel so big and so small at the same time. On the surface, these reviews seem unconnected and even whimsical, but underneath it all this was a conversation about humanity and the experiences and emotions that connect us all.

I read this book slower than I would normally read a book and I feel like that is the perfect way to enjoy it. The essays are short and easy to read but I often felt I needed to put the book down after only a few and think on them for a while. Green has a way of writing about big and small things so that they feel the opposite. Much of this book centers on Green's experiences with mental illness and I connected with those passages most profoundly. I really appreciate how he is able to make something in my life that is so big and overwhelming feel simple. My mental health, which I struggle with and can sometimes feel insurmountable, is something that Green is able to parse out and show that it is, in fact, surmountable. In his examples of feeling so alone, I felt less so. Depression and loneliness was made small. Whispers and a dog's belly turned big. 

There is a sly wit and humor generously sprinkled throughout that add levity to each essay and there were several times where I laughed out loud. It was wonderfully cathartic and I would recommend it to anyone who struggles with mental health, feeling small in this big world, or feeling any sort of affection for geese.

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