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zoiejanelle's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
i very casually listened to the audiobook (thanks spotify premium!) and really enjoyed being able to listen to a few chapters at a time. listening to him read the book, laughing with him and crying with him, made the experience so much more enjoyable. i would love to go back and read the physical book when i have time so that i can pore over his syntax and highlight my favorite phrases/sentences.
john green was one of my favorite authors as as teen, and i am so glad to still be learning from him. his unique experience as an almost-pastor, a writer, a father, and a person who struggles with mental illness all really inform this beautifully reflective and inspiring body of work. his voice (literally and figuratively) really shine through each chapter and the context/further research provided made me feel like i was FEELING but also LEARNING at the same time.
i'm not sure what i expected from this book, but it was certainly profound. i found myself considering not just the human condition but my own place in the world and my own motivations. this was a really beautiful read, and i highly recommend it to anyone who likes memoirs, non-fiction, or yelp reviews.
john green was one of my favorite authors as as teen, and i am so glad to still be learning from him. his unique experience as an almost-pastor, a writer, a father, and a person who struggles with mental illness all really inform this beautifully reflective and inspiring body of work. his voice (literally and figuratively) really shine through each chapter and the context/further research provided made me feel like i was FEELING but also LEARNING at the same time.
i'm not sure what i expected from this book, but it was certainly profound. i found myself considering not just the human condition but my own place in the world and my own motivations. this was a really beautiful read, and i highly recommend it to anyone who likes memoirs, non-fiction, or yelp reviews.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Mental illness, Cancer, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, and Death
k1313's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, and Death
lettuce_read's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cancer
brookey8888's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
I really enjoyed this! I learned a lot and some of these essays made me emotional which shocked me. I’m not going to lie some of this went over my head, but overall it was easy to follow and understand. There’s a lot of humor in this, but a lot of seriousness as well. It really made me think of all the little things in the world as well as the big things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Death, and Mental illness
karissahodge's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Death, and Cancer
streberkatze's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I'm not sure I would have had the patience to make it through the print version, but I absolutely loved the audiobook. The essays span such a wide range of topics, and John Green's on ever single one of them are so nuanced, intriguing, and often relatable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, and Animal death
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.
I give John Green's book 5 stars.
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 -grahamjpark's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
I really enjoyed this book. John used reviews of random things from present day (or recent history) to share his thoughts on life. His thoughts were different from mine and I found they offered interesting insights. If you're someone whose already gone deeper on the topics of grief and "why are we here" perhaps you'd find it shallower, but I would still recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Suicidal thoughts
trueveracity's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
3.5 stars
This is my first book by John Green. For many years I stayed away due to the fact that many people seem to really like him as a person, but not find his work compelling. :(
When I saw he published a nonfiction title, better yet..a collection of essay mainly from the podcast he does...I thought this is my chance to see if I enjoy his writing style! ^^
I think this book is personal for him mainly because it was written in the middle of the pandemic.
The subjects he tackles are varied and unique in their own right: from sunsets to favorite bands and places, from sports to the pandemic and mental health, and from important changes at the global scale to a personal journey he needed to put on paper mainly for himself. :)
This book is beautiful, and reading it, I kept imagining his voice and fragile delivery from crash course literature.
In terms of content I loved about a third of essays, liked another, and I was mildly interested in the rest.
Here are some of my favorite chapters:
-Humanity's Temporal Range
-Halley's Comet
-Lascaux Cave Paintings
-Teddy Bears
-Air-Conditioning
-<b>Sunsets</b>
-<b>Pinguins of Madagascar</b>
-<b>Auld Lang Syne</b>
-<b>Googling Strangers</b>
If you have a copy of the book at hand, you can see that I connected with the first part of the book more...which is not a bad thing. I just vibe with some of the subjects of interest for him, not all. ^_^
I highly recommend this collection of essays if you need something meditative, or are in the mood this reflect on serious subject matters for short periods of time.
In the end, I'm not sure I will ever read more from him, certainly not his earlier work..but a similar project as "The Anthropocene reviewed" will appeal to me.:)
One things is sure...I loved his authorial voice! If you enjoy hearing him talk, give this book a try!
Enjoy
This is my first book by John Green. For many years I stayed away due to the fact that many people seem to really like him as a person, but not find his work compelling. :(
When I saw he published a nonfiction title, better yet..a collection of essay mainly from the podcast he does...I thought this is my chance to see if I enjoy his writing style! ^^
I think this book is personal for him mainly because it was written in the middle of the pandemic.
The subjects he tackles are varied and unique in their own right: from sunsets to favorite bands and places, from sports to the pandemic and mental health, and from important changes at the global scale to a personal journey he needed to put on paper mainly for himself. :)
This book is beautiful, and reading it, I kept imagining his voice and fragile delivery from crash course literature.
In terms of content I loved about a third of essays, liked another, and I was mildly interested in the rest.
Here are some of my favorite chapters:
-Humanity's Temporal Range
-Halley's Comet
-Lascaux Cave Paintings
-Teddy Bears
-Air-Conditioning
-<b>Sunsets</b>
-<b>Pinguins of Madagascar</b>
-<b>Auld Lang Syne</b>
-<b>Googling Strangers</b>
If you have a copy of the book at hand, you can see that I connected with the first part of the book more...which is not a bad thing. I just vibe with some of the subjects of interest for him, not all. ^_^
I highly recommend this collection of essays if you need something meditative, or are in the mood this reflect on serious subject matters for short periods of time.
In the end, I'm not sure I will ever read more from him, certainly not his earlier work..but a similar project as "The Anthropocene reviewed" will appeal to me.:)
One things is sure...I loved his authorial voice! If you enjoy hearing him talk, give this book a try!
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Bullying, Grief, Terminal illness, and Death