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mollywill's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cancer and War
caseythereader's review against another edition
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.
- 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
jayisreading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
This was an interesting collection of short essays in which John Green reviews all sorts of things on a five-star scale. When I say “all sorts of things,” I really mean all sorts of things related to humans and their experiences in some capacity, but especially to Green himself. I’m inclined to say there was almost a memoir-like quality to this book, considering how much self-reflection is involved.
I didn’t hate this collection, but I didn’t love it either. I realize Green really wanted to attend to the importance of care and empathy, as well as to instill a sense of wonder for the world, but I think after ten or so essays, I got tired of the formulaic writing: random object, facts, musings, a literary quote or two, more facts and musings, star rating. Rinse and repeat.
One thing I did enjoy was how he went about addressing life during a pandemic. I thought Green approached this with a lot of care and thoughtfulness that he wove in throughout this book. If anything, I’d say that’s what will really touch a lot of people is this validation of struggling during such a time and acknowledging that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cancer
annabellehimstreet's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Minor: Cancer
alyssasaurus's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
moonytoast's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Considering I’ve been a fan of John Green for almost exactly a decade now and I’ve owned this book for a hot minute, it’s about damn time I read it. This book has made me tear up multiple times. There’s just something about John’s writing that reveals such vulnerability and heart, particularly—likely on account of my own current feelings as a disillusioned and depressed twenty-something—the chapter on the film Harvey. I cannot in good conscience give it any less than five stars (4.5 on Storygraph, but I'm rounding up).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Cancer, Death, and Grief
mackenzierittner's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Mental illness
astridrv's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Thanks John I cried a bunch, underlined a fuckton of quotes, and feel strangely proud of John to have come all the way to this book. For anyone who needs a reminder that sustained, caring, and hopeful attention is the only thing that matters, really.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, and Death
samchase112's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
Part memoir, part essay, John Green's collection of reviews is startlingly profound and deeply thoughtful. There is something for everyone: history, biology, literature, pop culture, sports. I have realized that John Green is just...my kind of guy. We share many of the same interests, many of the same dreams, the same fears. So hearing him detail his anxieties and the things he finds joy in through this carefully constructed narrative was just so damn interesting and engrossing.
Non-fiction John Green is undeniably superior to fictional John Green.
Non-fiction John Green is undeniably superior to fictional John Green.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Death
bookwormenthusiast's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
I loved every single part of this book! As a fan of John Green's other books and an avid watcher of Crash Course, I felt that this was an extension of everything else he's done. As I was reading, I couldn't help but hear John's voice, explaining his thoughts as he would in any number of his YouTube videos. This book was not only entertaining but made me think about so many things that I take for granted day to day. I was already familiar with most of these topics, so it simply reminded me how they fit into the grand scheme of things and made me consider my own experiences with them.
My biggest suggestion: don't read this book all at once, take a chapter or two a day. As much as I was intrigued by the writing and wanted to keep reading, I felt that I was absorbing too much information at once if I didn't take it a little at a time. Instead, by reading a chapter or two a day, I allowed myself to sit with what I had read a bit more and really process what I was reading.
While I wanted to give this a perfect 5 stars, I couldn't. First, there were a few mistakes within the writing that could have been picked up before publication. For example, in one of the chapters there was a footnote, but no indication within the text of what that footnote was in reference to. I usually don't mind when this happens in writing, mistakes can be missed, but since this is nonfiction, it took away a bit from the writing. Second, I felt that the use of pictures could have been used more. The one time it was used I felt more immersed within the writing and that both author and reader were on the same page. Also, having pictures only present in one chapter seemed a bit out of place.
Overall, this is one of those books that I feel everyone should read at least once in their lives. But for those who grew up with Crash Course and loved it, this should be at the top of your list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Cancer