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aharper's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
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
illgiveyouahint's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma, Self harm, Animal death, Colonisation, Mental illness, Grief, Chronic illness, Death, Classism, Confinement, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide, Racism, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Slavery, Violence, War, and Vomit
sarahweyand's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
So hi. My name is Sarah and I DO NOT cry while reading. In all the 239 books on my Goodreads shelf, I have cried while reading exactly four of them. But DAMNIT if John Green didn't make my cry this week. For those of you wanting specifics, I cried during the Auld Lang Syne essay, on the audiobook version where John asks you to sing a version of the song with him. I went to Barnes & Noble to compare versions, and no, the print copy doesn't have this part, so if you choose to read that, maybe you'll be safe.
This is such an intimate look at the mind of a person with anxiety during the early months of the COVID pandemic. It is raw and honest and the prose is beautiful; it is definitely my favorite work by John Green. I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook, as Green narrates it himself.
Each essay centers on a different topic that Green explores the history of and then ties into some aspect of the human experience. Some are better than others, but I did enjoy the majority of them. Sometimes I felt a little emotional whiplash going from a lighthearted and interesting essay to one so deep, existential, and anxiety-filled. I think some people might feel like it might be too soon for them to read this, and I fully understand. Overall, I think this was a well-written and mindful look at different elements of history and humanity and I look forward to reading more work by Green if he continues to publish in the adult space.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
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
hanz's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, and Grief
katelynprice's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Although I'm a fan of John Green's YA fiction, I really had no interest in reading this book, but my friend kept gushing about it. The first few essays were good and had Green's signature wit and style, but it wasn't until "Lascaux Cave Paintings" that I was truly sold. At that point I started reading many essays aloud to my husband, a history buff, and being able to share in them made them all the richer. Then the collection took a turn and became meaningful and insightful in a way I didn't expect. His experiences with depression made me feel truly seen. I used SO many book darts because Green has a true gift for making meaning of the mundane. He writes lines that just resonate and make me believe in the universal experience of humanity. This collection was inspiring and reminded me that I matter, what I do matters, and how I treat people matters. I gained so much from reading this and wholeheartedly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Grief, and Medical content
hnagarne's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
greeneyed_ives's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Child death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death