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

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