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A review by oashackelford
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
5.0
The Anthropocene Reviewed is a series of essays written by John Green about any given topic that exists on the planet Earth. Some are more mundane, like the essay about Dr. Pepper, and others more meaningful, like the essay about the Picture of the Three Farmers, and at the end of each essay John gives the subject a rating on the five star scale. Unlike other people's ratings, John states that he doesn't think that the five star mark should only be given to perfect things, rather, it should be given to the things that give him joy and are truly five stars to him.
I really loved this book. I have been really into the short story, or short essay format recently, because I can read a little bit here or there without having to commit to a large amount of reading time. but the thing that I really loved about this book is that John relates the subject of each essay back to his own life and how the context of his life gives the subject meaning. Some of the essays are more lighthearted, and others are heavier but the running theme throughout the book seems to be hope, both the things that give us hope and the things that take hope away. Another thing that this book does well is it gives us the context of time. Sometimes when we lose hope, we have no idea how long it will take us to get it back, John offers the context of time, showing that often we have no idea how long a trial will last, only that we are in it in this moment, so, when you can, you find hope in any way, shape, or form that you can.
Another thing to love about this book is John's mastery of the English language. All of his essays have a poetry to them. The way that he writes about feelings, or moments in time, makes the reader slow down and feel the moment, in a way that we rarely do in real life. Reading this book offered a lot of little quiet moments of peace.
I give the Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.
I really loved this book. I have been really into the short story, or short essay format recently, because I can read a little bit here or there without having to commit to a large amount of reading time. but the thing that I really loved about this book is that John relates the subject of each essay back to his own life and how the context of his life gives the subject meaning. Some of the essays are more lighthearted, and others are heavier but the running theme throughout the book seems to be hope, both the things that give us hope and the things that take hope away. Another thing that this book does well is it gives us the context of time. Sometimes when we lose hope, we have no idea how long it will take us to get it back, John offers the context of time, showing that often we have no idea how long a trial will last, only that we are in it in this moment, so, when you can, you find hope in any way, shape, or form that you can.
Another thing to love about this book is John's mastery of the English language. All of his essays have a poetry to them. The way that he writes about feelings, or moments in time, makes the reader slow down and feel the moment, in a way that we rarely do in real life. Reading this book offered a lot of little quiet moments of peace.
I give the Anthropocene Reviewed five stars.