John Green (1) (1977–)

Despite the book’s title, few of these essays actually discuss the impact of human activity on geology, climate, or environment. Instead, Green appears to be using the term “Anthropocene” as a synonym for “modern culture,” and “Anthropocene Reviewed” as a pretense for pulling together a series of essays that don’t otherwise appear to have much in common. Some of the essays do focus on what you might call “Anthropocene-adjacent” topics like history, nature, science/technology, and anthropology. But the vast majority of the essays are biographical - personal anecdotes, travels, mental/physical health challenges, favorites (favorite song, soccer team, soda, video game, etc.) - creating the overall impression of an episodic memoir rather than “essays on a human centered planet.”

Having said that, I suspect most people won’t mind the “bait and switch.” The essays are stuffed with engagingly nerdy trivia (the history of Edmund Halley, the evolution of the QWERTY keyboard, the antecedents of ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ the origin story of teddy bears), funny stories (his brief career as an Academic Dacathalete), and nostalgia (scratch ‘n’ sniff stickers!). And goodness knows Green’s an engaging writer (as sales of his novels would suggest): honest, empathetic, and ultimately hopeful.

Green’s “gimmick” is to end each essay with a kitschy “1-5 star” rating: the city of Indianapolis gets 4 stars; Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, two stars; etc. Works well enough for essays that are about things, but begins to feel strained/labored when applied to essays that are mostly about ideas or emotions (“What’s the meaning of life? How does one find hope in the midst of despair?”) Admit Green’s more philosophical essays left me cold. There’s nothing overtly off-putting about Green’s “how lucky we all are to be alive!” affirmations, but neither did I find them to be particularly original, insightful, or convincing.

Apparently Green penned most of these essays during the height of the pandemic, and that’s the vibe I got: that Green’s basically taking us with him on a stream-of-consciousness journey through months of inactivity-spawned contemplations and reflections, augmented by internet research, more-or-less relevant diversions, and lots (and lots) of literary quotations. The result is a rather uneven collection, and definitely not what I expected based on the title/summary, but ultimately found more here to like than dislike.… (more)

{my thoughts} – This book was amazing. It was nothing short of amazing. Hazel is a teen girl that’s life is highly dependent on experimental drugs and an oxygen tank. Her mother and father worry she is too use to being home and is too depressed so they send her off to a support group for other teenagers in her situation. She attends this support group and meets Gus. Gus is the secondary character in this book and the two off them make for a beautiful story. I laughed, I teared up and I nearly cried. I don’t think anyone could honestly read this book and not like it!

The only thing I am not pleased about is that it doesn’t give any answers as to what becomes of Hazel at the end of the book. It sort of stops leaving you wonder the rest. Other then that I could read it over and over again and still enjoy it just as much as the first time I had read it! It was just that wonderful to me. I highly recommend this book.… (more)

{my thoughts} – This book was amazing. It was nothing short of amazing. Hazel is a teen girl that’s life is highly dependent on experimental drugs and an oxygen tank. Her mother and father worry she is too use to being home and is too depressed so they send her off to a support group for other teenagers in her situation. She attends this support group and meets Gus. Gus is the secondary character in this book and the two off them make for a beautiful story. I laughed, I teared up and I nearly cried. I don’t think anyone could honestly read this book and not like it!

The only thing I am not pleased about is that it doesn’t give any answers as to what becomes of Hazel at the end of the book. It sort of stops leaving you wonder the rest. Other then that I could read it over and over again and still enjoy it just as much as the first time I had read it! It was just that wonderful to me. I highly recommend this book.… (more)