THE ANTHROPOCENE REVIEWED: ESSAYS on a HUMAN-CENTERED PLANET (audiobook) by John Green
This collection of essays is, from what I understand, mostly a re-working of essays that Green has published on his blog or his YouTube channel. However, they were all new to me because I haven't seen more than a few snippets of his videos that my oldest daughter has shown me.
I know a bit about John Green because I live in Indianapolis, which is my adopted hometown just like it is John Green's adopted hometown. Green doesn't go out of his way to make his presence felt in his adopted hometown, but he is our current well-known author, replacing Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) with a completely different kind of vibe. Vonnegut gives off a whip-smart angry feeling with sarcasm to spare. Very clever. Green gives off a smart, understanding melancholy feeling. Just as smart as Vonnegut, but different. Vonnegut grew up here and moved away. He was always proud to be FROM Indianapolis but never lived here as an adult. Green grew up other places and is glad to live IN Indianapolis.
The premise of this book is that it is a series of Amazon-type reviews of items from the Anthropocene Era (a term for the era of Earth since humans arrived on the scene, like the Jurassic or the Cretaceous). Green dislikes the 5 star review system and he assigns the different topics he writes about a different star value.
This collection of essays can be very personal. Green is very open about his personal struggles with depression, a discussion that makes you feel like you are being brought in close, like a friend, as you listen to the audiobook. His style comes off as very conversational, like a friend is telling you a story. All that's missing is the reader occasionally saying things like "Uh-huh" and "Really?" from time to time.
Green writes about a wide variety of topics, including the Academic Decathalon, Diet Dr. Pepper, Canada Geese, the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Sunsets, CNN, The Smallpox Vaccine, Sycamore Trees, The World's Largest Ball of Paint, Super Mario Kart, Indianapolis, the Indy 500, and Piggly Wiggly. Some are basically information about a topic, some like the Super Mario Kart essay have a nice twist of political commentary at the end that make you think.
This is generally not a funny book, but there are parts that are literally laugh out loud funny. I laughed so hard that I cried during his essay enititled "Mortification". On the other hand, "Sycamore Trees" came very close to making me cry from his poignant commentary on living life with depression. We have a daughter that deals with depression and it struck home to me in a very personal way. When I finished hearing it as I was driving, I immediately called my wife and told her that she had to read it right away.
Highly Recommended. 5 stars out of 5. I may be coming back to this one in a couple of years for a re-read.
This book can be found on Amazon.com here:THE ANTHROPOCENE REVIEWED: ESSAYS on a HUMAN-CENTERED PLANET (audiobook) by John Green.
I know a bit about John Green because I live in Indianapolis, which is my adopted hometown just like it is John Green's adopted hometown. Green doesn't go out of his way to make his presence felt in his adopted hometown, but he is our current well-known author, replacing Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) with a completely different kind of vibe. Vonnegut gives off a whip-smart angry feeling with sarcasm to spare. Very clever. Green gives off a smart, understanding melancholy feeling. Just as smart as Vonnegut, but different. Vonnegut grew up here and moved away. He was always proud to be FROM Indianapolis but never lived here as an adult. Green grew up other places and is glad to live IN Indianapolis.
The premise of this book is that it is a series of Amazon-type reviews of items from the Anthropocene Era (a term for the era of Earth since humans arrived on the scene, like the Jurassic or the Cretaceous). Green dislikes the 5 star review system and he assigns the different topics he writes about a different star value.
This collection of essays can be very personal. Green is very open about his personal struggles with depression, a discussion that makes you feel like you are being brought in close, like a friend, as you listen to the audiobook. His style comes off as very conversational, like a friend is telling you a story. All that's missing is the reader occasionally saying things like "Uh-huh" and "Really?" from time to time.
 |
| The World's Largest Ball of Paint in Alexandria, IN. My family painted this yellow layer. Wondering why I included this picture? It all makes sense if you read this book. |
This is generally not a funny book, but there are parts that are literally laugh out loud funny. I laughed so hard that I cried during his essay enititled "Mortification". On the other hand, "Sycamore Trees" came very close to making me cry from his poignant commentary on living life with depression. We have a daughter that deals with depression and it struck home to me in a very personal way. When I finished hearing it as I was driving, I immediately called my wife and told her that she had to read it right away.
Highly Recommended. 5 stars out of 5. I may be coming back to this one in a couple of years for a re-read.
This book can be found on Amazon.com here:THE ANTHROPOCENE REVIEWED: ESSAYS on a HUMAN-CENTERED PLANET (audiobook) by John Green.
Comments
Post a Comment