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Reviews tagging 'Grief'
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
80 reviews
noellegrace8's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I don't much like John Green's fiction. I don't actively DISlike it, but it always seems to be a bit too light on the plot and characterization end and too heavy handed on the philosophical end. They're fine if not a bit heady, but John Green was made for nonfiction. We love his Crash Courses, his YouTube videos, his real life advocacy, and his podcasts. And this is that. Even down to its cadence and organization, this is just John Green having a highly consumable conversation with the reader that also helps them feel more encouraged about this life, even despite the many moments that suggest we should be panicking, even despite the occasional, poorly-veiled social advocacy moments.. He delivers a peacful philosophy despite it all. This is officially a new favorite book of mine. I need to go get a physical copy now.
While I don't include audiobook performance in my star rating of a book itself, I have the unique experience here of being able to critique the same person twice. Because John Green is an incredibly gifted speaker, and because I believe that audiobooks voiced by the author themselves have the potential to be the best of their kind, there's nothing about this narration that didn't hit the mark. I give John Green reading his own book the Anthropocene Reviewed... 5 stars.
While I don't include audiobook performance in my star rating of a book itself, I have the unique experience here of being able to critique the same person twice. Because John Green is an incredibly gifted speaker, and because I believe that audiobooks voiced by the author themselves have the potential to be the best of their kind, there's nothing about this narration that didn't hit the mark. I give John Green reading his own book the Anthropocene Reviewed... 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and War
While it is a generally mild book, The Anthropocene Reviewed is written during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown, making loneliness and all things pandemic-related a recurring theme. Additionally, as John Green is diagnosed and medicated for his mental illnesses, being mentally unwell is also a theme.cozy_tea_reader's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
5.0
I really enjoyed this audiobook - I felt like I learned more about the world and about the author and I definitely want to check out more of John Greens Books now!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
nutmegandselkie's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child death
virgcole398's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
If you’re an overthinker like me, you’ll love this bookdanasaur's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Particularly excellent as an audiobook!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lia_mills's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
"The Anthropocene Reviewed"
Method: audiobook by the author
One thing about me is: I love a theme. Themed events, themed locations, themed decor: give me something with a clearly-stated uniting category attached to it and I will be happy. And never more so than when it comes to collections of writings - be they essays, poems, short stories, letters, what have you - give me a clear overarching connection and I will be happy.
As themes go, "The Anthropocene" is broad enough to potentially be self-defeating. If it could be anything about human life (which in a piece of media made for humans essentially means 'anything at all', since everything we communicate about will always come back to us), what's the point in having a theme at all? Maybe that's me being too simplistic, but honestly the broadness of this theme does brush against the reason why I love them so much - I like being able to categorise things, and (to a somewhat lesser extent) to compartmentalise them, and a theme like this doesn't really allow for that sort of thing.
But my own personal taste in theming aside, I freaking loved this book. From the opening review of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical 'Carousel' - a song I also have a personal connection to, with my very first time performing in a stage show having been as one of the Snow children who appears onstage during this song, in an experience which helped spark the love of theatre that has had such a profound influence on my life - I was hooked. My favourite reviews are the ones on the 1950 drama film "Harvey" (which serves as a deeply personal and empathy-facilitating explorarion of Green's experience with depression) and on the folk song "Auld Lang Syne" (which serves as a beautiful tribute to the work of his departed friend and mentor Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and has given me a variation on the song to sing which I will remember for the rest of my life). This book has so many interesting, at times hilarious and at times profound reviews in here that are well worth reading - it's just that I love these two most, in equal measure.
One of my favourite things about art is how it begets more art - both from a creative perspective (artists, writers, musicians, etc. being inspired by those who came before them and by their contemporaries), and from an audience perspective (one of my favourite examples of this is finding music for the first time through great needledrops in film and television). And to me, this book is at its best when it highlights some of the beautiful and strange and intriguing things that humans have created. I personally lean more towards the artistic ones, but the exploration of some of the more pragmatic human creations, such as vaccines, is also excellent - informative and evocative, in equal measure.
And this book does what so many of the books I deeply love do - it makes me want to write more, and it makes me want to participate more in the world. It makes me want both, in equal measure.
I give "The Anthropocene Reviewed" four and a half stars.
Method: audiobook by the author
One thing about me is: I love a theme. Themed events, themed locations, themed decor: give me something with a clearly-stated uniting category attached to it and I will be happy. And never more so than when it comes to collections of writings - be they essays, poems, short stories, letters, what have you - give me a clear overarching connection and I will be happy.
As themes go, "The Anthropocene" is broad enough to potentially be self-defeating. If it could be anything about human life (which in a piece of media made for humans essentially means 'anything at all', since everything we communicate about will always come back to us), what's the point in having a theme at all? Maybe that's me being too simplistic, but honestly the broadness of this theme does brush against the reason why I love them so much - I like being able to categorise things, and (to a somewhat lesser extent) to compartmentalise them, and a theme like this doesn't really allow for that sort of thing.
But my own personal taste in theming aside, I freaking loved this book. From the opening review of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical 'Carousel' - a song I also have a personal connection to, with my very first time performing in a stage show having been as one of the Snow children who appears onstage during this song, in an experience which helped spark the love of theatre that has had such a profound influence on my life - I was hooked. My favourite reviews are the ones on the 1950 drama film "Harvey" (which serves as a deeply personal and empathy-facilitating explorarion of Green's experience with depression) and on the folk song "Auld Lang Syne" (which serves as a beautiful tribute to the work of his departed friend and mentor Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and has given me a variation on the song to sing which I will remember for the rest of my life). This book has so many interesting, at times hilarious and at times profound reviews in here that are well worth reading - it's just that I love these two most, in equal measure.
One of my favourite things about art is how it begets more art - both from a creative perspective (artists, writers, musicians, etc. being inspired by those who came before them and by their contemporaries), and from an audience perspective (one of my favourite examples of this is finding music for the first time through great needledrops in film and television). And to me, this book is at its best when it highlights some of the beautiful and strange and intriguing things that humans have created. I personally lean more towards the artistic ones, but the exploration of some of the more pragmatic human creations, such as vaccines, is also excellent - informative and evocative, in equal measure.
And this book does what so many of the books I deeply love do - it makes me want to write more, and it makes me want to participate more in the world. It makes me want both, in equal measure.
I give "The Anthropocene Reviewed" four and a half stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
anni_o's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I liked it! I learned a lot about John and about his life but also about the world. Some essays were super interesting, some really not my thing. It moved me a lot in several parts and I did cry like, 4-5 times. The through line with the star reviews was nice, but it is a short story collection and maybe I just prefer Mr. Green's long story formats. Since I did very much enjoy myself though, it is a solid 4 stars. A good book club discussion book, just because of the small separate stories though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury
sarahina_b's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
grace33's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Child death and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cancer
rosalyn's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I actually enjoyed a collection of essays. That's a miracle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Cancer