The Anthropocene Reviewed by John GreenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"You can't see the future coming - not the terrors, for sure, but you also can't see the wonders... the moments of light-soaked joy that await each of us."
I never thought that a book of essays would affect me this powerfully, but there I was reading while waiting in queue at the bank, blinking madly, trying to hold in a sudden flood of tears. And that was just the intro.
I have been a fan of John and Hank Green's CRASH COURSE videos for almost as long as I've been teaching, but this was my first time to READ John Green, and if his novels are anything like this, then I shall hunt them down posthaste! Maybe it's time I figure out why our sixth graders loved his books for their English book reports.
I could hear Green's cheery voice in my head as I read, with that signature mix of humor and honesty, condensing complex thoughts into short and simple sentences that make for maximum impact.
John Green wrote that the time he spent as a chaplain in a children's hospital was "the axis around which my life spins." How fitting that I picked up this book so soon after my own axis shifted, as did all of ours in March 2020.
He wrote this as a reaction to the pandemic, perhaps as a way to deal with his dread and anxiety. Having been close to so much pain and suffering himself, he brings much-needed perspective on everything from Dr.Pepper to sports teams, dinosaurs and hotdogs. Do not judge so hastily when you read the Table of Contents, for Green is a master of uncovering the miraculous in the mundane. Written in the short format of that 21st century phenomenon: The Review, he ends each essay with a rating over five stars. Hehe.
He wrote: "We live in hope-that life will get better, and more importantly, that it will go on, that love will survive even though we will not."
He says his mission is "to present more light, and to better witness the light in others."
This is a must-read for anyone seeking light. May his words "sing ourselves and one another into courage."
I rate this book 4.5 stars out of 5!
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