The Anthropocene Reviewed is a series of essays by John Green. All the essays are essentially reviews. Reviews on his favorite song to the internet to sunsets, etc.- things in our current geological state, the Anthropocene. 

Green finds a way to weave in aspects of his own life in each review that makes it meaningful. He also always gives some background on whatever he is reviewing, so I felt like I learned a bunch of random stuff that I would not have known otherwise. For example, I now know who invented air-condition and why, the background behind the world’s largest ball of paint that sits in Indiana, and what the yips are. 

Even when the subject seems light and fun, Green finds a way to tie it into the present state of the world. Common themes were the pandemic, humans and our many issues but also many strengths, climate change, etc. It was kind of one big comment on life, specifically how the author interprets and sees it.

I enjoyed this book! Green has such a way with words while still writing simply. He talks about the issues- depression, anxiety, the typical struggles of life and the pandemic- he grapples with and many of these were relatable. 

There were so many quotes where I was just like “wow he is so right.” One of the many quotes I particularly liked was: “One of the strange things about adulthood is that you are your current self, but you are also all the selves you used to be, the ones you grew out of but can’t ever quite get rid of.” Like so good, right?!

A bonus to this book and John Green in general is Indianapolis. We share the same hometown and he very often brought it up in this book – giving Indianapolis its own chapter and another chapter to the Indy 500. That was fun for me because it was something I could very much relate to. I’ve been to many of the places he mentions so I feel a personal connection to the book. Also loved his description of Indy: “Indianapolis: you have to live somewhere.” 

Overall, The Anthropocene Reviewed is pretty good. I recommend it to anyone, especially my friends from Indy. A great non-fiction read that isn’t too heavy while also touching on relevant topics of today.

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