~the anthropocene reviewed~

i found out about this book through hank and john green's podcast "dear hank and john," a podcast where the green brothers attempt to respond to viewer questions and provide updates from mars and wimbledon soccer. the anthropocene reviewed, by john green, is a book containing a collection of essays reviewing various parts of the human existence, from sunsets to the qwerty keyboard.

i will admit, i listened to this book as an audiobook while i was semi-distracted, performing the mundane tasks of adult human life, such as cooking, cleaning, and staring at the ceiling. as such, i am unable to provide a comprehensive review of this work. what i can do, however, is provide some thoughts moving forward and a collection of quotes i was able to jot down when my hands were not elbow deep in raw meat or dust bunnies.

i found a great sense of comfort listening to this book, though not necessarily in a warm and fuzzy kind of way. i greatly appreciate the general concept of the book, as it began in parody of the pervasive rating systems we use for restaurants, stores, items, recipes, doctors etc. the idea that one's perceived value of a person, place, or thing, can be distilled to a rating from 1 to 5 and that this assigned value could be held true for all others is truly wild. there are some things that cannot be effectively described and evaluated in this manner. and yet, this concept has now been applied to the objects, ideas, and concepts found within society. the subjects of green's essays are evaluated through a lens i find incredibly relatable. he often incorporates his experiences with depression and anxiety, as well as the way in which they affect the way he navigates the world. additionally, due to the time in which this work was created, the context of the covid-19 pandemic frequently is brought up. with these two ideas in mind, green is able to, in great detail, describe these aspects of life using history and personal anecdotes, often weaving together a melancholy tone and a great appreciation for the beauty of humanity and this world. this book served as a reminder to pause and recognize the small things in life, as cheesy as that is. i hope to be able to go through a physical copy of this book to both more thoroughly engage with the book and to have a physical reminder of beauty in the mundane.

here's a few quotes i want to highlight (maybe i'll provide context later, but alas, not now; may update if i do end up getting a physical copy):

"sometimes, when the world is between day and night, i am stopped by its splendor and i feel my absurd smallness"

"depression is exhausting. it gets old so fast, listening to the elaborate prose of your brain tell you you are an idiot for even trying"

"father - what a loaded gun of a word"