Skip to content

Public figures: writers & thinkers

370 people with no personal tie to the brothers in the registry, grouped by the field in their registry kind, most-mentioned first. Back to the people overview.

person date role what is said video
William Shakespeare (author) 2007-01-08 subject Besides finishing it, John's problem is that the novel has no title; he is thinking of taking one from Shakespeare or the Bible. Brotherhood 2.0: January 8, 2007 (00:01:27)
2007-02-15 cited Voicing the popular side as George W. Bush and Tom Brady, John answers poker-style with famous nerds, from Bill Clinton and Lincoln to all four Beatles, and declares 'We win!' Brotherhood 2.0: February 17, 2007 (00:01:39)
2007-02-15 passing John imagines Nerdfighters as a video game mixing Mortal Kombat and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out: players pick nerd characters with special powers and fight popular people, with the high-school quarterback as the final opponent. Brotherhood 2.0: February 17, 2007 (00:00:51)
2007-07-27 personal story John tours his home library's sections for Hank, from Shakespeare and religions to author copies and foreign editions of his own books, fiction, YA and humor. July 27: How Nerdfighters Drop Insults (00:02:46)
2007-07-27 subject John contrasts a dialogue of contemporary insults (dork, geek, you suck) with one built from real Shakespearean insults, which he performs. July 27: How Nerdfighters Drop Insults (00:01:37)
2007-08-22 joke John declares that 'in your pants' jokes never get old, like the family in Tuck Everlasting, and runs through literary titles 'in your pants'. August 22nd: Um. Uh. IN YOUR PANTS (00:02:37)
2007-10-16 personal story John tours his shelves: poetry (Cummings, Shakespeare, Dante, the Norton Anthology, Dorothy Parker), reference, religions, family, languages, social sciences, screenwriting and his author copies. October 16th: John's Library Pwns (00:00:42)
2008-03-04 passing Answering several questions at once, John says yes to a trip to Nepal and to using his radio pieces as monologues, and names poverty as the world problem he would make go away. SETTING THE QUESTION TUESDAY WORLD RECORD (00:03:20)
2008-04-21 subject John says Shakespeare would vlog about the poor quality of insults on YouTube. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:03:00)
2008-10-06 passing John samples a Shakespearean insult gum with insults from seven Shakespeare plays, choosing King Lear. Berlin and Let it Snow (in Your Pants) (00:00:41)
2008-10-08 subject John starts the day with Shakespeare insult gum, reading an insult from The Merchant of Venice. J Scribble Goes to Borders (00:00:00)
2008-12-29 cited Hank says Nerdfighters are good at insulting people and often invoke Shakespeare, reading one commenter's Shakespearean reply to an offensive comment. Comment Haters and Christmas (00:00:53)
2009-05-04 cited John says we generally respond to the futility of effort by ignoring it; he doesn't think about a day when no one reads Shakespeare, let alone his books. Oinkbarf Pandemic! An Intellectual Response to Swine Flu (00:02:51)
2009-10-25 cited John asks whose respect you want, the 'silverback gorilla' of your life's jungle: Ellen DeGeneres, Shakespeare or Jay-Z is fine; Lindsay Lohan calls for a hard look at yourself. Fame: The Road Trip (00:03:05)
2010-11-10 joke John says that in July 1791 (as he dates it) Louis and Marie Antoinette fled disguised as servants, were captured at Varennes one day later, and were humiliatingly returned to Paris. Headless Monarchy: The French Revolution, Part II (00:01:11)
2011-03-07 joke Hank says the longest stability came under the Duvaliers, François then Jean-Claude, whose forces killed and raped while they pocketed foreign aid and all tax money. Why is Haiti Poor? (00:02:43)
2011-06-29 criticized The title comes from Julius Caesar's 'the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars'; John says that's easy for Shakespeare or a Roman nobleman to say, and he doesn't fully agree. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (00:00:00)
2011-12-05 passing John says the name Imogen comes from Shakespeare's Cymbeline and is probably a transcription error for Innogen, so Imogen Heap's name rests on a typo. 5 Worst Typos of History (00:00:51)
2012-06-05 passing In a lightning round John names favorites: Behind the Beautiful Forevers (book of the year so far), Harvey (movie), the White Album, Charlie (YouTuber) and, this time, Macbeth over Hamlet. The Dangling Rope of Terror: It's Question Tuesday (00:01:45)
2012-08-07 passing John says he was a social outcast in school and never really learned how to shave. An Open Letter to Students Returning to School (00:01:19)
2013-07-02 passing Her joke spare-time projects: a library for Henry and Alice from The Jolly Postman to The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and a Globe Theatre replica in John's garden. The Perks of Being John's Assistant (00:02:31)
2013-09-06 quoted After the survey results Hank started making more music, including a new song, "Undigested Lump", about being super angry at someone and insulting them using only Shakespearean insults. Undigested Lump (A Song) (00:01:07)
2015-01-09 cited Hank says James Joyce, Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer and the Arabian Nights all contain fart jokes. 14 Fart Facts for my Flatulent Friends (00:02:36)
2016-11-29 cited For a desert-island book, John imagines a book that read forwards is the collected works of Shakespeare and read backwards is a survival guide for the island. Baby Poop Rookie: Vlogbrothers Reunited (00:02:12)
2017-04-11 cited John says we usually imagine art as a story of individual geniuses, like Shakespeare or Leonardo da Vinci, using innate brilliance to expand the human landscape. Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint (00:00:57)
2018-03-20 cited John says once you look, these jokes are everywhere, starting with Shakespeare: in Richard II the king says he wasted time and now time wastes him. The Russian Reversal (00:01:50)
2018-06-08 cited It doesn't seem possible to Hank that his song, the seagulls Yoda song, Emily Dickinson and Shakespeare were all inevitable results of particles seeking lower energy states. Intentionally Ignorant: Does Free Will Exist? (00:00:58)
2019-01-15 quoted Stealing a line from Shakespeare, John says resentment is a fire that burns with more light than heat. On Burning Resentment (00:01:56)
2019-04-23 passing John was eventually convinced The Fault in Our Stars was better; as a play on a Shakespeare line it nearly quenched his thirst to call a book 'More Light Than Heat'. untitled (00:01:56)
2019-05-21 cited John says Keanu is a great actor; some people don't get his acting, just as some don't get why Shakespeare was great, but he still was. Keanu Reeves: A Love Letter (00:00:29)
2019-06-25 passing An old story says Schieffelin introduced starlings to bring every bird in Shakespeare's plays to the US, but there seems to be no contemporary evidence for it. Seemed Like a Good Idea: Eugene Schieffelin and the European Starlings (00:03:24)
2019-08-13 credited With an incomplete in 11th grade English, John had to read two books over the summer and write papers on them: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye. How I (barely) Passed 11th Grade English (00:01:27)
2020-02-18 cited John explains the pathetic fallacy: ascribing human emotions to the non-human, often to reflect characters' inner lives, as in Keats's weeping cloud or Shakespeare's threatening clouds in Julius Caesar. wintry mix (00:00:00)
2020-09-15 cited John says Chaucer wrote a version two centuries before Shakespeare, and Aesop made a similar observation 2,600 years ago. All That Glitters Is Gold (00:00:29)
2021-04-02 cited Shakespeare's signatures all look different and bad, but Hank is sure some rich person would pay millions for one at auction. John's World Record (00:00:29)
2022-10-04 cited Hank and John Reunited at Last (00:02:25)
2023-01-06 cited Hank says people already treat AI feats, like hotwiring instructions written as a Shakespearean sonnet, as no big deal after just a month: we adapt so fast. After 12 hours in LA I'm a stand-up comic doing ASMR with a side gig as a music promoter (00:02:35)
2023-02-24 passing Hank says we have to stop saying 'now we're cooking with gas' and stop cooking with gas, which isn't even as good as solar-powered induction. The P4A 2023 is The Hottest Club on the Internet (00:11:22)
2024-08-20 joke John jokingly dismisses usual English tourism, such as seeing Shakespeare's second-best bed in Stratford-upon-Avon or ancient castles, as boring. Thoughts from Places: BROMLEY! (00:00:00)
2024-09-03 cited John explains there are two major dashes, em and en; the em dash can replace a colon, semicolon or parenthesis, serve poetry as for Emily Dickinson, or mark interruptions as Shakespeare's printers used it. Which is Correct? — or – ? (00:00:29)
2025-04-15 quoted John explains the title writes against Shakespeare's line that the fault is not in our stars: there is much fault in our stars, bad luck and structural injustice. Chatting with ... a U.S. Senator? (00:19:38)
Kurt Vonnegut (author) 2007-01-26 recommended On science fiction, John says he really likes Kurt Vonnegut and is a big fan of Margo Lanagan's short stories. Brotherhood 2.0: January 26, 2007 (00:01:16)
2007-04-12 subject Vonnegut writes that wherever he is, reaching the very edge of a natural body of water gives him serenity and tells him where he is and which way home lies. Brotherhood 2.0: April 12th: A Eulogy for Vonnegut (00:00:10)
2007-04-13 subject Hank says he doesn't know much about Kurt Vonnegut, but the English nerdfighters clearly do, and he mourns with them; the stuff on his head is for Vonnegut. Friday the 13th: Step It Up! (00:00:00)
2008-02-26 credited The next Blurbing Book Club book is Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, chosen because it's really good, John hasn't read it in a long time, and it's published worldwide so international Nerdfighters can join. Best Wishes! (00:02:32)
2008-05-20 credited Asked for favourites, John names The Mountain Goats as his band, Mother Night as his favourite Vonnegut novel and Song of Solomon as his favourite Toni Morrison book. Guys Love Giraffe Love (00:00:00)
2008-12-15 cited John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
2009-01-03 passing Asked whether he is Kurt Vonnegut, John says he wishes he were. Giraffe Love and Other Questions ANSWERED (00:01:47)
2014-11-11 passing John notes that Tuesday, November 11 is Armistice Day, Veterans Day in the US, and Kurt Vonnegut's birthday. Lacey and Angela Question Tuesday: Pizzamas Day 2 (00:00:00)
2016-07-12 quoted John says the best literary observations are both beautiful and broadly true, citing Hurston's 'Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board' and Vonnegut's 'We are what we pretend to be'. Our Capacity for Wonder: A Review (00:01:37)
2018-11-16 quoted Hank says that, as next week's (week of 19 November 2018) Dear Hank and John will show, he and John agree with Kurt Vonnegut that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance; Hank doesn't mind maintenance but prefers building. Doing This Makes Me Happy, but Maybe it Doesn't' Seem that Way? (00:02:36)
2019-03-15 joke Hank says the channel is clearly personal perspective, society has a hard time telling journalism from opinion, and he does not want to help blur that line. Why We Stopped Making Explainers: EXPLAINED (00:02:14)
2019-07-23 quoted John has been thinking about what we love and how, because loves give us communities, and we need communities bound by enthusiasms to combat what Vonnegut called the terrible disease of loneliness. What to Love and How (00:00:00)
2021-10-06 quoted In high school John saw Kurt Vonnegut lecture; mostly he remembers Vonnegut smoking in the auditorium and, told he couldn't, replying in effect that he had already been paid. Searching for Betsy in Brazil (00:01:34)
2021-11-02 cited John tells the story of Vonnegut noting at a billionaire's party that the host earns more in a day than Heller made from Catch-22, and Heller replying he has what the host never will: enough. enough (00:00:00)
2022-02-15 passing The book is close to John's heart because he ended up living and working in Vonnegut's hometown, in his long shadow, and because reading it in 11th-grade English brought him to life as a reader. My Most Valuable Books (00:00:29)
2022-09-06 quoted John passes on Kurt Vonnegut's advice: notice when you are happy and exclaim, murmur or think, 'if this isn't nice, I don't know what is.' Some Advice (00:01:56)
2023-10-03 passing John says the forest was once private property of Albert Lieber, who made and lost a fortune selling booze and was novelist Kurt Vonnegut's grandfather. Nourished by Leaving (00:01:39)
2023-12-19 quoted John says he looks for hope in collaboration and community because there people together can battle what Kurt Vonnegut called the terrible disease of loneliness, as well as TB and other injustice. End of a Rough Year (00:02:12)
2025-12-16 quoted John's message for his longest year, borrowed from Indianapolis's Kurt Vonnegut: we must find ways together to fight the terrible diseases of loneliness and isolation; he thanks Hank for helping. John Green's Brother (00:04:47)
2026-02-13 credited John brings back his podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed only for the P4A, with an episode reviewing the Galapagos Islands and Kurt Vonnegut's novel Galapagos, for a $10 donation. Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! (00:24:03)
2026-02-13 subject John says the land he lives on in Indianapolis, like his local McDonald's, Walmart and Starbucks, was owned by Kurt Vonnegut's grandfather Albert Lieber. Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! (07:09:46)
2026-02-14 passing As a P4A perk, John is bringing back The Anthropocene Reviewed with reviews of the Galápagos Islands and of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Galápagos. Project for Awesome 2026 part 3! (00:46:40)
2026-02-14 passing John says his exclusive new episode of The Anthropocene Reviewed is about the Galápagos Islands and Kurt Vonnegut's novel Galápagos. Project for Awesome 2026 part 4! (00:18:41)
2026-02-15 passing John's digital perks include Like Letters, the podcast where he and Sarah read the letters they wrote before they started dating, and a new Anthropocene Reviewed episode on the Galápagos Islands and Kurt Vonnegut's novel Galápagos. Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! (02:47:51)
2026-03-03 cited John's college story Things Remembered, Things Forgotten, about his grandmother growing up in eastern Tennessee, aimed for Vonnegut's style; his professor found the title so bad he proposed banning John's titles. The Best Fan Mail I Ever Received (00:02:49)
2026-09-01 quoted John cites Kurt Vonnegut: home is not some far place but Indianapolis when he was nine, with his family and pets, and there is no way to get there again. You Can't Go Home Again, but I Tried (00:00:29)
Emily Dickinson (poet) 2007-02-09 joke John declines to say what Paper Towns is about, answering with a declared 'long series of lies': a 17th-century Japanese orphanage, an origami championship, Hamlet, teenage Emily Dickinson and more. Brotherhood 2.0: February 9, 2007 (00:01:09)
2008-04-21 quoted John recounts Emily Dickinson's last words ('I must go in, the fog is rising') and that Edna St. Vincent Millay died falling downstairs, her head on a poem ending 'Beautiful this day, no matter who has died'. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:03:00)
2008-12-15 quoted John notes that John Adams's last words, that Thomas Jefferson still survived, were untrue: Jefferson had died earlier that same day, July 4, 1826. Famous Last Words (00:00:25)
2009-06-29 joke John says not everyone watching is awesome and reads comments posted on Vlogbrothers videos in the last week, replacing each curse word with a famous American poet's name. GAY is NOT an INSULT (00:00:22)
2009-08-21 subject Purported fact two, posed as the alternative: American poet Emily Dickinson's last words were 'Doctor, do you think it was the sausage?' Truth or Fail: John Green Books (00:00:29)
2010-08-06 quoted Echoing Dickinson's line that success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed, John says youth is counted sweetest by those no longer young. Looking for Alaska at My High School (00:03:17)
2011-05-09 quoted On the walk John passed an Emily Dickinson poem, 'To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee'. Trading Underwear for Rice Crispy Treats: Queens Day in Amsterdam (Thoughts from Places) (00:00:20)
2013-01-15 cited John says his faith in a purpose waxed and waned with his happiness; with high-school friend Sean Titone he asked deeper questions, and books were companions, not ladders out. An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall (00:49:26)
2013-03-26 quoted John quotes Emily Dickinson's 'A light exists in spring' and asks where that light is: down with the snow, or in the gray sky that looks exactly like winter light. A Poem for Spring (00:00:00)
2016-11-09 quoted John closes by quoting 'the great American poet of the human heart' (Emily Dickinson): hope is the thing with feathers that never stops at all. My Post-Election Thoughts (00:03:25)
2017-05-30 quoted John has one photo of himself at 23, from his year in Chicago: an intense, loving but doomed relationship, starting and restarting the book that became Looking for Alaska, and the year when, in a borrowed Emily Dickinson line, a plank in Reason broke and he dropped down and down. What Should We Keep? (00:00:05)
2018-06-08 cited It doesn't seem possible to Hank that his song, the seagulls Yoda song, Emily Dickinson and Shakespeare were all inevitable results of particles seeking lower energy states. Intentionally Ignorant: Does Free Will Exist? (00:00:58)
2019-03-12 quoted John learned that novels do not solve problems or heal wounds; when a story works it is because, as Emily Dickinson put it, it tells all the truth but tells it slant. Going Home with Alaska and Miles (00:02:28)
2019-09-24 passing The description lists the poems mentioned: Randall's (also in his book Refuse), Moore's, Paige Lewis's 'On the Train, A Man Snatches My Book, Reads' and Emily Dickinson's 340. I, Too, Dislike It (00:00:00)
2020-02-18 cited John says in Emily Dickinson's poetry clouds are sometimes curious and other times mean. wintry mix (00:00:44)
2020-05-26 quoted John says uncontrolled mental illness feels like going through the day fearing the floor might collapse at every step, like the Emily Dickinson poem where a plank in reason broke. you'll never know (00:01:56)
2020-12-31 quoted We live in hope that life will get better and go on, and that love will survive though we will not; as Emily Dickinson put it, hope is the thing with feathers. Auld Lang Syne: The Anthropocene Reviewed (00:20:08)
2022-03-04 passing The 2022 P4A Meme Review!!! (00:17:13)
2022-12-27 quoted We live in hope that life will get better and go on, and that love will survive though we will not; John cites Emily Dickinson's poem on hope. We're here because were here. (00:19:41)
2023-12-30 quoted We live in hope that life will get better and go on, and that love will survive though we will not; John cites Emily Dickinson's poem on hope. John's Review of Auld Lang Syne (00:20:08)
2024-03-12 passing John says the newsletter, built by people in Nerdfighteria, covers everything from Emily Dickinson's references to tuberculosis to how we will end the disease. How We End TB (00:04:49)
2024-09-03 cited John loves dashes (hyphens, en dashes and em dashes), though not as much as Emily Dickinson loved them. Which is Correct? — or – ? (00:00:00)
2026-02-13 quoted John says he has found his 40s even more fulfilling than his 30s, deepening many relationships that matter to him, though things are not easy. Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! (08:03:25)
Walt Whitman (author) 2007-09-10 quoted Travelling light to Orlando, John brings only a change of clothes, a computer and 'my old friend Walt Whitman', and closes by reading lines of Whitman's poetry. September 10th: Airports and Whitman (00:01:41)
2007-09-28 subject In Richmond John talked a lot about Walt Whitman and met Nerdfighters doing cool, clever nerdfighting. September 28th: Nerdfighting!!! (00:00:00)
2007-11-05 quoted John says lately he has poetry earworms as well as song ones (he sings a Harry Potter song lyric), such as Walt Whitman's lines on the luck of being born and dying. November 5th: John's Not Happy about Pakistan (00:01:21)
2007-12-04 passing Asked what appeals to him in Walt Whitman's Song of Myself, John says readers will find out when Paper Towns comes out, in September. December 4th: Question Tuesday!!!! (00:02:07)
2008-04-21 passing Asked for favorite poets besides Walt Whitman, John recites unattributed lines from several poems, then can't find his Langston Hughes book in his cataloged home library. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:03:00)
2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
2009-02-10 subject John says Paper Towns is about Margo Roth Spiegelman, her next-door neighbour Q, the state of Florida and Walt Whitman. Paper Towns Tastic Question Tuesday (00:00:00)
2009-06-29 joke John says not everyone watching is awesome and reads comments posted on Vlogbrothers videos in the last week, replacing each curse word with a famous American poet's name. GAY is NOT an INSULT (00:00:22)
2009-08-30 recommended In quick literary picks John chooses Joyce over Yeats and Whitman over Faulkner, names Hamlet his favorite play, and says he liked The Hunger Games. 100 QUESTIONS ANSWERED!!!!!!! (00:01:20)
2009-10-20 passing John marvels that in a popularity contest his book about Walt Whitman beat Stephenie Meyer's book about hot vampires. The Bella Twins Like Paper Towns (00:00:58)
2011-04-25 passing In his two-minute talk John described his book as about Walt Whitman and imagining others complexly; Mortenson followed with a book about nearly dying and devoting his life to education in Afghanistan. Meeting Greg Mortenson (00:00:50)
2011-06-06 passing Without Julie, John says, Paper Towns would be largely a boring history of the US Postal Service instead of being about Whitman's Song of Myself. Men Running on Tanks and the Truth about Book Editors (00:02:54)
2015-02-17 joke John says he assumed the quote was in Paper Towns because people kept sourcing it there, admits he should have researched, and adds that most of us have failed to fact-check online. Places I've Never Been (00:01:03)
2015-04-14 quoted In turn, John says, it is hard to see the photographers as people who, in Whitman's words, contain multitudes; they feel like clicking objects, and you worry only about the captured object-version of you. A Long Good Day (00:01:37)
2015-04-28 passing The movie has significantly less textual analysis of Walt Whitman than the book, though there is still some. Is the Paper Towns Movie Like the Book? Thoughts on Adaptations (00:02:51)
2015-07-21 cited After a translated review likens the film to John Hughes movies, John says comparisons to John Hughes are always welcome. PAPER TOWNS IS HERE AND JOHN IS A BALL OF ANXIETY (00:02:15)
2019-03-12 quoted That couldn't last; as the graffitied Walt Whitman quote says, these are the days that must happen to you: you can revisit the Smoking Hole but can't be home again. Going Home with Alaska and Miles (00:01:56)
2022-11-08 cited John likens Dr Pepper's complexity to Whitman's Leaves of Grass: like the poet, it contains multitudes. Dr Pepper Enthusiast John Green Taste Tests Dr Pepper and Its Misbegotten Pretenders (00:02:52)
2023-10-17 quoted John says he had been absurdly fortunate, having sold over 30 million books with plenty of money and views, yet kept chasing more, like Smaug, 'demented with the mania of owning things' as Walt Whitman put it. My Next Book (00:00:58)
2024-10-03 quoted John cites Walt Whitman, writing amid industrialization, that we contain multitudes. Broadly in Favor of Humans (00:03:24)
Neil Gaiman (author) 2007-04-27 personal story Hank and Katherine are going to Helena to see Neil Gaiman and visit friends; he will try to get Gaiman saying hello to John, no guarantees. April 27th: Bad Day,,, (00:01:49)
2007-05-01 takes part, subject Hank opens with Neil Gaiman, whom he calls a New York Times best-selling, Hugo- and Nebula-winning 'nerdfighter guy', saying hi to John after Hank waited in a very long line. May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena (00:00:12)
2007-05-01 quoted Asked whether anything beats seeing your name on a book's spine, Gaiman says you think that if you did it once you'd never need anything more, comparing it to figuring out sex at 14. May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena (00:01:09)
2007-05-02 passing John thanks Hank for standing in line to get Neil Gaiman to say hi, noting Gaiman signed more books that day in Helena than John has in his whole career. Brotherhood 2.0: May 2: Book Banning (00:00:10)
2007-05-03 subject Hank shows Neil Gaiman's latest book, Fragile Things, a collection of short stories he calls excellent; he and Katherine have been reading them to each other at night. May 3rd: Yetis, TMBG, Weeds and MoJo (00:00:10)
2007-05-07 subject Hank says John phoned before the film to tell them Neil Gaiman had posted a link to Brotherhood 2.0 on his blog. May 7th: Birthday Extravaganza (00:01:10)
2007-05-09 passing Hank's song treats his 27th birthday as the death of his 26-year-old self, recalling the birthday wishes, Neil Gaiman's blog post and mini corn dogs with his girlfriend. My 9th: Singing and Randy (00:00:31)
2007-10-19 cited Hank says a Montana casino-bar-restaurant-gift shop (and more) displays over 10,000 silver dollars that people gave it, which he says only readers of Neil Gaiman's American Gods might understand. October 19th: Missoula to Seattle (00:00:53)
2009-02-18 credited Hank calls Coraline the prettiest movie he has ever seen, says they love Neil Gaiman and They Might Be Giants, and urges viewers to see it (unpaid). Fake Movie Talk With A Sock (00:00:27)
2009-04-28 credited Hank calls Neil Gaiman's Interworld less dark than typical Gaiman but fun and mysterious; it was originally meant to be a TV series. 10 Book Reviews in 4 Minutes (00:01:00)
2009-05-13 cited Hank shows off the green screen with a rapid montage of shouted backgrounds, from Superman and Wolverine to Margo Roth Spiegelman, animals, Neil Gaiman, Jean-Luc Picard and Hundertwasser. GREEN SCREEN!!!! (00:00:45)
2010-02-03 cited Prizes listed include Harry Potter books signed by J. K. Rowling with a thank-you note, a guitar signed and used by Tom Felton, a cast-signed Deathly Hallows, signed Gaiman, Pratchett and John Green books, and Where the Wild Things Are artwork. Win The Awesomest Prizes EVAR! (00:01:17)
2011-02-11 passing Hank shows his Bobble-John, Sandman comics and other graphic novels, Terry Pratchett, Mars trilogy and Neil Gaiman books and DFTBA CDs; his Hunger Games is loaned out. 200 People in Your Pants (00:00:56)
2011-12-05 credited John explains Gaiman's Law, named for Neil Gaiman: an author who opens a book they wrote will inevitably find a typo. 5 Worst Typos of History (00:00:29)
2013-01-15 takes part Hank's teammate is Hannah Hart, host of My Drunk Kitchen; John's is Neil Gaiman, best-selling author who has written Doctor Who scripts. An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall (01:44:05)
2013-01-18 credited Hank thanks Neil Gaiman, Kimya Dawson, The Mountain Goats, Ashley and Daniel, Hannah and Grace, Elyse, their parents, their wives and all of Nerdfighteria for making the show possible. Thoughts from Carnegie Hall (00:01:44)
2013-10-25 credited For a book, Hank recommends Neil Gaiman's quick, beautiful The Ocean at the End of the Lane and John Barnes's Losers in Space, an excellent introduction to hard science fiction. When Was it a Million Seconds Ago? (00:03:30)
2018-03-02 joke Genre covers look alike: fantasy has chiseled words over high-contrast illustrations with serif fonts, while a sans-serif font signals sci-fi. The Best (Recent) Book Covers Including MINE! (00:00:13)
2019-12-17 passing That Evening of Awesome included the Mountain Goats, Kimya Dawson, Neil Gaiman and many friends, with Sarah, Katherine and the brothers' parents all there. The Best Days of My Decade (00:00:28)
2021-09-14 passing John's best professional day was January 10, 2013, when he, Hank, Kimya Dawson, the Mountain Goats, Neil Gaiman and others played Carnegie Hall; he uploaded a video that morning. I do this every. single. tuesday. (00:00:29)
J. K. Rowling (author) 2007-07-18 passing Hank has no confidence in theories about the Half-Blood Prince, but bets J.K. Rowling's plan involves Snape's unbreakable vow to protect Malfoy. July 18: Accio Deathly Hallows (no spoilers) (00:01:16)
2007-08-06 passing John jokes that Arthur Levine is kind of a nerdfighter, and since Arthur knows J.K. Rowling, maybe they can talk 'Jo' into being one. August 6th: JK Rowling and I Will ... Be Punished (00:00:00)
2008-07-18 passing Hank wants J.K. Rowling to say the (Deathly Hallows) epilogue was crap, 'cause we all know it was crap'. Book Eight...Another Harry Potter Song (00:01:42)
2008-10-09 joke Hank says people who pre-ordered Paper Towns from Barnes & Noble have already received the book, well ahead of release. Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow (00:00:31)
2009-05-27 subject Hank tells J. K. Rowling her work is the best, but not even she deserves a fan community as awesome as Harry Potter nerds, and she should know how lucky she is. Open Letters (00:02:01)
2009-08-18 subject In the song 'Book Eight', Hank sings that he wants J.K. Rowling to write an eighth Harry Potter book; he thinks there is an unwritten story to tell. So Jokes: Video EP (00:00:31)
2010-02-03 credited Prizes listed include Harry Potter books signed by J. K. Rowling with a thank-you note, a guitar signed and used by Tom Felton, a cast-signed Deathly Hallows, signed Gaiman, Pratchett and John Green books, and Where the Wild Things Are artwork. Win The Awesomest Prizes EVAR! (00:01:17)
2011-03-28 cited John argues sports matter: as a Harry Potter fan would treasure an email from J.K. Rowling, others treasure the Cubs winning the World Series or an Indiana college reaching the Final Four. Participatory Geometry (00:02:29)
2012-12-04 passing John says Time Magazine has just named The Fault in Our Stars first on its list of the top ten novels of 2012, ahead of Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz and J.K. Rowling, and he is overwhelmed. Time for AWESOME (00:00:00)
2013-07-09 criticized He thinks JK Rowling got one thing wrong: non-magic folk don't hate or deny magic; people love blaming lost keys on ghosts, gnomes or fairies because it's more fun. The World Needs More Magic (00:02:28)
2013-07-12 subject In song, Hank asks JK Rowling, who is giving her money to charity, whether she has a few more jots in her: crack a laptop, for him, the kids, charity or the HPA. Oh, JK Rowling - A Harry Potter Song (00:00:18)
2013-08-16 subject Rowling versus Darwin: both slaved for decades over masterful works, but Hank puts Darwin on top for his care, independence and fortitude. Harry Potter vs. Science! (00:02:08)
2013-12-16 credited Hank lists further perks: a chance to win a book signed by J.K. Rowling, and the first two chapters of John's new work in progress, which may or may not become his new novel. Project for Awesome Time!! What does it Mean?! (00:02:39)
2014-02-21 credited Hank calls The Casual Vacancy's back-cover line that it 'became a #1 worldwide bestseller' misleading: a J.K. Rowling novel topping the charts surprised nobody. Ranting about Books (00:02:45)
2014-05-09 subject In the song Hank tells JK Rowling that giving her money to charity is fine, but asks her to crack a laptop and write something more, for the kids, charity or the HPA. Oh JK Rowling - Kinetic Typography (00:00:11)
2014-05-30 cited Hank reports that slightly more respondents have read J. K. Rowling's books than John Green's, and something like 92% have read The Fault in Our Stars. Nerdfighteria Census 2014 Results! (00:02:46)
2015-10-30 passing Hank says the Welcome to Night Vale creators' book just came out and debuted at number four on the NYT list, number four because Sparks, Rowling and Grisham had new books. Feeling Thankful in Portland (00:00:38)
2017-02-28 cited John argues fandoms are made interesting not by the content but by people who build communities around it: Harry Potter is special not because of J.K. Rowling but because readers respond deeply, enthusiastically and without embarrassment or apology, by dressing up, fanfiction, or singing. You Are Here (00:01:33)
E. Lockhart (author) 2007-01-16 passing John praises the new Brotherhood 2.0 website, then says it is 6:30 a.m., he is extremely tired with a long day of writing ahead, so he will be quick and go 'school style'. Brotherhood 2.0: January 16, 2007 (00:00:12)
2007-01-17 passing Hank greets Maureen Johnson and E. Lockhart and wonders whether that Maureen is the one who told him to build a house out of his misprinted business cards; if so, he has a surprise for her. Brotherhood 2.0: January 17th (00:00:10)
2007-01-23 credited Hank says he was recently at Maureen Johnson's blog, about a long conversation John, Johnson and Lockhart had on the suffix 'in your pants': every book title gets better with it. Brotherhood 2.0: January 23rd (00:01:57)
2008-04-21 joke Paper Towns is not dedicated to the Nerdfighters, but they are in the acknowledgements. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:00:53)
2009-02-03 credited Hank recommends The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by a friend from John's writing group who thanks John; he stayed up far too late finishing it and loved it. Five Parts (00:01:20)
2009-06-01 personal story Maureen Johnson says she, John and E. Lockhart used to write together every day in a café. DFTBA Street Team In Your Pants (00:00:44)
2009-10-20 credited John is in Columbus, Ohio, getting ready for a Nerdfighter gathering, and has to make a video or he will be punished. The Bella Twins Like Paper Towns (00:00:00)
2009-10-25 cited John says he looks up to young adult writers like Walter Dean Myers, E. Lockhart and Markus Zusak and wants respect from them. Fame: The Road Trip (00:03:05)
2009-11-22 credited John credits the infamy/famy idea to E. Lockhart's novel The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks, which he calls brilliant. Hank in FAMY (00:00:00)
2010-05-14 passing John announces an event with E. Lockhart near Indianapolis the next day, Saturday at 2 p.m., with a link in the description. Advice on First Kisses, Stalkers, College Majors, and More (00:01:49)
2011-12-05 credited John notes the book's back cover carries quotes from Markus Zusak, Jodi Picoult and E. Lockhart; Zusak calls it John Green at his best. 5 Worst Typos of History (00:00:12)
2012-11-27 credited For Looking for Alaska fans, John recommends E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks for the boarding-school parts, and A.S. King's Everybody Sees the Ants and Gayle Forman's If I Stay for the other parts. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:02:26)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends E. Lockhart's Fly on the Wall, a brilliant feminist reworking of Kafka's Metamorphosis. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:01:28)
2017-10-03 passing John looks forward to unread books out this month (October 2017), Okorafor's Akata Warrior, Lockhart's Genuine Fraud and Stiefvater's All the Crooked Saints, so his tour reading is sorted. Let's Talk about Books (00:02:56)
2020-08-11 credited John also reread E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, maybe his favorite boarding school novel ever. never get bored (00:02:34)
2026-02-15 passing Seeing a donation from the Lockhart family, John wonders whether it is his real-life friend E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, and thinks it probably is. Project for Awesome 2026 part 5! (02:38:57)
Mark Twain (author) 2007-07-27 personal story John tours his home library's sections for Hank, from Shakespeare and religions to author copies and foreign editions of his own books, fiction, YA and humor. July 27: How Nerdfighters Drop Insults (00:02:46)
2007-10-16 personal story John reads Hank an entry from the childhood diary he says he kept at nine, dated October 16th, 1984: the best day, because his brother got sick. October 16th: John's Library Pwns (00:03:01)
2010-08-20 passing Downstairs shelves include author copies of his own books, desert island books, lexicography, child prodigies, Mark Twain, books about death, poetry, religion and conjoined twins. The Fox Hat IS REAL, but Are Zombies People? (00:01:56)
2010-09-02 joke Lifting Infinite Jest, a Mark Twain biography and the Norton Shakespeare as weights, John says books are beautiful for reading and also for holding. Fitness for Nerds (00:02:05)
2011-01-12 cited Mark Twain heard about the Tocci twins while they toured, which inspired him to write 'Those Extraordinary Twins' and, indirectly, the novel Pudd'nhead Wilson. Top Six Conjoined Twin Pairs in History (00:01:14)
2012-01-10 cited Asked if TFIOS is his best book, John doesn't know: its reviews are better than any of his other books', but authors shouldn't judge their own work; Mark Twain thought Joan of Arc his best. The Fault in Our Stars (00:00:38)
2015-06-19 quoted Hank quotes Mark Twain that a lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes, and urges viewers to help the truth put its shoes on. 19 Ways to Not Suck on the Internet (00:01:28)
2015-10-06 credited John recommends Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, which he is re-reading, and Toni Morrison's new novel: not her best book, but still great. Question Tuesday: My Social Media Hiatus, My Excellent German, and Books! (00:00:30)
2016-12-30 cited Hank says people elsewhere have figured these things out too and also lead the community, from Mark Twain to Vi Hart, Michelle Obama to Ze Frank, Reinhold Niebuhr to Nathan Zed. The Most Interesting Thing I've Ever Done (00:03:46)
2017-04-11 cited John says we sometimes credit circumstances: Mark Twain had to grow up on the river that divided America during the war that divided it; but mostly we credit heroic individuals. Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint (00:01:11)
2021-10-19 cited John says Mark Twain, never great at titles, called his cats names like Satan, Beelzebub and Pestilence; Hank should not call his cat Pestilence. Cat Names: The Authoritative Guide (00:02:33)
2022-02-15 passing Twain's late book Christian Science eviscerates religion and Mary Baker Eddy; John's complicated feelings led to his college thesis on it, and his parents gave him a first edition (worth about $60) at graduation. My Most Valuable Books (00:01:27)
2025-04-15 quoted John repeats Mark Twain's quip calling Congress the country's only native criminal class, then says he probably shouldn't make that joke to a senator. Chatting with ... a U.S. Senator? (00:07:55)
2026-03-10 quoted John says public service has long had a bad reputation in the US: 150 years ago Mark Twain quipped that Congress is the only native criminal class. Is Hank Green Running for Congress? (00:03:05)
2026-05-12 quoted John recalls Mark Twain's line that trouble comes not from what you don't know but from what you know for sure that just ain't so. Lies, Damn Lies, and Bart Giamatti (00:02:35)
2026-06-05 subject In the podcast Hank asks whether Mark Twain may have had something to do with the brothers' success, through John understanding his life. The Things We Don't Discuss (00:06:10)
Toni Morrison (author) 2008-05-20 credited Asked for favourites, John names The Mountain Goats as his band, Mother Night as his favourite Vonnegut novel and Song of Solomon as his favourite Toni Morrison book. Guys Love Giraffe Love (00:00:00)
2012-11-27 credited For fans of The Catcher in the Rye, John recommends Toni Morrison's Sula: if Catcher is the great American novel of growing up without a friend, Sula is the one about friendship in adolescence. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:58)
2015-04-14 passing At the airport John picked up The New York Times because his editor and publisher Julie Strauss-Gabel was profiled in it; on the plane he read a great profile of Toni Morrison. A Long Good Day (00:00:05)
2015-10-06 credited John recommends Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, which he is re-reading, and Toni Morrison's new novel: not her best book, but still great. Question Tuesday: My Social Media Hiatus, My Excellent German, and Books! (00:00:30)
2016-11-15 credited At 15 John wrote a sincere, terrible English paper arguing there could never be another great work of fiction since Dostoevsky was dead; months later Song of Solomon and Angels in America made him retract it. Good News/Bad News: A Pizzamas Video in Nine Slices (00:02:17)
2017-04-11 cited John believes in genius: some artists, from Mark Twain to Jane Austen to Toni Morrison, are uncommonly great. Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint (00:01:26)
2017-07-04 quoted Citing Toni Morrison, John says that at some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough: you need not photograph, paint or even remember it. Civil Twilight (00:02:45)
2019-08-13 subject With an incomplete in 11th grade English, John had to read two books over the summer and write papers on them: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye. How I (barely) Passed 11th Grade English (00:01:27)
2020-04-14 credited John celebrates with champagne that Sarah's book You Are an Artist comes out today, wondering if he can drink champagne on YouTube without being demonetized. books that help (00:00:00)
2020-06-02 recommended The description lists books and essays John found helpful on racism's centrality to American life, by Kendi, Anderson, Lorde, Coates, Morrison, Evans, Baldwin, McWhirter, Woodson, Hurston, Wilkerson and Washington. --- (00:00:00)
2022-02-15 passing John's copy of Toni Morrison's Sula is worth about $2, but he has read it since 2004 and it holds his marginalia, cringe-inducing and lovely on rereading. My Most Valuable Books (00:01:56)
2022-10-04 cited Hank and John Reunited at Last (00:02:25)
2022-11-22 credited Having just written one, John thinks essay collections make great gifts, recommending Toni Morrison's The Source of Self-Regard and Hilary Mantel's Mantel Pieces. John's 2022 Gift Guide (00:01:27)
2025-10-21 credited John says for about $7 you can get Toni Morrison's Beloved and have your life rocked; its lines, characters, plot and symbols stay with you for decades. Is Book Publishing Dying? An Author's Perspective (00:04:21)
2026-01-20 cited John does not pretend Zombicorns is Toni Morrison, but it is good, and being able to like his own work again after a long while is fun. Am I ... Good? (00:02:40)
2026-07-07 cited John says all authors are regular people, except Toni Morrison, who was different. On the Death of the Author (00:01:57)
Jane Austen (author) 2007-02-15 cited Voicing the popular side as George W. Bush and Tom Brady, John answers poker-style with famous nerds, from Bill Clinton and Lincoln to all four Beatles, and declares 'We win!' Brotherhood 2.0: February 17, 2007 (00:01:39)
2008-02-19 passing Hank made a valentine for Katherine that he shares for any Jane Austen Nerdfighters. Your Spying Thieving Valentine: Hank (00:02:50)
2011-11-16 passing At No. 5, John praises Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: it still feels like a Jane Austen novel, never becomes a shtick and is very readable, but is short on zombies. Top 5 Zombie Apocalypses OF ALL TIME (00:00:29)
2012-11-27 recommended For Downton Abbey fans, John recommends Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, Persuasion or any Austen novel, joking about the novels' costume design. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:58)
2013-01-11 credited Hank says he has been able to create a really cool project based on the work of Jane Austen, while not putting himself on her level. On the Ownership of Ideas (00:01:45)
2013-01-15 joke John introduces a reading from The Fault in Our Stars, now past the first pages, by actors from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a YouTube web-series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall (00:38:22)
2013-08-30 credited Hank recommends reading Jane Austen's Emma because some friends of his are about to adapt it into a video blog series. Raw Onion, Twerking, and Speech Jam (00:01:04)
2013-10-11 credited Hank recalls telling John at this spot his idea for a Jane Austen vlog series; The Lizzie Bennet Diaries did very well, with tens of millions of views and an Emmy. TFiOS Movie, Emma Approved, Subbable Update, etc (00:01:44)
2014-06-06 cited Hank finished Shades of Milk and Honey in New York and describes it as like Jane Austen with magic; the description calls it good. Thoughts from the TFiOS Premiere! (00:01:50)
2014-08-22 passing After the Jane Austen adaptations, Hank's team is adapting Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as the vlog series Frankenstein MD, starring Victoria Frankenstein, who is not yet an MD. Kidneys, LlamaJohn, Frankenstein, Back to School, and The Nerdfighter Online Video Workshop! (00:00:43)
2016-08-02 cited John says that when he called Persuasion crap at 15, the fault was not Jane Austen's: he was reading ungenerously, looking for things to dislike. Beckoning Lovely (00:01:04)
2017-04-11 cited John believes in genius: some artists, from Mark Twain to Jane Austen to Toni Morrison, are uncommonly great. Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint (00:01:26)
2022-10-04 cited Hank and John Reunited at Last (00:02:25)
2024-03-05 cited For John that thing is football; for others it could be crochet, Jane Austen or distance running. THE BEST DAY (00:04:05)
M. T. Anderson (author) 2007-02-21 credited John says two commenters on Hank's video from the day before said it reminded them of M. T. Anderson's novel Feed. February 21st, 2007: The Wikipedia in Your Mind (00:00:10)
2007-03-19 takes part John introduces Tobin (M. T.) Anderson as a world-famous children's book author and winner of the 2006 National Book Award. Brotherhood 2.0: March 19th: Urban Exploration (00:00:05)
2007-04-30 takes part John says many people wanted to say hi to Hank this weekend, so he let them: his editor and a number of authors greet Hank on camera. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:00:10)
2007-06-05 credited Hank has just read Feed by M. T. Anderson, says everybody was right about it, and suggests viewers buy it: it was very good. Jun 5th: S-S-S-Somethin From the Forum (00:00:44)
2007-06-27 passing John praises all the Printz speeches: Markus Zusak, Tobin (M. T.) Anderson, Gene Yang and Sonya Hartnett were wonderful. June 26: The American Library Association Parties (00:02:27)
2007-09-24 takes part M. T. Anderson gives viewers a guide to the art on his apartment wall: young lovers, young body parasites and the central nervous system. September 24: Airports and M. T. Anderson (00:01:29)
2007-09-24 personal story, subject Via Atlanta, John flew to Boston to hang out with M. T. Anderson and work with him on a small joint project; it made his day. September 24: Airports and M. T. Anderson (00:00:43)
2007-09-26 personal story Leaving the hotel's reading room to meet M. T. Anderson, John sees it is named the Norbert Wiener Room. September 26th: Norbert Wiener (00:00:39)
2011-06-01 credited John calls M.T. Anderson's The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing a brilliant novel, citing its point that the Revolutionary War was bad for slaves. The Evil Baby Orphanage Returns...for George Washington? (00:01:18)
2012-06-12 takes part, personal story John met nerdfighters (one gave him a singamajig), spoke to an enormous room, and ate dinner with Shannon Hale and M. T. Anderson, with whom he once broke into abandoned buildings in Detroit. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:01:27)
2012-11-27 credited John says he and the Yeti keep several thousand books in their house and even two-year-old Henry has a sizeable collection, so he feels qualified to recommend books. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:00)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends M. T. Anderson's surprisingly brilliant vampire novel Thirsty, less read than his Octavian Nothing, one of the decade's best novels. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:01:09)
2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
2020-08-25 credited John says you need not be from the future to predict microchips in humans: M. T. Anderson's novel Feed did it almost 20 years ago, and he praises its first sentence. Somebody once told me… (00:02:26)
E. E. Cummings (poet) 2007-10-16 personal story John tours his shelves: poetry (Cummings, Shakespeare, Dante, the Norton Anthology, Dorothy Parker), reference, religions, family, languages, social sciences, screenwriting and his author copies. October 16th: John's Library Pwns (00:00:42)
2007-12-12 cited John calls woot a great word that, like an E. E. Cummings poem, must be seen to be appreciated; he is happy leet speak gets word-of-the-year attention, though he jokingly misses old 'elite speak'. Dec. 12th: w00t is the WORD OF THE YEAR?! (00:00:34)
2008-04-21 quoted Asked for favorite poets besides Walt Whitman, John recites unattributed lines from several poems, then can't find his Langston Hughes book in his cataloged home library. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:03:00)
2009-02-24 quoted Citing an E. E. Cummings poem, John asks why women's eyelids always flutter while men's brains work, and criticizes cultural constructions that young women should be stupid, awkward and eyelid-fluttery. How to Make Guys Like You (00:01:50)
2009-06-29 joke John says not everyone watching is awesome and reads comments posted on Vlogbrothers videos in the last week, replacing each curse word with a famous American poet's name. GAY is NOT an INSULT (00:00:22)
2013-03-26 recommended Though he says he does not believe magical thinking works, John shares his favourite spring poem, by E.E. Cummings, in the hope that spring will happen. A Poem for Spring (00:00:29)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends E. E. Cummings's first book The Enormous Room, his memoir of being imprisoned and falsely accused of treason in World War I, and a study of individual versus collective. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:02:02)
2017-07-04 quoted John loves E. E. Cummings' sunset poem but says it works only because it is set in childhood, before one realises how lame it is to write about sunsets. Civil Twilight (00:01:09)
2018-06-05 cited He can always find the New York Public Library's guide to organizing a home library except when reorganizing, and his ninth-grade 100 Poems by E.E. Cummings except in March when he wants the 'perhaps hand' spring poem. WHERE IS MY NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY (00:00:38)
2019-04-16 passing Driving home, John finally felt spring in Indianapolis and kept thinking of E.E. Cummings's poem 'Spring is like a perhaps hand'. Doing Somethings (00:00:00)
2019-04-19 joke Hank teases John for assuming he knows an E.E. Cummings poem; he had to hear the line about seven times to grasp it. Making your Nothings into Somethings (00:00:27)
2021-02-16 quoted It's February, snow is on the ground and the trees look dead but aren't; Cummings wrote that spring comes carefully out of nowhere, and it always does, yet still surprises. A Lovely Winter Walk (00:02:26)
2021-04-27 quoted John doesn't know what the book is about; perhaps whether E. E. Cummings was right about snow's indifference, and Mary Oliver's one shared world where everything becomes part of everything else. What is my new book about? (00:02:26)
F. Scott Fitzgerald (author) 2009-02-10 credited Alternate titles: 'More Light Than Heat', from a line in Hamlet, and 'Under the Red, the White, and the Blue', one of Fitzgerald's alternate titles for Gatsby. Paper Towns Tastic Question Tuesday (00:03:27)
2009-05-04 quoted Quoting F. Scott Fitzgerald: the test of a first-rate intelligence is holding two opposing ideas at once; he must balance the futility of effort and the necessity to struggle. Oinkbarf Pandemic! An Intellectual Response to Swine Flu (00:02:39)
2010-01-13 subject John reads the eyes as Fitzgerald arguing that God is in the seeing business but not the doing business; how far God or the universe cares about human sorrows is, he says, a very interesting question. Froghoppin' with Gatsby (00:02:47)
2011-06-15 credited Since summer in Nerdfighteria means SPF 30 and classic American literature, John announces The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald as the new Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club book. Question Tuesday! Paula Deen Riding Me (and critical reading) (00:01:22)
2011-07-18 credited John calls Daisy a professional pretty person and Tom a former football player, citing Fitzgerald's line that Tom peaked at 21 so everything after is anticlimax. Gatsby's American Dream: Reading The Great Gatsby Critically, Chapter 1 (00:02:26)
2011-08-26 credited John names his favourite essay: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Crack-Up. Will He Kiss You? Am I a Muggle? It's Question Friday. (00:00:14)
2011-09-07 credited In the description John says his new novel The Fault in Our Stars is available for preorder and all preorders will be autographed. The Great Gatsby: Living the Dream in the Valley of Ashes (00:00:00)
2016-07-12 criticized John reviews 'man's capacity for wonder', a phrase from a line in The Great Gatsby where the narrator imagines Europeans first arriving in the Americas. Our Capacity for Wonder: A Review (00:00:03)
2019-02-26 quoted John works when he feels hope, when he can, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's words, hold in balance the sense of the futility of effort and the sense of the necessity to struggle. The Necessity to Struggle / The Futility of Effort (00:02:55)
2022-12-20 passing John says The Great Gatsby was mostly forgotten within a couple of years of its 1925 publication; critics found it inferior to This Side of Paradise, and H. L. Mencken called it obviously unimportant. The Best Books Get Better (00:00:29)
2023-03-14 quoted Voicing despair, John says life sucks, injustice worsens, the sun will boil the oceans, and there's no need to balance futility and struggle, as Fitzgerald put it: only futility. The Seduction of Despair (00:00:20)
2026-10-08 quoted John says holding competing feelings is a hallmark of being a grown-up, borrowing F. Scott Fitzgerald's line that a first-rate intelligence can hold two opposed ideas at once and still function. The Test of a First Rate Intelligence (00:03:25)
Jacqueline Woodson (author) 2007-04-30 passing Presenter Jacqueline Woodson introduced the five young adult finalists: The Rules of Survival, Tyrell, Octavian Nothing, An Abundance of Katherines and Justin Case. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:01:02)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends Jacqueline Woodson's picture book Show Way, one of his all-time favourites and one of Henry's. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:01:57)
2015-03-27 passing Hank lists guests: fantasy, sci-fi and YA authors (Rothfuss, Clare, Black, Kowal, Scalzi, Bacigalupi, Woodson, Perkins), musicians Kimya Dawson and Dessa, and shows Welcome to Night Vale, Wits and Story Collider. Announcing NerdCon: Stories (00:03:06)
2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
2015-12-01 credited For kids aged 10 to 14 John recommends Jacqueline Woodson's Miracle's Boys. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:03:29)
2018-10-16 recommended The first book, if they pull it off, will be Jacqueline Woodson's If You Come Softly, published 20 years ago but still blisteringly contemporary; Woodson is one of John's favorite writers. Life's Library (00:02:26)
2019-01-15 takes part The Life's Library book club's Q&A with author Jacqueline Woodson will be January 31st at noon Eastern. On Burning Resentment (00:03:24)
2020-06-02 recommended The description lists books and essays John found helpful on racism's centrality to American life, by Kendi, Anderson, Lorde, Coates, Morrison, Evans, Baldwin, McWhirter, Woodson, Hurston, Wilkerson and Washington. --- (00:00:00)
2020-08-11 credited John reread young adult novels he loves, including Jacqueline Woodson's Behind You, which made him cry so hard he could not see the page. never get bored (00:02:00)
2021-01-26 quoted Agreeing with Jacqueline Woodson that we must consider what we construct as dark, John says what descends is not darkness but a blizzard of blinding frozen white light. The Sycamore Tree: The Anthropocene Reviewed (00:03:07)
2021-09-28 recommended Jacqueline Woodson's Miracle's Boys makes John sob and feel hopeful: nominally for kids 10 and up, loved by 44-year-old John too, it is about impoverishment, grief and surviving loss, above all about brothers. 11 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:00:29)
James Joyce (author) 2007-03-01 credited Noting they have mentioned most major bodily functions in two months, John launches a project to read all of Joyce's Ulysses aloud 30 seconds at a time, then quits after one sentence. Brotherhood 2.0: March 1, 2007: Sophistication. And balls. (00:00:31)
2009-08-30 recommended In quick literary picks John chooses Joyce over Yeats and Whitman over Faulkner, names Hamlet his favorite play, and says he liked The Hunger Games. 100 QUESTIONS ANSWERED!!!!!!! (00:01:20)
2010-09-20 credited John retells a bar scene in James Joyce's Ulysses: asked what a nation means, Bloom says the same people living in the same place, or also in different places, and is mocked. Life Is Like Pizza (00:01:03)
2011-10-14 credited To seem to have read James Joyce's Ulysses without reading it, John says to memorise three quotations, the last 'arguably the first eight words of postmodernism', then jokes that adding 'arguably' to any claim makes it true. Defying Wadsworth! (00:00:21)
2012-02-21 credited John says Mary Fran and Bruce asked him to join their independent study reading James Joyce's Ulysses, joined by sophomore Randy; a class on one book turned out to be very hard. Life is Weird. Also beautiful. (00:00:19)
2014-03-25 cited John says we imagine creative work as singular feats of genius, like James Joyce writing Ulysses or Beyoncé's surprise album, but even they rely on vast networks of influence. I Gotta Go: Signing Off and Thinking about Inspiration (00:02:36)
2015-01-09 cited Hank says James Joyce, Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer and the Arabian Nights all contain fart jokes. 14 Fart Facts for my Flatulent Friends (00:02:36)
2015-02-10 credited Citing Leopold Bloom's definition of a nation in Joyce's Ulysses, John says 1960 Nigeria was instead 'different people living in the same place', which led to coups and civil war. Understanding Boko Haram (00:01:45)
2016-09-27 passing John has known Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's author, half his life: in college they road-tripped to the Grand Canyon, read James Joyce and wrote comedy sketches. Books, Movies, and Wonder: Thoughts from a Red Carpet (00:01:05)
2017-04-04 cited John says shaking filthy hands recalls the story of someone asking James Joyce to kiss the hand that wrote Ulysses, and Joyce replying that it has done many other things as well. Why I Won't Run for Office (00:02:07)
2017-12-19 quoted Citing James Joyce's 'history is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake', John says history unfolding these days often feels like a nightmare. History Is Happening (00:00:51)
Edgar Allan Poe (author) 2007-11-28 joke John is wearing his nerd glasses again; after bad reviews (he looks like he's trying to be emo but is too old), he may alternate them with his other glasses. November 28th: Amy Winehouse and Brain Liquefication (00:00:03)
2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
2009-05-04 joke John asks Nerdfighters to answer in comments what you can do with a bust of Edgar Allan Poe. Oinkbarf Pandemic! An Intellectual Response to Swine Flu (00:00:39)
2009-07-14 joke John says ads on their videos have been hilarious or humiliating before, including one that seems to mock Hank and one selling a test to tell if your husband is gay. Sell Outs! (00:00:46)
2009-10-22 cited Hank says Edgar Allan Poe convinced a newspaper reporter that a man had flown across the Atlantic in a balloon in three days, apparently just to prove he could. The Top 10 Greatest Hoaxes of All Time (00:00:58)
2009-10-24 cited Round one, option one: Poe not only convinced the world a man had flown a gas balloon over the Atlantic, but was a serial hoaxer who tried to fool the news media at least six times (one option is false). Truth or Fail: HOAXES! (00:00:37)
2010-03-10 joke Asked how a raven is like a writing desk, John says Lewis Carroll intended the riddle to have no answer, then offers that Edgar Allan Poe wrote on both. New Tour! New Book! (Remember Books?) Your Q's A'ed! (00:01:36)
2012-10-16 subject John says the raven in Poe's poem symbolizes death, and as a rule of thumb anything that looks like a symbol in Poe is death. Burning Peeps, My OTP, and Velociraptors: It's Question Tuesday (00:00:51)
2021-10-19 cited John says Edgar Allan Poe had a cat named Caterina, a great cat name. Cat Names: The Authoritative Guide (00:02:04)
2022-09-30 joke John tells the bust of Edgar Allan Poe he won for Paper Towns 14 years ago that it is now his second favorite mustachioed bust, after a new one. COMMIT TO THE BIT (00:00:00)
Mary Oliver (author) 2015-12-01 credited For poetry John recommends Mary Oliver's A Thousand Mornings and Louise Glück's Faithful and Virtuous Night (unsure how to say her name): precise, profound, never pretentious. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:02:38)
2017-08-29 quoted John says he used to think suburban life with a spouse and two kids stank of failure, a waste of what Mary Oliver called your one wild and precious life, but at 40 his life feels wilder and more precious than ever. 40 (00:02:04)
2018-05-08 quoted John doesn't know how viewers should live what Mary Oliver called 'your one wild and precious life', or even how to live his own, but he knows he likes his garden. Old Man Yells at Cloud (00:03:26)
2020-05-12 cited John is grateful to strangers whose work brings him joy and comfort, from Mohamed Salah to Mary Oliver. We Could All Use a Little Change (00:03:24)
2020-09-22 quoted John recalls a Mary Oliver poem in which the speaker tells the sea she is miserable and the sea replies, in its lovely voice, that it has work to do. the world is gonna roll me (00:00:52)
2021-04-27 quoted John doesn't know what the book is about; perhaps whether E. E. Cummings was right about snow's indifference, and Mary Oliver's one shared world where everything becomes part of everything else. What is my new book about? (00:02:26)
2021-09-28 recommended Mary Oliver is famous for poems, but John loves her essays, especially those in Upstream: he dog-eared almost every page, and her line about reading as one swims to save one's life stuck with him. 11 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:02:26)
2021-11-16 quoted John finds the simple sketch stunningly beautiful and telling: the first art made outside Earth's atmosphere depicts that atmosphere; Leonov drew not stars or himself but home, the one world Mary Oliver said we all belong to. Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space (00:06:33)
2024-05-28 quoted John says he is increasingly aware of the wildness and preciousness of what Mary Oliver called one's wild and precious life. A Midlife Crisis (00:00:58)
2025-10-07 cited John does not think The Fault in Our Stars was the best book of 2012, citing Mary Oliver's A Thousand Mornings and Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers; it won a lottery of timing and chance. Luck vs. Work vs. Skill vs. Privilege (00:03:45)
Patrick Rothfuss (author) 2013-12-20 credited The P4A 2013 livestream hosts included Hannah Hart, Joe Beretta, Elliott Morgan, Kristina Horner, Joe Holmes, Henry Reich, Vi Hart, Patrick Rothfuss, Wil Wheaton, Meghan Tonjes, Karen Kavett, Emily Graslie, Liam Dryden, Michael Aranda, Stefan Chin and others. Best Moments of the Project for Awesome (00:00:00)
2015-03-27 passing Hank lists guests: fantasy, sci-fi and YA authors (Rothfuss, Clare, Black, Kowal, Scalzi, Bacigalupi, Woodson, Perkins), musicians Kimya Dawson and Dessa, and shows Welcome to Night Vale, Wits and Story Collider. Announcing NerdCon: Stories (00:03:06)
2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
2016-09-16 credited Hank says many Census respondents, as he reads through it, want to hear more about the brothers' adult lives doing what they do. Let's Talk about Failure (00:00:00)
2016-11-29 credited Hank says he would take Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller trilogy, even though its last book isn't out yet. Baby Poop Rookie: Vlogbrothers Reunited (00:02:31)
2018-01-26 personal story Hank fully recognizes that writing a book is much easier when you needn't worry whether a publisher or agent will read it and have published-author friends to help revise and vouch for you; he thanks Patrick Rothfuss for that. I Wrote a Book. I WROTE A BOOK. How did I do that? (00:00:00)
2018-08-10 credited Hank credits the robot-suit analogy to Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind. My Giant Robot Suit (00:00:03)
2018-09-11 cited Patrick Rothfuss, Ashley Ford, Catherynne Valente and several other writers have blurbed the book. Surprise . . . (00:02:55)
2023-12-24 passing Asked for a five-word autobiography, Hank writes 'he made stuff with John'. John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated (01:08:32)
Scott Westerfeld (author) 2007-04-04 takes part John says he writes a lot with his friends Maureen Johnson and Scott Westerfeld; today they were joined by Justine Larbalestier and Lauren McLaughlin. Brotherhood 2.0: April 2: A Day in the Writer's Life (00:00:11)
2007-06-04 takes part At Book Expo John collected manga, a poster and a Harry Potter bag for Hank; Maureen Johnson and Scott Westerfeld's hand make cameos. Brotherhood 2.0: June 4th: The First Nerdfighter Wedding! (00:00:34)
2007-07-19 personal story John recalls a video from a couple of months ago showing him, Scott Westerfeld and Maureen Johnson writing together in a hotel room; this is its friendless follow-up. July 19: A Day in the Life of a Writer (Who Has No Friends) (00:00:10)
2007-08-28 credited Hank, woken up, says he has been reading Scott Westerfeld's Peeps and finds it very engrossing and very good. August 28th: Starring Mom (00:00:27)
2007-08-29 credited Hank's copy of Peeps is, oddly, signed by Scott Westerfeld to 'our secret sister Maureen'; he says the book is really good. August 29th: Goodbye 29 Year Old John (00:02:29)
2008-10-17 takes part At a diner, a guest playfully introduces John Green, Scott Westerfeld and Maureen Johnson as famous people. Vital Status Report from NYC (00:00:58)
2008-12-08 personal story Narrating as Willy, John says that at an author party Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier teased him about his fear of heights and asked what it would cost him to stand on a hotel-room table. I Am Afraid of Heights (00:00:24)
2009-09-01 credited Hank jokes that John has enough books now not to mention his anthology appearances; so far Hank has read only John's story and says it is very good. I AM COMPUTER MAN!!! (00:01:35)
2012-11-27 credited For Hunger Games fans John, a big fan of dystopias, recommends Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, Ally Condie's Matched series and Veronica Roth's Divergent series, which he calls infuriatingly unfinished. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:58)
2015-05-08 credited Scott Westerfeld suggested a spitting contest; Hank says spitting spit is gross, so they spit apple seeds. QUADRAGOCON 2015 - WHO WILL WIN! (00:01:36)
Judy Blume (author) 2007-04-24 personal story John's list: Natalie Portman ('perfectly acceptable'), Jenna Fischer as Pam from The Office — he'd like Pam and John together more than Pam and Jim — and Judy Blume. Brotherhood 2.0: April 24: Moving (00:00:44)
2007-04-25 joke Hank calls Judy Blume a weird pick for John's list and admits Helen Hunt is weird too: 'We're weird.' Helen Hunt (00:00:04)
2007-04-30 joke John jokes that meeting Francesca Lia Block might have knocked Judy Blume out of his 'guilt-free three'. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:00:32)
2007-06-20 passing Arriving in Indianapolis, John notes his puff levels are high, hopes this is the worst he ever looks on Brotherhood 2.0, and wonders how he'll meet Judy Blume with this hair. Brotherhood 2.0: June 20: Moving (00:00:03)
2007-06-22 passing At the conference John will accept the Printz Honor for An Abundance of Katherines and speak on a panel with Judy Blume. Brotherhood 2.0: June 22: The Senator (00:00:31)
2007-06-27 passing John reports many great things at the ALA conference that weekend, including time with Judy Blume and parties, but he accidentally taped over that footage. June 26: The American Library Association Parties (00:00:40)
2007-09-04 joke John lists 'blank and the blanks' names by genre, from Barry and the Hatchets (death metal) to Schrodinger and the Maybe Dead Cats (art rock) and Holly and the Louias (gospel). September 4th: Negative Suck Cubed Equals Awesome (00:00:39)
2008-04-21 passing The most interesting author John has met is Judy Blume. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:01:52)
2008-09-25 cited Hank says he and John, still following the presidential campaigns, are both taking part in YA for Obama, where authors for young people write why they are voting for Obama. Obama llama Duck (00:02:41)
Robert Frost (author) 2007-08-22 joke John declares that 'in your pants' jokes never get old, like the family in Tuck Everlasting, and runs through literary titles 'in your pants'. August 22nd: Um. Uh. IN YOUR PANTS (00:02:37)
2009-06-29 joke John says not everyone watching is awesome and reads comments posted on Vlogbrothers videos in the last week, replacing each curse word with a famous American poet's name. GAY is NOT an INSULT (00:00:22)
2010-03-29 quoted John's favorite quote of the moment is Robert Frost's 'The only way out is through'; he does not know what that says about him. Quotations (And Holden Hats) (00:02:29)
2010-10-08 cited John reads last words from the book's F's: Douglas Fairbanks ('I've never felt better'), Ben Franklin, composer John Field, Richard Feynman ('this dying is boring'), Marshall Field II, Robert Frost. GEEKING OUT Over Dying Declarations (00:00:55)
2013-11-19 quoted To the student and to himself, stranded among airports and trains, John invokes a Robert Frost quote, 'The only way out is through': you will get through, and so will he. On Middle School Misery (00:03:00)
2015-09-01 subject Kayaking the White River that morning, John reached a low-water island, thought of Frost's 'The Road Not Taken', took the less obvious stream, and found it was less obvious for a reason. The Road Less Traveled By (00:00:01)
2019-03-26 quoted Asked 'over, under, or in between?', John answers 'through', citing Robert Frost: the only way out is through. Optimism and Spider People: Question Tuesday from the Looking for Alaska Set (00:02:26)
2020-03-17 quoted John agrees with Robert Frost that the only way out is through, and adds that the only way through is together. together. (00:03:24)
2026-04-28 quoted John says there is much more work to do, miles to go before he sleeps as Robert Frost put it: we need more centers of excellence. What I Can't Show You (00:06:05)
Susan Sontag (author) 2007-08-22 joke John declares that 'in your pants' jokes never get old, like the family in Tuck Everlasting, and runs through literary titles 'in your pants'. August 22nd: Um. Uh. IN YOUR PANTS (00:02:37)
2010-11-01 recommended John says discussing those questions with any complexity would require reading Susan Sontag's brilliant book Regarding the Pain of Others, and more than four minutes allow. Consider the Lemming (00:01:47)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends Susan Sontag's Regarding the Pain of Others: it made him think about representing versus exploiting pain in art, and is required reading on the unreliability of the image. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:02:14)
2017-04-18 quoted John cites Sontag's On Photography: 1930s Farm Security Administration photographers took dozens of pictures of sharecroppers until one matched their own notions about poverty, dignity and exploitation. Framing (00:01:29)
2017-11-03 quoted John cites Susan Sontag: depression is melancholy minus its charms. Because We're Here (00:01:06)
2019-02-05 quoted John says Virginia Woolf wrote in a famous 1938 essay that photographs are simply a crude statement of fact addressed to the eye, and Susan Sontag replied decades later that photographs are not simply anything. Deepfake: A Brief History of Unreliable Images (00:00:58)
2019-05-28 quoted John cites Susan Sontag's essay on photography, written long before Instagram or Snapchat, on the camera's twin capacities to subjectivize reality and to objectify it. 3 Minutes and 58 Seconds of Darkness (00:02:12)
2022-01-11 cited Citing Susan Sontag's Illness as Metaphor, John says it was commonly believed as late as the 1970s that cancer came from not being loved enough or from immoral behavior; the same was true of cholera and epilepsy. The Fault in Our Stars - Ten Years Later (00:01:56)
2023-11-21 quoted John cites Susan Sontag's description of depression as melancholy minus its charms, which he likes because it acknowledges that melancholy has charms. Minus Its Charms (00:01:47)
T. S. Eliot (poet) 2007-01-26 quoted Asked how humans will go extinct, John sides with T.S. Eliot: not with a bang but with a whimper. Brotherhood 2.0: January 26, 2007 (00:00:42)
2007-12-26 quoted Adapting a T. S. Eliot line ('Light is the visible sign of invisible light'), John calls argyle socks the visible sign of the invisible nerdfighter. Dec. 26th: Christmas, Manga, and Goat Poop (00:01:47)
2007-12-26 passing In the description John admits he mangled the Eliot quotation and gives the actual wording. Dec. 26th: Christmas, Manga, and Goat Poop (00:00:00)
2013-01-15 credited John says books seem one person's work, but TFIOS was partly written by Esther, his wife, Julie Strauss-Gabel, Jodi Reamer, John Darnielle, Hank and T. S. Eliot. An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall (00:59:48)
2014-01-24 quoted John says when he asks Henry what light is, Henry answers 'the visible sign of the invisible light', a T. S. Eliot line; John finds it adorable. The Naughty Professor: Hank and John at the Beach - REUNION! (00:00:23)
2016-01-19 quoted Asked how the world will end, John says he has a top-ten list of eschatological anxieties but sides with T.S. Eliot: not with a bang but with a whimper. The Looking for Alaska Movie, Davos, and Hufflepuff Shade: It's Question Tuesday (00:01:49)
2017-09-12 quoted On how the world will end, John sides with T. S. Eliot: not with a bang but with a whimper. How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. (00:00:34)
2019-07-02 quoted Third-coast days close with gaudily beautiful sunsets, recalling T. S. Eliot's line that light is the visible reminder of invisible light. On Sunlight (00:02:26)
2022-10-07 quoted Planets Don't Exist (00:12:35)
2023-12-24 quoted John says the first episode of The Art Assignment comes out in late February (2014). John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated (01:34:23)
George Watsky (rapper and poet) 2011-01-28 credited, performed Hank accepts George Watsky's challenge 'that wasn't intended to be a challenge', attempts his fast rap, and fails. Is Hank Green Batman? (00:00:11)
2011-08-05 cited John jokes that he made George Watsky sign a waiver before his headfirst dive into the crowd. Vidcon: Thoughts from Places (00:01:51)
2012-07-03 passing John recaps VidCon: Hank performed with Felicia Day and George Watsky before thousands, Meghan Tonjes sang about John's book, they met nerdfighters, discussed educational video, watched a Gregory Brother hula-hoop. The Physics of Book Clubs and Vidcon (00:00:37)
2012-09-14 personal story Hank got to sing a song with George Watsky and Felicia Day. 1000 VIDEOS!!! (00:02:18)
2013-12-16 credited Hank says the Indiegogo campaign raises the actual money, with perks including a Men of YouTube and a Women of YouTube charity calendar, Nerdfighter-made art, and a George Watsky haiku with his signed CD. Project for Awesome Time!! What does it Mean?! (00:00:29)
2015-12-15 passing P4A 2015 - Condensed Soup (00:02:40)
2016-07-01 takes part Guests include Charlie McDonnell, Maureen Johnson, the Perfect Strangers, George Watsky, Meghan Tonjes, Emily Graslie, Lindsay Doe and four of the Five Awesome Girls. So, I Ruptured Both my Eardrums! (Also, NerdCon: Nerdfighteria) (00:02:52)
2016-12-01 passing Hank lists NerdCon: Nerdfighteria guests: Hank and John, Nathan Zed, Craig Benzine, George Watsky, Hannah Hart and Emily Graslie, with music by Hank Green and the Perfect Strangers. See you in Amsterdam, Melbourne, or Anaheim!! (also Boston) (00:00:00)
J. D. Salinger (author) 2008-06-26 credited For thing six, John brings back the Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club; its new book is The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Don't Suck on That Bone (00:01:47)
2008-07-22 credited John reminds Hank that the current Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club book is J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. OMFG CATCHER IN THE RYE!!! (00:00:00)
2008-07-22 criticized John says that soon afterwards Salinger left his wife for a 19-year-old and has not been a particularly good father to his children. OMFG CATCHER IN THE RYE!!! (00:00:46)
2008-08-02 credited John begins his belated video on the first half of The Catcher in the Rye, apologizing for its lateness and saying he has always been the kid who asks for an extension. Catcher in the Rye, Part 1 (00:00:00)
2010-01-28 subject John reads, in tribute to Salinger, the passage of The Catcher in the Rye where Holden tells Phoebe what he would like to be: the catcher in the rye. RIP JD Salinger (00:00:00)
2013-05-14 passing John says the Central Park pond Holden Caulfield wonders about never freezes, so its ducks stay, citing Central Park's official photographer of 27 years. Puppies, Pegasi, and TFiOS Casting: It's Question Tuesday (00:02:37)
2019-11-12 passing John says the song is perhaps most famous for inspiring the title of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, whose Holden Caulfield mishears 'meet a body' as 'catch a body'. still learning (00:02:26)
2021-04-02 cited J. D. Salinger signed very few things, so an envelope bearing his signature is for sale for $1,400. John's World Record (00:00:29)
2026-10-27 subject John explains that 'to Salinger' is a verb in the Green family for retiring from public life, and says this video exists in case he ever decides to Salinger. Should I Salinger… (00:00:00)
John Keats (poet) 2009-04-21 recommended John's favourite poem short enough to recite is John Keats's last poem, also his will: one line of perfect iambic pentameter. Question Tuesday (00:01:08)
2020-02-18 cited John explains the pathetic fallacy: ascribing human emotions to the non-human, often to reflect characters' inner lives, as in Keats's weeping cloud or Shakespeare's threatening clouds in Julius Caesar. wintry mix (00:00:00)
2024-06-18 cited When John Keats died of TB in 1821 nothing could stop it, but in the 200 years since around a billion people have died of TB, and now we have the tools. The Tea (00:04:52)
2024-09-10 cited The company is named after poet John Keats, who died of TB in 1821 aged just 25 and often referenced TB, famously writing in Ode to a Nightingale that youth grows pale and spectre-thin and dies. The world will change. (00:04:23)
2024-11-13 passing Some New Things… (00:05:01)
2025-03-25 cited John says Keats wrote 'I shall learn poetry here' while visiting the Lake District, and went on to die of tuberculosis at just 24. Taylor, Dr Pepper, and My Anxiety Strats: It's Question Tuesday (00:00:29)
2025-04-18 quoted After reading Keats's sonnet On Peace (suggested on the tea label) and an analysis, Hank says he too would like stability and freedom, but that is not where we seem headed now. This one's for your mom (00:25:45)
2026-03-17 subject John says the company is named for John Keats because he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. Tuberculosis and Hank's Shingles (00:04:44)
William Faulkner (author) 2007-01-16 passing John says editing it made him realise he is 'such a loser', and he won't show his even more embarrassing Hemingway vs. Faulkner battle. Brotherhood 2.0: January 16, 2007 (00:02:37)
2007-11-21 quoted John says Faulkner was right to decline to accept the end of man, and quotes his claim that man will not merely endure but prevail; being able to believe this is a gift from Nerdfighters. November 21st: What I'm Grateful For (00:02:09)
2009-08-25 quoted John says people made the birthday songs, art and clips not to become famous or rich but, quoting Faulkner, to create something that did not exist before. The Gift of Gary Busey (00:00:42)
2009-08-30 passing In quick literary picks John chooses Joyce over Yeats and Whitman over Faulkner, names Hamlet his favorite play, and says he liked The Hunger Games. 100 QUESTIONS ANSWERED!!!!!!! (00:01:20)
2010-10-08 cited John says William Faulkner, a novelist he grew up admiring, had boring last words: 'yes, Jim, I will', to his brother-in-law about a hospital pickup. GEEKING OUT Over Dying Declarations (00:00:55)
2019-01-15 quoted John says his early story had no guts, its griefs grieving on no universal bones (Faulkner's phrase); its narrator looked hard at everyone but himself, and it felt recounted rather than revealed. On Burning Resentment (00:01:56)
2019-10-01 quoted Travelling through Kono, John kept thinking of Faulkner's line that the past is never dead; it's not even past. Why Are Poor Countries Poor? (00:02:55)
2026-09-30 quoted John thinks most art is made not for glory and least of all for profit, as William Faulkner put it, but from absolute commitment to the bit. The Point of Life (00:02:20)
Edna St. Vincent Millay (poet) 2008-04-21 cited John recounts Emily Dickinson's last words ('I must go in, the fog is rising') and that Edna St. Vincent Millay died falling downstairs, her head on a poem ending 'Beautiful this day, no matter who has died'. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:03:00)
2008-06-19 joke John asks Nerdfighters what he can do for them (jumping jacks, pudding, a poem recited shirtless) and says he'll do ten of their requests in a video filmed this weekend. Memo to the Fourteenth Century (and to the Tobians) (00:03:46)
2009-06-29 joke John says not everyone watching is awesome and reads comments posted on Vlogbrothers videos in the last week, replacing each curse word with a famous American poet's name. GAY is NOT an INSULT (00:00:22)
2009-07-22 subject Purported fact two, posed as the alternative: the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay died a virgin. Truth or Fail with John! Famous Authors Edition (00:00:00)
2011-11-21 quoted In 2004 Penguin's lawyers decided the character Alaska quoted too much of an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem; fair use allowed only two lines and John couldn't afford to pay the estate. Old Man Narrates Young Girl (00:02:06)
2021-01-26 quoted John's brain plays a similar game, What's Even the Point; a Millay poem he has quoted in two of his novels describes his depressive blizzards perfectly. The Sycamore Tree: The Anthropocene Reviewed (00:01:08)
2026-07-21 quoted John cites Edna St. Vincent Millay: life is not one damn thing after another but one damn thing over and over. One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy (00:01:27)
Katherine Boo (author) 2012-11-27 credited For fans of his fictional Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers, John recommends The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber, the true story of a Hungarian hockey goalie who robbed banks and escaped prison. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:29)
2014-04-15 credited From an airport, John announces the relaunch of the Nerdfighter Book Club with Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers, a nuanced look at poverty in one Indian community. Walking the Red Carpet: Thoughts from Los Angeles (00:02:56)
2014-04-29 credited John says this summer the Nerdfighter Book Club is reading Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers, which he calls a fascinating book. Influence, Airports, and the Nerdfighter Book Club (00:01:23)
2014-06-10 credited Reading a kid's 'roses' line and Boo's image of rising condominiums, John infers that for cheap consumer goods the rich need the poor to stay poor, a discomforting idea not to look away from. Our Old Friend Complexity: Behind the Beautiful Forevers (00:02:05)
2014-07-22 credited As data to start the discussion, John points to WHO figures on infant mortality and trends in child mortality, the EIU Food Security Index, World Bank figures on global income distribution, and The Economist on global inequality. Ambiguous Victories and Real Progress: Behind the Beautiful Forevers (00:00:00)
2016-01-26 credited All week John kept thinking about Husain, a father in Mumbai's Annawadi slum whom Katherine Boo quotes in Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Billionaires and Radical Hope: Thoughts from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (00:02:24)
2025-10-07 cited John does not think The Fault in Our Stars was the best book of 2012, citing Mary Oliver's A Thousand Mornings and Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers; it won a lottery of timing and chance. Luck vs. Work vs. Skill vs. Privilege (00:03:45)
Octavia E. Butler (author) 2016-02-16 credited John calls Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower the best book he has read in years. Kindness (00:00:05)
2018-02-02 credited Hank's best recent read is Dawn by Octavia Butler, part of the Xenogenesis trilogy. What is That Plane Rainbow? (It's Question Tuesday) (00:00:33)
2019-11-07 passing Year-two subscriptions for the Life's Library book club have just opened: in 2020 it will read nine more books, beginning with Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. I took a year off social media. Here's what happened. (00:03:10)
2019-12-27 credited Hank calls Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, the first Life's Library book of this year (2019), a great example of science fiction worrying about the future. Why I'm Worried about 2020 (00:02:04)
2022-02-15 passing John has a first edition of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, bought for $65 and now worth quite a bit more; he loves its cover design. My Most Valuable Books (00:00:29)
2022-12-20 passing John says Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower was not among the 1990s' bestselling science fiction and fantasy, and made the New York Times bestseller list only 27 years after publication and 14 years after her death. The Best Books Get Better (00:01:27)
2023-09-29 quoted John closes by citing Octavia Butler: the only lasting truth is change. Like Apocalyptic Horsemen (00:04:03)
W. H. Auden (writer) 2008-11-05 quoted John closes the argument with W. H. Auden's line that we must love one another or die. On Loving One Another or Dying (00:02:24)
2013-05-21 quoted John quotes W. H. Auden: poetry makes nothing happen; it is a way of happening, a mouth. Poetry Makes Nothing Happen: Thoughts on Ai Weiwei from the Indianapolis Museum of Art (00:02:54)
2015-10-06 quoted Asked for unpopular opinions about classic literature, John sides with W. H. Auden: some books are undeservedly forgotten, none undeservedly remembered. Question Tuesday: My Social Media Hiatus, My Excellent German, and Books! (00:00:42)
2018-10-29 quoted John says things are terrible in general and apologises for it. PIZZAMAS IS HERE! (00:00:29)
2019-08-06 subject John says W. H. Auden's poem 'September 1, 1939' begins in a dive on 52nd Street, 'uncertain and afraid', as the clever hopes of a low, dishonest decade expire. Uncertain and Afraid (00:00:00)
2023-05-30 quoted Borrowing a line from W. H. Auden, John says ideas make nothing happen on their own: for things to happen, logistics and systems must build up and people must collaborate. How Does He Do It? (00:00:55)
2024-05-07 quoted John says that sometimes you pour your whole self into something and it is still not great, citing W. H. Auden: all bad poetry is sincere. A Secret about Art (00:01:55)
Cassandra Clare (author) 2010-06-25 passing At the conference advance reader copies of hundreds of books are free to take; John grabs the new Cassandra Clare. Book Nerd PARADISE (00:01:15)
2010-08-20 personal story Years ago in New York, John's friends Cassandra Clare and Holly had a knock-down fight over whether trolls are people. The Fox Hat IS REAL, but Are Zombies People? (00:00:00)
2011-09-16 takes part John tells Hank he has just been greeted by Josh Lewis, Holly Black, Cassie Clare and Maureen Johnson. Narrowly Avoiding Arrest: Some Airport Insanity (00:00:00)
2012-06-12 cited John says at BEA the world treats books the way it usually treats iPads: a mad dash for advance copies, a staircase devoted to Cassandra Clare, banners for Libba Bray's new book. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:00)
2015-03-27 passing Hank lists guests: fantasy, sci-fi and YA authors (Rothfuss, Clare, Black, Kowal, Scalzi, Bacigalupi, Woodson, Perkins), musicians Kimya Dawson and Dessa, and shows Welcome to Night Vale, Wits and Story Collider. Announcing NerdCon: Stories (00:03:06)
2015-08-21 passing Hank corrects himself: he recently said Cassandra Clare would be at NerdCon: Stories, but she won't be; he apologises. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:43)
Holly Black (author) 2009-09-01 credited Hank jokes that John has enough books now not to mention his anthology appearances; so far Hank has read only John's story and says it is very good. I AM COMPUTER MAN!!! (00:01:35)
2010-08-20 personal story Years ago in New York, John's friends Cassandra Clare and Holly had a knock-down fight over whether trolls are people. The Fox Hat IS REAL, but Are Zombies People? (00:00:00)
2011-09-16 takes part John tells Hank he has just been greeted by Josh Lewis, Holly Black, Cassie Clare and Maureen Johnson. Narrowly Avoiding Arrest: Some Airport Insanity (00:00:00)
2015-03-27 passing Hank lists guests: fantasy, sci-fi and YA authors (Rothfuss, Clare, Black, Kowal, Scalzi, Bacigalupi, Woodson, Perkins), musicians Kimya Dawson and Dessa, and shows Welcome to Night Vale, Wits and Story Collider. Announcing NerdCon: Stories (00:03:06)
2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
2015-12-01 credited For a new generation of YA readers John recommends four books over ten years old: Valiant, Ball Don't Lie, The Truth About Forever and Speak, and likes bundling different kinds of books as gifts. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:03:05)
Kaveh Akbar (poet) 2017-10-03 passing Instead of summarising, John recommends three poetry books by quoting a line from each: Nicole Sealey's Ordinary Beasts, Kaveh Akbar's Calling a Wolf a Wolf and Clint Smith's Counting Descent. Let's Talk about Books (00:01:36)
2019-04-23 recommended Still off Twitter, John says he wanted it only a few times in the last month, mostly to fret over football and to share Kaveh Akbar's new poem. untitled (00:03:21)
2020-02-18 quoted John quotes a Kaveh Akbar poem, 'It's been January for months in both directions', says it really has been, and jokes that in Indianapolis the only answer to why the sky is blue has been that it isn't. wintry mix (00:00:00)
2021-09-28 recommended John loves Pilgrim Bell, Kaveh Akbar's new poetry book: poems that get richer the more time you spend with them; he has reread it over the last month and it keeps giving him new gifts. 11 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:02:55)
2025-03-04 quoted Citing his friend Kaveh Akbar on public joy with private grief and the reverse, John says that right now he mostly feels public anxiety and private anxiety. The ANXIETY IS PALPABLE (00:02:26)
2026-07-07 quoted Citing his friend Kaveh Akbar's line that art is where what we survive survives, John says he tried to write about what we survive and how art records our survival. On the Death of the Author (00:06:20)
Markus Zusak (author) 2007-01-24 credited, passing Asked for the best book he's read this year (2007), John names the best he read last year (2006): probably The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Brotherhood 2.0: January 24, 2007 (00:00:59)
2007-06-27 passing John praises all the Printz speeches: Markus Zusak, Tobin (M. T.) Anderson, Gene Yang and Sonya Hartnett were wonderful. June 26: The American Library Association Parties (00:02:27)
2009-10-25 cited John says he looks up to young adult writers like Walter Dean Myers, E. Lockhart and Markus Zusak and wants respect from them. Fame: The Road Trip (00:03:05)
2011-12-05 quoted John notes the book's back cover carries quotes from Markus Zusak, Jodi Picoult and E. Lockhart; Zusak calls it John Green at his best. 5 Worst Typos of History (00:00:12)
2012-01-13 quoted The description urges viewers to get a copy and quotes praise for TFIOS, including Markus Zusak's 'John Green at his best' and The New York Times Book Review. TFiOS PARTY! (00:00:00)
2012-11-27 credited, joke For a novel whose characters you care about without knowing why, John recommends Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding or Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:01:56)
Paolo Bacigalupi (author) 2010-08-23 credited Hank recommends Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker, which he read while waiting for Mockingjay: two Nerdfighter symbols up. Make-up Tutorial: Katniss Everdeen Look (00:03:15)
2011-01-10 credited Hank says Ship Breaker, one of his favorite books of the year, has just won the Printz Award, and congratulates Paolo Bacigalupi. Top 5 Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories (00:03:40)
2015-02-13 recommended Asked for favourite things few people know, Hank names the anime Kodocha, Locke & Key comics, Paolo Bacigalupi, Neil Cicierega's creations, the board game Robot Ricochet and TheThirdPew. Draw My Life + 16 Other Suggestions (00:01:30)
2015-03-27 passing Hank lists guests: fantasy, sci-fi and YA authors (Rothfuss, Clare, Black, Kowal, Scalzi, Bacigalupi, Woodson, Perkins), musicians Kimya Dawson and Dessa, and shows Welcome to Night Vale, Wits and Story Collider. Announcing NerdCon: Stories (00:03:06)
2015-10-16 subject Showing Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker, Hank says it won a staff pick and may have won a Printz or been a Printz honoree, but he isn't sure. Post-NerdCon Haze (00:01:58)
2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
Ray Bradbury (author) 2012-06-15 subject Hank says they chose the book in honor of Ray Bradbury's amazing life, and because Fifty Shades of Grey outselling Bradbury is 'messed up'. Flinching in the Shower (00:03:22)
2012-07-03 cited John says what he loves about reading together is what he loves about VidCon: Hank started VidCon but everyone makes it happen, as Bradbury wrote his novel but it becomes real only when read. The Physics of Book Clubs and Vidcon (00:02:05)
2012-07-10 subject John says Ray Bradbury wrote the book in a library on a typewriter rented for 20 cents an hour. Feeling More Alive: Fahrenheit 451's The Hearth and the Salamander (00:02:25)
2012-07-13 passing Hank says Bradbury was absolutely right that a deluge of mindless entertainment has fallen on us, but it hasn't scrubbed us of our humanity; no human will live without love, despair, hope, friends or passion. An Army of Mindless Drones (00:02:55)
2012-09-18 subject John still loves the novel because, as Faber says of another book, it can go under the microscope; such stories fill us up and make us feel more alive. Existential Airport Anxiety (00:00:32)
2020-02-04 quoted John recalls being told, when starting out as a writer, that Ray Bradbury advised writing one short story a week for a year, because nobody can write 52 bad short stories. practice (00:00:00)
Bill McKibben (writer) 2007-03-22 credited After jokingly assigning the huge WorldChanging, Hank asks John to read Bill McKibben's new book Deep Economy for the Brotherhood 2.0 book club. March 22nd: Book Club and Business Cards (00:02:42)
2007-04-13 credited Tomorrow is Step It Up Day, a campaign started by Bill McKibben, author of the book Hank told John to read, telling Congress that since everyone agrees there's a problem, it should act. Friday the 13th: Step It Up! (00:00:58)
2007-08-16 credited In a retro edition, John announces the Brotherhood 2.0 book club is back: after months of delay he is finally reading Deep Economy by Bill McKibben; review to come, he likes it so far. August 16th: Finding — and Licking — a Cat (00:00:09)
2007-09-06 credited John has just finished Deep Economy by Bill McKibben, the book Hank assigned him back around February, and really liked it. September 6th: The Book Club Returns (00:01:01)
2007-11-27 recommended Hank recommends a Bill McKibben article, linked in the video, that he thinks hits all the bases on this subject. November 27th: Eagle's Nest, Blogger's Choice and Shopping (00:02:47)
Daniel Alarcón (author) 2015-12-01 credited, personal story John says Daniel Alarcón beat him in their high school creative writing contest in 1994 and has gone on to greater things. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:01:03)
2017-10-03 personal story John recommends Daniel Alarcón's The King Is Always Above the People: his stories still astonish John with their precision and power. Let's Talk about Books (00:01:06)
2018-06-12 personal story Peru, home country of John's friend the writer Daniel Alarcón, with a sash on their uniform and their first World Cup since 1982, is an excellent adopted team, unless you look into 'these dreamy eyes'. Your 4-Minute Guide to ALL 32 TEAMS at the 2018 World Cup (00:02:29)
2026-02-10 subject John shows a photo of himself and Daniel Alarcón as teenagers, calling them proper teenage dirtbags: Jägermeister t-shirt, backwards cap, oversized jeans. I Was a Teenage Dirtbag (00:00:35)
2026-09-30 personal story A joy of John's tour was sharing a New York stage with his lifelong friend Daniel Alarcón, with whom he has talked about books since he was 14, 35 years on. The Point of Life (00:01:05)
David Foster Wallace (writer) 2009-08-11 joke John says he and Willy will give $1,000 to the charity of Nerdfighteria's choice. The Island of Nerdfighteria? (00:02:28)
2010-05-14 recommended To a viewer about to graduate from college, John recommends David Foster Wallace's 'brilliant' commencement speech This Is Water, linked in the description. Advice on First Kisses, Stalkers, College Majors, and More (00:01:31)
2012-09-18 quoted John reads Wallace's The Pale King: dullness may hurt because it fails to distract us from a deeper, ambient pain, behind the 'terror of silence' of screens everywhere. Existential Airport Anxiety (00:02:29)
2018-06-26 credited John tells a joke David Foster Wallace made famous in a commencement address: an older fish asks two young fish how the water is; one later asks what water is. How's the Water? (00:00:01)
2026-08-18 quoted John cites David Foster Wallace's description of depression as being deep down a hole until you start to feel you are the hole. My Nemeses (00:00:29)
Lin-Manuel Miranda (composer, playwright and actor) 2016-01-19 personal story Asked his celebrity crush, John says right now it is definitely Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Looking for Alaska Movie, Davos, and Hufflepuff Shade: It's Question Tuesday (00:02:54)
2016-11-09 quoted Lin-Manuel Miranda, quoted by John: he loves this country and there is more work to do than ever. My Post-Election Thoughts (00:01:53)
2016-11-22 passing At an Indianapolis airport bar, as they debated messaging Lin-Manuel Miranda, John took a bite of a sandwich and knew they would not see Hamilton. On Not Seeing Hamilton (00:00:24)
2016-11-29 credited Asked for his favourite Disney movie, John names the new one Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the songs for. Baby Poop Rookie: Vlogbrothers Reunited (00:00:51)
2023-12-24 passing John says there is no Fault in Our Stars sequel because it would maybe not be the happiest book, though people in Hollywood made suggestions. John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated (01:05:40)
Michael H. Weber (screenwriter) 2014-09-16 credited John calls the Paper Towns screenplay by the writers of the TFiOS film amazing. It's Question Tuesday! Cheesy Jokes, Paper Towns Movie, and Dinosaur Butt Brains (00:01:02)
2014-10-28 takes part At the read-through John tells the screenwriters they did a good job with the script. The Paper Towns Movie IS HERE! (00:03:04)
2015-03-10 credited John announces that Scott Neustadter and Mike Weber, who wrote The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, will write the Looking for Alaska script. Travel Tips (and Paper Towns Movie Updates) (00:01:09)
2015-04-28 credited John calls the Paper Towns script by Mike Weber and Scott Neustadter, who wrote the Fault in Our Stars screenplay, brilliant because it captures both story and ideas; for him it created the same feelings. Is the Paper Towns Movie Like the Book? Thoughts on Adaptations (00:02:23)
2015-06-30 credited Weber and Neustadter, screenwriters of the TFIOS and Paper Towns films, have written a Looking for Alaska script, and Becca Thomas, director of Electric Children, has been hired to direct, so the film will probably happen. Some News (00:02:58)
Niccolò Machiavelli (political philosopher) 2009-10-28 cited Hank concludes that if 60,000 people watch this, a Michelangelo, a Da Vinci, a Machiavelli and a Raphael are watching right now; it's about what you think you can do and your community. We Win When Everyone Wins (00:01:21)
2014-05-16 cited Hank says Renaissance Florence held some of the most powerful economic and cultural forces the world has known: the Medici bankers, Botticelli, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, da Vinci and Brunelleschi. The Myth of Greatness (00:00:44)
2017-02-24 cited Hank describes the 'Machiavellian train' he used to be on: the idea that good people must be willing to do everything bad people do to get a good outcome, or the bad people win. Doing Bad Things To Make Good Things Happen (00:00:21)
2020-07-17 cited When Machiavelli, Da Vinci and Michelangelo were all working, Renaissance Florence had about as many people as Missoula, Montana. So Much to See (00:02:57)
2026-08-21 cited Hank says Machiavelli, Botticelli, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael all worked at the same time in Florence, a city of barely 60,000 people. Not (Just) Dunking on Jeff Bezos (00:03:39)
Scott Neustadter (screenwriter) 2014-09-16 credited John calls the Paper Towns screenplay by the writers of the TFiOS film amazing. It's Question Tuesday! Cheesy Jokes, Paper Towns Movie, and Dinosaur Butt Brains (00:01:02)
2014-10-28 takes part At the read-through John tells the screenwriters they did a good job with the script. The Paper Towns Movie IS HERE! (00:03:04)
2015-03-10 credited John announces that Scott Neustadter and Mike Weber, who wrote The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, will write the Looking for Alaska script. Travel Tips (and Paper Towns Movie Updates) (00:01:09)
2015-04-28 credited John calls the Paper Towns script by Mike Weber and Scott Neustadter, who wrote the Fault in Our Stars screenplay, brilliant because it captures both story and ideas; for him it created the same feelings. Is the Paper Towns Movie Like the Book? Thoughts on Adaptations (00:02:23)
2015-06-30 credited Weber and Neustadter, screenwriters of the TFIOS and Paper Towns films, have written a Looking for Alaska script, and Becca Thomas, director of Electric Children, has been hired to direct, so the film will probably happen. Some News (00:02:58)
Terry Pratchett (author) 2008-03-21 credited The next Blurbing Book Club book is Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. Twitter After School Time (00:03:36)
2009-04-28 recommended Hank calls Terry Pratchett one of the world's greatest gifts to him and The Truth a gift for journalists, with Moist von Lipwig (as he says) taking on journalism as a con man. 10 Book Reviews in 4 Minutes (00:01:29)
2010-02-03 cited Prizes listed include Harry Potter books signed by J. K. Rowling with a thank-you note, a guitar signed and used by Tom Felton, a cast-signed Deathly Hallows, signed Gaiman, Pratchett and John Green books, and Where the Wild Things Are artwork. Win The Awesomest Prizes EVAR! (00:01:17)
2011-02-11 passing Hank shows his Bobble-John, Sandman comics and other graphic novels, Terry Pratchett, Mars trilogy and Neil Gaiman books and DFTBA CDs; his Hunger Games is loaned out. 200 People in Your Pants (00:00:56)
2016-07-05 quoted Now the horizon makes John think not of the world's edge but its edgelessness; he cites Terry Pratchett: the farther you sail, the closer to home you are. The Horizon Line (00:00:58)
Zadie Smith (novelist) 2012-12-04 passing John says Time Magazine has just named The Fault in Our Stars first on its list of the top ten novels of 2012, ahead of Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz and J.K. Rowling, and he is overwhelmed. Time for AWESOME (00:00:00)
2016-12-02 quoted Rosianna quotes Zadie Smith in Lenny Letter: feelings need vertical depth, and many social platforms provoke feelings she doesn't enjoy, from being falsely puffed up to being hurt or infuriated. Logging Off (00:02:55)
2019-07-16 cited John blabbered to Dan Howell at VidCon last weekend, couldn't form a sentence meeting Zadie Smith seven years ago, and wonders if Rebecca Lowe saw his hands shaking. star struck (00:00:00)
2022-04-05 cited Almost all the literary celebrities John has met were very kind; Zadie Smith was extremely nice though he was a babbling bundle of nerves. Celebrities I've Met and Whether I'd Vote for Them??? (00:03:24)
2026-09-30 quoted John spent eight years writing Hollywood, Ending hoping it would reach people and pay bills, but primarily it was fun: in Zadie Smith's words, a thing to do, imagining a bit and making it real. The Point of Life (00:02:47)
Arthur Conan Doyle (British author) 2012-10-05 credited Since the video is short, Hank adds a promo of the brothers' other YouTube channels, SciShow, Crash Course, Lizzie Bennet and HankGames, which he says are doing quite well. 21st Century Sherlock: A Sherlock / Doors Song (00:01:29)
2012-11-27 credited For Sherlock fans, John recommends The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, and thinks they would like P.D. James. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:02:55)
2023-03-28 cited John says he learned from Phantom Plague that Arthur Conan Doyle took part in TB research and that TB shaped ideas of vampires. My Tuberculosis Reading List (00:00:58)
2023-07-18 passing John says his tuberculosis obsession goes so far that even on vacation he is reading a book about Arthur Conan Doyle and his contributions to tuberculosis research. Tuberculosis Fighters Have a Posse (00:00:00)
Ben Acker (writer) 2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
2023-10-02 credited Hank shows a Pizzamas shirt and says the shirts are available only until the end of this week (week of 2 October 2023). The Hottest Place and the Coldest Place in the Universe are the SAME PLACE (00:00:00)
2023-10-13 credited Hank thanks Sarah Aswell and Ben Acker for their help with his comedy, adding he doesn't say it on stage because it isn't funny. Cancer Made me Do It. (00:02:15)
2024-06-21 credited Hank kept working on the special for months with Sarah Aswell, his original Missoula comedy coach, and hired Ben Acker for parts he struggled with. I Was So Sad that I Did Comedy (00:06:25)
Bill Ott (publisher) 2013-10-29 personal story He called his parents, they agreed he should come home, and he tried to quit; Booklist publisher Bill Ott suggested a two-week leave of absence instead, one of the nicest things anyone did for him. Perspective (00:01:17)
2023-04-18 subject The description and John's comment point viewers to his friend Keir Graff's remembrance of Bill. goodbye to my friend (00:00:00)
2026-02-13 personal story John shows a poster for Harvey, a very important movie in his life, given to him by his mentor Bill Ott, who died a couple of years ago. Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! (03:13:17)
2026-03-10 personal story John cannot run for office first because he would hate it: at Booklist, thanks to publisher Bill Ott, he had one meeting a year, the right number for him, while a legislator's job is essentially meetings. Is Hank Green Running for Congress? (00:00:29)
Elaine Scarry (author) 2015-05-19 credited John cites Elaine Scarry's great book The Body in Pain: pain doesn't just defy language, it destroys language. Pain Destroys Language: John after the Dentist (00:00:45)
2016-05-10 quoted John calls Elaine Scarry's The Body in Pain brilliant and says Mike Rugnetta first recommended it to him. On Pain (00:01:51)
2020-01-21 credited A few years ago Mike Rugnetta gave John Elaine Scarry's The Body in Pain, which he would never otherwise have read and which totally changed how he thinks about pain and language. Gifts That Changed My Life (00:00:58)
2021-08-10 quoted John keeps returning to Elaine Scarry's observation in The Body in Pain that to have great pain is to have certainty, and to hear another has pain is to have doubt. My Physicalmental Illness (00:03:10)
Herman Melville (author (historical)) 2009-02-10 cited On colours: the book has much Moby-Dick in it (white imagery, Black Santas, Margo's middle name meaning red); like Melville, John wanted to subvert white as a symbol of purity and put Margo outside the good/evil dichotomy. Paper Towns Tastic Question Tuesday (00:01:51)
2012-02-28 passing John cites Melville's preacher in Moby-Dick: woe to him whose good name is more to him than goodness. On Cuties and Cooties (00:01:27)
2020-04-21 quoted John says that, twice, he was ripped off by people who claimed to have the All Star sing-a-ma-jig but did not. hey now (00:02:25)
2020-09-22 criticized John contrasts earlier views of nature's indifference, like Moby-Dick, where the white whale's demonic indifference shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe. the world is gonna roll me (00:01:21)
Hilary Mantel (novelist) 2012-11-27 credited John says he and the Yeti keep several thousand books in their house and even two-year-old Henry has a sizeable collection, so he feels qualified to recommend books. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:00)
2012-12-04 passing John says Time Magazine has just named The Fault in Our Stars first on its list of the top ten novels of 2012, ahead of Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz and J.K. Rowling, and he is overwhelmed. Time for AWESOME (00:00:00)
2020-10-20 recommended John says he is now enjoying Hilary Mantel's trilogy about Thomas Cromwell while he signs. How to Sign Your Name 150,000 Times (00:00:53)
2022-11-22 credited Having just written one, John thinks essay collections make great gifts, recommending Toni Morrison's The Source of Self-Regard and Hilary Mantel's Mantel Pieces. John's 2022 Gift Guide (00:01:27)
James Crumley (novelist) 2008-05-18 credited They call him Willy; his full name, Fireball Wilson Roberts, refers to the first sentence of James Crumley's novel The Last Good Kiss, which John reads aloud. A CUTETACULAR INTRODUCTION! (00:01:14)
2008-10-06 subject The bar had a dog that used to drink there, reminding John of Fireball Roberts, the alcoholic bulldog in James Crumley's The Last Good Kiss. Berlin and Let it Snow (in Your Pants) (00:01:50)
2008-10-08 credited Hank says James Crumley lived and died in Missoula and will be missed, though Hank did not know who he was when he died. Hanks actual Vlog (00:02:25)
2018-02-27 credited Fireball Wilson Roberts Green came home in 2008, named for the alcoholic bulldog in James Crumley's novel The Last Good Kiss; they call him Willy because, as the vet put it, he's 'Willy Willy cute'. Ode to a Dog (00:00:07)
John Scalzi (author) 2014-03-07 passing Hank was on the ship for the fourth annual JoCo Cruise Crazy, a floating nerd adventure with semi-celebrity nerds including John Hodgman, Wil Wheaton, Hank himself and Jonathan Coulton. Thoughts from a Cruise (00:01:18)
2015-03-27 passing Hank lists guests: fantasy, sci-fi and YA authors (Rothfuss, Clare, Black, Kowal, Scalzi, Bacigalupi, Woodson, Perkins), musicians Kimya Dawson and Dessa, and shows Welcome to Night Vale, Wits and Story Collider. Announcing NerdCon: Stories (00:03:06)
2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
Kim Stanley Robinson (author) 2008-04-01 passing Hank lists his qualifications: prime condition, having read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy many times, green-technology expertise and the vlog habit of non-conversational family contact. Please Google, Take Me to Mars (00:00:00)
2010-04-28 cited Hank lists people he loves but has never met and wants to hug because he is impressed with their work, from They Might Be Giants and Wil Wheaton to Ursula Le Guin, plus many YouTubers. Who's in Your Hug Bucket? (00:01:38)
2016-07-29 recommended In the description Hank names Kim Stanley Robinson books, Star Trek and The Tick as what he loves, and says community built around loved things beats the content and its makers. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:00:00)
2021-08-13 credited The most futuristic option pays people to prevent or capture emissions, which Kim Stanley Robinson calls carbon quantitative easing; with the Federal Reserve printing money, payment could even be a global carbon coin. How We Fix the Climate (00:10:13)
Lev Grossman (author) 2012-01-27 cited Hank says Time Magazine said John was 'damn near genius', then teases him about the 'near'. In 'N' Out-Erview (00:01:27)
2012-08-14 passing At LeakyCon 2012 John chatted with Lev Grossman in front of a crowd, then shattered his phone by dropping it from about eight inches. To Be Anything At All: Thoughts from Places, Chicago and LeakyCon 2012 (00:00:00)
2012-11-27 credited For Harry Potter fans, John says to reread the books, which stand up to rereading, and recommends Lev Grossman's Magicians series and Melissa Anelli's Harry, A History about the fandom. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:01:27)
2023-12-24 passing Hank notes that Lev Grossman wrote in Time magazine that John was 'damn near genius'. John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated (01:55:02)
Libba Bray (author) 2008-04-21 joke Paper Towns is not dedicated to the Nerdfighters, but they are in the acknowledgements. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:00:53)
2008-09-25 cited Hank says he and John, still following the presidential campaigns, are both taking part in YA for Obama, where authors for young people write why they are voting for Obama. Obama llama Duck (00:02:41)
2011-03-09 recommended John says he is friends with Libba Bray and has read all her books, including the not-yet-released Beauty Queens, which is amazing; viewers should pre-order it. DANDY LIONS! It's Question Day (00:01:32)
2011-03-09 joke John reports that Libba Bray just broke both of her elbows, and jokes that he is not surprised it was her rather than, say, Sarah Dessen. DANDY LIONS! It's Question Day (00:01:37)
2012-06-12 cited John says at BEA the world treats books the way it usually treats iPads: a mad dash for advance copies, a staircase devoted to Cassandra Clare, banners for Libba Bray's new book. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:00)
Michael Chabon (author) 2007-07-31 credited John recommends Michael Chabon's 411-page novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union as a great book. July 31: HP, Secret Siblings, and Books (00:01:23)
2012-06-12 personal story At a writers' lunch John met Jeffrey Eugenides, who with Michael Chabon made him want to be a writer in high school; he filmed him from behind for ten minutes before shaking his hand and embarrassing himself. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:58)
2012-11-27 credited For couples reading together, John names the two books he and the Yeti read together this year (2012) and liked most: Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue and Tina Fey's Bossypants (he is unsure how to pronounce both surnames). Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:01:27)
2016-12-06 credited John recommends Michael Chabon's Moonglow: a proper genius risks having another nearly perfect novel taken for granted, but this is an amazing book about war, memory and mental illness. Exactly Like the Human Sternum (00:01:38)
Philip Gourevitch (author) 2007-01-08 credited John's first book-club suggestion: either What Is the What by Dave Eggers or We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch. Brotherhood 2.0: January 8, 2007 (00:02:34)
2007-01-15 passing Hank presents the new Brotherhood 2.0 website at brotherhood2.com and asks for suggestions or comments. Brotherhood 2.0: January 15th (00:00:00)
2007-02-22 credited Hank's bed-stand stack of books he and Katherine are supposedly reading includes Philip Gourevitch's book on Rwanda, though Hank admits he hasn't read it much lately. Brotherhood 2.0: February 22nd: Where Do Books Go? (00:01:53)
2007-03-06 credited Hank announces he has finished the first Brotherhood 2.0 Book Club book, Philip Gourevitch's 'We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families'. Brotherhood 2.0: Peeps and Genocide (00:00:39)
René Descartes (philosopher) 2009-03-01 subject John says Descartes, often called the father of modern philosophy, wrote 'I think, therefore I am', believed in free will and argued the mind could control the body's desires. Free Will Fetish (00:00:00)
2011-04-13 joke 31 Jokes for NERDS! (00:02:19)
2012-08-14 joke John walked past the Art Institute, across the Chicago River and past a café he says ignores that René Descartes died before coffee reached France, to the Apple Store. To Be Anything At All: Thoughts from Places, Chicago and LeakyCon 2012 (00:01:55)
2017-06-30 cited In the 1600s Huygens and Descartes devised lens shapes fixing this; the trilobites Crozonaspis and Dalmanitina had matching eye-lens shapes, keeping near and far objects in focus with less distortion. Eyes Made of Crystal? - Trilobites are Bizarre (00:02:55)
Socrates (philosopher) 2011-12-14 passing Hank says 'Socrates'; John says it is either Greek or Latin, which Hank will soon find out in episode 3 of Crash Course. Greek Phallic Disco Golf Balls: A Free Association Game (00:02:39)
2015-07-07 cited Greece used the drachma until 2001; on independence in 1832 it brought the drachma back, and in 2001 it joined the Eurozone and adopted the euro. Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece (00:00:35)
2018-11-27 passing John says the Melian Dialogue happened about 2,400 years ago in ancient Greece; 5th-century BCE Athens was a democracy where Plato and Socrates philosophized and Sophocles wrote and held office. On The Melian Dialogue (00:00:00)
2023-12-24 passing John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated (02:01:12)
Stephenie Meyer (author) 2009-10-20 passing John marvels that in a popularity contest his book about Walt Whitman beat Stephenie Meyer's book about hot vampires. The Bella Twins Like Paper Towns (00:00:58)
2009-11-29 credited John says that on Tuesday he will announce Hank's punishment and discuss the political situation in Pakistan. John Reviews Twilight and New Moon (00:00:00)
2010-04-14 cited Hank playfully declares that fun, Stephenie Meyer, Austin Powers and Weird Al Yankovic are important, and he doesn't care who hears him say it. Fun is Important. Being Serious Isn't (00:01:20)
2010-08-24 joke Showing his favourite book, Hank hopes the crowd shows many Harry Potters and some John Green books, and not so many Stephenie Meyer books. FRENCH THE LLAMA! John is 33! (00:00:29)
Ursula K. Le Guin (author) 2009-04-28 recommended A self-declared Le Guin fan, Hank says her Powers trilogy makes us imagine worlds as they have been or could be and the people in them, showing amazing people come from all circumstances. 10 Book Reviews in 4 Minutes (00:00:29)
2010-04-28 cited Hank lists people he loves but has never met and wants to hug because he is impressed with their work, from They Might Be Giants and Wil Wheaton to Ursula Le Guin, plus many YouTubers. Who's in Your Hug Bucket? (00:01:38)
2021-10-19 cited John says writers can inspire names: Ursula K. Le Guin had a cat called Mother Courage, and Doris Lessing one called El Magnifico, both top drawer. Cat Names: The Authoritative Guide (00:02:33)
2026-10-02 quoted John recalls Ursula K. Le Guin's line that capitalism's power feels inescapable, as the divine right of kings once did, and any human power can be resisted and changed. the most powerful attention-consuming tools in the history of the world (00:02:55)
Voltaire (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes that John Adams's last words, that Thomas Jefferson still survived, were untrue: Jefferson had died earlier that same day, July 4, 1826. Famous Last Words (00:00:25)
2010-11-05 cited John says the Enlightenment, including French thinkers Rousseau and Voltaire, argued that rational thought rather than God's interpreted will should be the source of truth and authority, troubling the monarchy, whose authority rested on God's will. God and Grain: The French Revolution, Part I (00:00:15)
2010-11-10 quoted John says neighbours grew nervous, especially the Holy Roman Empire (per Voltaire neither holy nor Roman nor an empire), whose emperor Leopold II, Marie Antoinette's brother, directly ruled only Austria. Headless Monarchy: The French Revolution, Part II (00:02:56)
2019-11-12 passing John says Dunlop once wrote Burns that Voltaire read all his manuscripts to an old woman and printed only what she approved, and wished Burns would name her to that office; he didn't. still learning (00:00:58)
William Carlos Williams (poet) 2008-03-15 credited John signs off with one more LOLbook, meant only for readers of a particular William Carlos Williams poem about plums. Ruins, LOLBooks, and the Blurbing Book Club (00:03:03)
2012-10-02 cited John says William Carlos Williams was both a poet and a doctor. What To Do With Your Life (00:02:24)
2020-04-28 quoted John cites a great William Carlos Williams poem about a baseball game whose crowd is moved by a spirit of uselessness that delights them, and says he misses that crowd and game. get your game on (00:00:00)
2025-01-07 quoted John says that when it is very quiet outside he thinks of a William Carlos Williams line about wise trees sleeping in the cold. The Format but it hurts to stand up (00:02:01)
Albert Camus (author) 2007-01-24 credited The list continues with The Little Drummer Girl, The Sun Also Rises, The Thin Man, The Echo Maker and Everything That Rises Must Converge. Brotherhood 2.0: January 24, 2007 (00:01:46)
2021-12-01 quoted Sarah's collages remind John of Sister Corita Kent's Alphabet series of collages around each letter, such as E, which quotes Camus on loving one's country and justice. Loving the Loves of Your Loves (00:01:56)
2026-07-21 subject John says Camus argues in The Myth of Sisyphus that the meaning of life is the most urgent question, and he agrees: the ideas we live and die for shape our lives and world. One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy (00:00:00)
Alice Dreger (author) 2008-04-21 credited John, who owns many books on conjoined twins, recommends One of Us by Alice Dreger (nonfiction) and God's Fool by Mark Slouka (fiction). Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:01:22)
2010-04-12 credited John calls Alice Dreger's book One of Us great. On the Separation of Conjoined Twins (00:00:58)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends Alice Dreger's One of Us, by far the best nonfiction about conjoined twins, also about disability and how the powerful essentialize and marginalize the other. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:00:30)
Aristotle (philosopher) 2007-02-15 cited Voicing the popular side as George W. Bush and Tom Brady, John answers poker-style with famous nerds, from Bill Clinton and Lincoln to all four Beatles, and declares 'We win!' Brotherhood 2.0: February 17, 2007 (00:01:39)
2009-04-14 quoted John reads the Aristotle quote on Joel's MySpace (a clear goal, the means, adjust all means to that end) and adds a mock fourth precept: don't make that end a rubber band ball. The World's Largest Balls (00:01:10)
2012-02-07 criticized John offers a rule of thumb: Aristotle, though very famous, is almost always wrong. 10 Misconceptions Debunked! (00:02:24)
Ayn Rand (novelist) 2016-11-29 joke For a desert-island book, John imagines a book that read forwards is the collected works of Shakespeare and read backwards is a survival guide for the island. Baby Poop Rookie: Vlogbrothers Reunited (00:02:12)
2020-11-10 cited John says true innovation is almost never a heroic individual succeeding by his own effort, and almost always a growing body of expertise and evidence making new breakthroughs possible. On Immunity, Inoculation, and Individuals (00:02:55)
2023-12-24 passing On paternity leave with his son Orin, Hank says the most surprising thing about having a baby is the noise of the poops. John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated (01:06:29)
Cecil Castellucci (author) 2007-04-30 takes part John says many people wanted to say hi to Hank this weekend, so he let them: his editor and a number of authors greet Hank on camera. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:00:10)
2009-09-01 credited Hank jokes that John has enough books now not to mention his anthology appearances; so far Hank has read only John's story and says it is very good. I AM COMPUTER MAN!!! (00:01:35)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends Cecil Castellucci's YA novel Boy Proof (2005), whose haunting story of an outcast girl named Egg has stayed with him. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:01:19)
Charles Dickens (novelist) 2013-07-16 cited Like a ghost in a Dickens novel, she warns Hank about the annoying things his niece and nephew might do as teenagers, at least according to stereotypes. The Ghost of Teenaged Future (00:00:19)
2023-09-05 quoted John says that until quite recently tuberculosis was, in Charles Dickens's words, the disease wealth never warded off: kings and the richest man of the 19th century died of it; then it suddenly became one wealth almost always wards off. I Ain't Even Here, Sergeant. I'm in Cheyenne, Wyoming. (00:00:58)
2025-12-16 passing John says today's video, like the 2023 television adaptation of Dickens' Great Expectations, comes in six parts. John Green's Brother (00:00:00)
Coe Booth (author) 2007-04-30 takes part In her acceptance, Coe Booth hopes her book will reach kids who rarely see themselves represented in literature. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:01:40)
2007-04-30 credited In the final introduction, Coe Booth tells Hank she thinks he's really cute and knows he's married. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:00:32)
2007-05-01 joke Hank is excited that Coe Booth thinks he's hot and says hi back to Francesca Lia Block and everyone who greeted him in John's last video. May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena (00:02:58)
2007-05-01 passing Hank congratulates Coe Booth on the L.A. Times Book Award, calling it a big deal, and John on being nominated. May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena (00:00:40)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends Coe Booth's Kendra, which he likes as much as her more famous first book, Tyrell. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:02:50)
Dorothy Parker (writer) 2007-10-16 personal story John tours his shelves: poetry (Cummings, Shakespeare, Dante, the Norton Anthology, Dorothy Parker), reference, religions, family, languages, social sciences, screenwriting and his author copies. October 16th: John's Library Pwns (00:00:42)
2009-07-26 joke John says some places in the world have no books, and that real access to reading needs lights to read by, libraries and the right books, not just books. Volunteering (In Your Pants) (00:01:26)
2017-05-23 quoted John says shocking scandals seem to grip the nation every week, each seeming the properly shocking one until the next; as Dorothy Parker said, 'what fresh hell is this?' Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday (00:00:15)
Eudora Welty (writer) 2014-02-18 credited John recommends Eudora Welty's The Optimist's Daughter: out of fashion, but in his view the best book by one of the best 20th-century writers. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:02:55)
2018-01-16 quoted Quoting Eudora Welty, John says a sheltered life can be a daring life as well, since all serious daring starts from within; so live your life. My Hollywood Star, Brexit Pears, and Hank's Book: It's QUESTION TUESDAY (00:03:32)
2021-11-16 quoted John sides with Eudora Welty, who said a sheltered life can be a daring life since serious daring starts from within; his daring, he adds, also generally ends within. Orbital Sunrise: The First Art Made in Space (00:07:26)
Flannery O'Connor (writer) 2007-12-18 passing John solves a viewer's tree-cutting rate problem (Ralph an hour per tree, Wayne 40 minutes), notes it looks like eighth-grade math, and tells the asker 'you've been pwned'. Dec 18th: The Project for Awesome and Question Tuesday!!! (00:01:38)
2009-07-26 credited John recounts that he and Maureen Johnson discovered in a coffee shop that adding 'in your pants' to book titles makes them funnier, and runs through examples. Volunteering (In Your Pants) (00:00:37)
2022-11-01 cited John says the intended orientation is probably better, recalling Flannery O'Connor's title Everything That Rises Must Converge. Is This Painting Upside Down? (00:01:27)
George R. R. Martin (author) 2011-12-23 quoted John recalls George R.R. Martin threatening to mount the leaker's head on a spike when his embargoed book leaked; it seemed crazy, but on Wednesday John felt more sympathetic. There Will Be NO SPOILERS!!! (00:01:23)
2014-10-14 joke A Minor Crisis (00:00:01)
2019-05-03 cited In a clip, George R. R. Martin says there is a broad parallel: we fight over important issues such as foreign and domestic policy, but none matter if we're dead and our cities are under the ocean. What Game of Thrones is Really About (00:00:33)
H. G. Wells (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
2009-10-22 credited Hank calls The War of the Worlds broadcast, which he credits to H. G. Wells, possibly the greatest hoax and probably accidental; listeners believed Martians attacked, and an Ecuadorian rebroadcast killed 20 people. The Top 10 Greatest Hoaxes of All Time (00:03:12)
2024-08-20 passing John says Bromley was once home to David Bowie, Charles Darwin and H. G. Wells. Thoughts from Places: BROMLEY! (00:00:29)
Henry David Thoreau (writer) 2011-03-28 quoted John says his original title was The Hectic Glow, after a Thoreau quote, but it is the rural juror of book titles: people mishear it as The Metric Snow or The Hectic Blow. Participatory Geometry (00:01:55)
2014-01-17 joke 54 JOKES! In Four Minutes! (00:00:28)
2026-03-24 quoted Hazel's favorite band in the novel, The Hectic Glow, takes its name from a line in Thoreau's journals calling disease and decay beautiful, like the hectic glow of consumption. How Panda Express Is Tuberculosis (00:00:29)
Horace (poet) 2021-09-07 quoted John recalls Horace's line that poetry should delight and instruct; making art it is easy to focus on one, but his favorite jokes, poems and novels do both. My Two Favorite Jokes (00:02:50)
2025-01-21 quoted John says if a book's job is, as Horace said, to delight and instruct, audiobooks do that job. Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? (00:03:51)
2026-01-20 quoted Extending last week's (week of 12 January 2026) video, John says we make art not only to delight and instruct others, as Horace said 2,000 years ago, but also to delight and instruct ourselves. Am I ... Good? (00:02:40)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (philosopher) 2008-01-08 subject John's most useless trivia: the political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau really liked mooning people. The Return of Question Tuesdays (00:03:32)
2010-11-01 cited John says Rousseau, whose philosophy deeply influenced the French Revolution, liked being spanked by girls so much he sometimes dropped his drawers in public hoping they'd smack him. Consider the Lemming (00:02:46)
2010-11-05 cited John says the Enlightenment, including French thinkers Rousseau and Voltaire, argued that rational thought rather than God's interpreted will should be the source of truth and authority, troubling the monarchy, whose authority rested on God's will. God and Grain: The French Revolution, Part I (00:00:15)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (author) 2008-04-21 recommended John's favorite German writer is Goethe, whose individual sentences, he says, outclass his entire body of work. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:01:22)
2010-10-08 cited John reads that Archimedes' last words were 'wait until I've finished my problem' and, skipping ahead, that Goethe's were 'more light'. GEEKING OUT Over Dying Declarations (00:01:54)
2010-11-24 passing Walking Vienna, John lists what he saw: Goethe, a two-headed eagle, narcissistic graffiti, Mozart, more babies and space invaders opposed to homophobia. Babies and Catacombs: VIENNA (Thoughts from Places) (00:01:00)
John Updike (writer) 2009-07-26 credited John recounts that he and Maureen Johnson discovered in a coffee shop that adding 'in your pants' to book titles makes them funnier, and runs through examples. Volunteering (In Your Pants) (00:00:37)
2017-10-03 cited John thinks Celeste Ng's books should be discussed alongside other great chroniclers of American suburbia such as John Updike. Let's Talk about Books (00:01:06)
2024-11-05 quoted John cites John Updike calling celebrity a mask that eats the face, and finds that true even of his minimal encounters with celebrity. Why Do I Still Make YouTube Videos? (00:02:26)
Joss Whedon (screenwriter; director) 2013-07-12 passing Hank offers her absolute creative freedom - a screenplay, a Broadway prequel musical, a comic with Joss Whedon, a BBC mini-series - but asks her to avoid cartoons, Fox and MMORPGs. Oh, JK Rowling - A Harry Potter Song (00:01:37)
2013-08-30 passing Hank says Joss Whedon wanted to make a Wonder Woman movie and Warner Brothers turned him down. Raw Onion, Twerking, and Speech Jam (00:01:18)
2014-05-09 cited The song gives Rowling 'absolute creative freedom': a screenplay, a prequel Broadway musical, a comic with Joss Whedon or a BBC miniseries, but no cartoons and no MMORPG. Oh JK Rowling - Kinetic Typography (00:00:37)
Justine Larbalestier (author) 2007-04-04 takes part John says he writes a lot with his friends Maureen Johnson and Scott Westerfeld; today they were joined by Justine Larbalestier and Lauren McLaughlin. Brotherhood 2.0: April 2: A Day in the Writer's Life (00:00:11)
2007-07-19 personal story He spends about 30 minutes missing his old New York writing friends - Scott, Justine and Maureen, just back from England - and feels lonely. July 19: A Day in the Life of a Writer (Who Has No Friends) (00:00:10)
2008-12-08 personal story Narrating as Willy, John says that at an author party Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier teased him about his fear of heights and asked what it would cost him to stand on a hotel-room table. I Am Afraid of Heights (00:00:24)
Keir Graff (writer) 2011-01-21 credited The book wasn't called Looking for Alaska until John's friend Keir Graff came up with the title, for which John says he paid him two dollars. Looking for Alaska Five Years After the Printz Award (00:01:14)
2019-04-23 credited John's friend Keir came up with the title Looking for Alaska because John's ideas, 'White Flowers and Warm Malt Liquor' and 'Famous Last Words', were so bad. untitled (00:00:29)
2023-04-18 recommended The description and John's comment point viewers to his friend Keir Graff's remembrance of Bill. goodbye to my friend (00:00:00)
Mary Robinette Kowal (author) 2015-03-27 passing Hank lists guests: fantasy, sci-fi and YA authors (Rothfuss, Clare, Black, Kowal, Scalzi, Bacigalupi, Woodson, Perkins), musicians Kimya Dawson and Dessa, and shows Welcome to Night Vale, Wits and Story Collider. Announcing NerdCon: Stories (00:03:06)
2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
2016-09-16 credited Hank says many Census respondents, as he reads through it, want to hear more about the brothers' adult lives doing what they do. Let's Talk about Failure (00:00:00)
Nalo Hopkinson (author) 2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
2015-12-01 credited For science-fiction fans John recommends Nalo Hopkinson's Midnight Robber, set in a world colonized by Caribbean people; he has just started her story collection Falling in Love with Hominids. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:01:56)
2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
Nina LaCour (author) 2010-06-25 passing John gets to meet authors he likes: Nina LaCour, the authors of Beautiful Creatures, Lauren Oliver, Maryrose Wood and Diana Peterfreund. Book Nerd PARADISE (00:00:00)
2014-05-20 credited John recommends two books he really likes: Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour and The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson, both excellent. Deserving (00:03:26)
2017-10-03 passing John recommends Nina LaCour's We Are Okay, a poetic meditation on loss that took him back to the last days of adolescence. Let's Talk about Books (00:00:37)
Oscar Wilde (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
2010-06-14 cited Oscar Wilde was convicted under the same law and sentenced to two years' hard labour for being a homosexual. Be The Change - vlogbrothers (00:01:05)
2013-06-11 quoted Craig parodies more things John does: Question Tuesday with fake questions, a 'Who the eff is Hank?' answer, Sharpie face (a cracker smashed on his forehead), a Thoughts from Places about his office, an Oscar Wilde reading, and a 'not-airport'. How To Be John Green (00:02:07)
Paul Beatty (author) 2015-12-01 credited John recommends Paul Beatty's The White Boy Shuffle to everyone: almost 20 years old, still hilarious and heartbreaking; it should be a classic and everyone he has recommended it to loved it. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:00:26)
2021-09-28 recommended For belly laughs and linguistic acrobatics John recommends Paul Beatty's Tuff; Beatty is better known for The White Boy Shuffle and the Booker-winning The Sellout, but John read Tuff 20 years ago and still thinks about it. 11 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:00:29)
2025-07-01 recommended John found Paul Beatty's Tuff and Maureen Johnson's early books not as bestsellers but through recommendations from librarians and booksellers. What #1 New York Times Bestseller Actually Means (00:04:22)
Philip Larkin (poet) 2017-05-23 quoted For marriage advice, Sarah reminded John of a Philip Larkin poem ending 'we should be careful of each other, we should be kind while there is still time'; John wishes the same for him and Hank. Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday (00:03:23)
2023-03-14 quoted John says he keeps coming back to an old Philip Larkin poem whose closing lines urge care and kindness toward each other while there is still time. The Seduction of Despair (00:03:52)
2023-11-21 quoted John closes with Philip Larkin: we can be careful of each other and kind while there is still time. Minus Its Charms (00:03:49)
Robert Hughes (art-critic) 2020-12-31 quoted The trenches were a world without whys, meaninglessness all the way down, where modernity came to war: Robert Hughes's 'peculiarly modernist hell of repetition'. Auld Lang Syne: The Anthropocene Reviewed (00:17:41)
2021-02-23 criticized Citing art critic Robert Hughes on the peculiarly modernist hell of repetition, John says he likes work that turns that on its head and finds color and joy in repetition. A Little Joy and Color in an Otherwise Unbearably Bland Life (00:02:14)
2023-12-30 quoted The trenches were a world without whys, meaninglessness all the way down, where modernity came to war: Robert Hughes's 'peculiarly modernist hell of repetition'. John's Review of Auld Lang Syne (00:17:42)
Robert Penn Warren (author) 2010-12-29 credited John reads Robert Penn Warren's passage on the West as where you go when the land gives out or you are 'a bubble on the tide of empire', and wishes he could write such sentences. Baby on the Road: Thoughts from Places (00:01:27)
2021-01-26 quoted While the game plays, John can find no point to making art, planting gardens or falling in love, since you are always alone in what Robert Penn Warren called the darkness which is you. The Sycamore Tree: The Anthropocene Reviewed (00:02:06)
2023-08-08 quoted John tells his past self that, as Robert Penn Warren put it, he is a bubble on the tide of empire. TAKE IT UP A NOTCH (00:00:58)
Stephanie Perkins (author) 2010-12-13 credited John loves Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: made of sweetness, funny and smart, and one of the most genuinely romantic stories he has read. 8 Things I Love (00:00:15)
2015-03-27 passing Hank lists guests: fantasy, sci-fi and YA authors (Rothfuss, Clare, Black, Kowal, Scalzi, Bacigalupi, Woodson, Perkins), musicians Kimya Dawson and Dessa, and shows Welcome to Night Vale, Wits and Story Collider. Announcing NerdCon: Stories (00:03:06)
2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
Ta-Nehisi Coates (author) 2015-08-18 credited John recommends Ta-Nehisi Coates's book Between the World and Me, which he cannot stop thinking about. The Cold War of Nerdfighteria (00:00:14)
2015-12-01 credited John's favorite book of the year is Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me, a short, relentless and brilliant meditation on race and history in the United States. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:00:18)
2020-06-02 recommended The description lists books and essays John found helpful on racism's centrality to American life, by Kendi, Anderson, Lorde, Coates, Morrison, Evans, Baldwin, McWhirter, Woodson, Hurston, Wilkerson and Washington. --- (00:00:00)
W. B. Yeats (poet) 2009-08-30 passing In quick literary picks John chooses Joyce over Yeats and Whitman over Faulkner, names Hamlet his favorite play, and says he liked The Hunger Games. 100 QUESTIONS ANSWERED!!!!!!! (00:01:20)
2011-04-15 quoted John credits Nerdfighter Karen Kavett with making the music video, calls her awesome and says everyone should subscribe to her. Humpy Hank (00:02:00)
2016-02-26 credited John's favourite poem is The Second Coming by W. B. Yeats. Things You Don't Know About Us (REUNION!) (00:03:01)
William Wordsworth (poet) 2011-06-10 joke Then I Took Off My Bra (00:01:09)
2018-12-11 quoted Unsure whether it is his age or the internet now travelling with him everywhere, John increasingly finds himself reading Wordsworth's 'The world is too much with us'. When the Internet Came Home (00:02:41)
2020-03-31 quoted John recalls Wordsworth's Lines Written in Early Spring, believing as an article of faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes; if you must have a faith, and he does, that seems a good one. Let's take a walk. (00:02:34)
Yuval Noah Harari (historian) 2016-12-06 credited John's book list credits An Ember in the Ashes to Sabaa Tahir, Sapiens to Yuval Noah Harari and I Contain Multitudes to Ed Yong, and notes that The Raven King, the amazing last book of The Raven Cycle, just came out. Exactly Like the Human Sternum (00:00:00)
2016-12-20 credited The video's figures for the combined weight of humans, livestock and large wild animals come from Yuval Harari's book Sapiens. How Giraffes Mate, and Why It Matters (00:00:00)
2017-09-19 cited John says he leaned on Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens for some of the theories about why cities developed. Why Cities? (00:00:00)
Alice Walker (author) 2015-12-01 credited For readers who think they hate classics, John recommends Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop and Alice Walker's The Color Purple as captivating and moving despite being taught in schools. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:00:39)
2021-06-01 quoted Reading it, John kept thinking of Alice Walker's line that all history is current. My Two Favorite Books of the Year (00:01:50)
Alison Bechdel (author) 2015-12-01 credited For graphic-novel fans John jokingly calls Alison Bechdel's Are You My Mother? the perfect gift for your mother, provided you have a very, very dysfunctional relationship. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:00:52)
2016-04-12 credited John says Looking for Alaska beat some of his favorite books on the list, like Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. On the Banning of Looking for Alaska (00:00:34)
Ally Condie (author) 2012-06-12 passing John spent last week (week of 4 June 2012) in New York City at BookExpo America, which he calls essentially the VidCon of book publishing, and found it a celebrity fest. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:00)
2012-11-27 credited For Hunger Games fans John, a big fan of dystopias, recommends Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, Ally Condie's Matched series and Veronica Roth's Divergent series, which he calls infuriatingly unfinished. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:58)
Celeste Ng (writer) 2017-10-03 passing John's favourite 2017 literary novel is Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere: brilliant, and rightly much talked about. Let's Talk about Books (00:00:37)
2020-11-10 credited John calls Eula Biss's On Immunity, chosen for Life's Library by guest curator Celeste Ng, brilliant; it really deepened his understanding of immunity and inoculation. On Immunity, Inoculation, and Individuals (00:00:00)
Chad Harbach (author) 2012-02-14 credited John recommends Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding: a book for so-called grown-ups, but he can't remember enjoying a story more; it is beautiful and made him feel all the things. Things I Can Do (00:00:29)
2012-11-27 credited For a novel whose characters you care about without knowing why, John recommends Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding or Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:01:56)
Dante Alighieri (poet) 2007-10-16 personal story John tours his shelves: poetry (Cummings, Shakespeare, Dante, the Norton Anthology, Dorothy Parker), reference, religions, family, languages, social sciences, screenwriting and his author copies. October 16th: John's Library Pwns (00:00:42)
2015-01-09 cited Hank says James Joyce, Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer and the Arabian Nights all contain fart jokes. 14 Fart Facts for my Flatulent Friends (00:02:36)
Dave Eggers (author) 2007-01-08 credited John's first book-club suggestion: either What Is the What by Dave Eggers or We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch. Brotherhood 2.0: January 8, 2007 (00:02:34)
2012-11-13 cited John announces that Amazon.com named The Fault in Our Stars one of the ten best books of 2012 overall, not just for teenagers, right behind Dave Eggers and ahead of Junot Díaz. I Was a Child Poet. And a Bad One. (00:00:05)
David Roberts (journalist) 2021-08-13 recommended To go further Hank suggests the podcast Pricing Nature, David Roberts' newsletter Volts, and, for wonky science fiction, Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future. How We Fix the Climate (00:15:16)
2022-01-21 recommended Instead of getting mad, get curious: start with someone who deeply discusses a big problem, like the Prison Policy Initiative on incarceration, David Roberts' Volts on climate, or Fair Fight and Stacey Abrams on voting rights. How to Be Hopeful About Doomsday (00:02:53)
Donald Hall (poet) 2020-09-08 quoted John introduces The Third Thing, an essay the poet Donald Hall wrote after the death of his wife, the poet Jane Kenyon. That's the way. (00:00:29)
2025-04-22 quoted John cites a Donald Hall essay on third things in marriage: spouses don't just stare at each other but entwine their attention around third things like children, the New York Times crossword or poetry. The Unimportant Things (00:01:27)
Eugenia Price (author) 2014-02-25 credited John gives Chris a book he thinks he will enjoy, Beauty from Ashes by Eugenia Price, whom Chris hasn't heard of; John affirms it is a good book. John and Chris Meet in the Middle (00:03:01)
2015-12-01 joke John jokingly recommends Eugenia Price's Beauty From Ashes because it is where he stores his whiskey flask. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:01:14)
Federico García Lorca (poet) 2008-01-08 passing Asked whether Hank will write more songs, John passes the question to Hank. The Return of Question Tuesdays (00:00:36)
2008-10-08 passing To avoid using new paper, John cuts pages of the Paper Towns manuscript into quarters, including blank page 308, and writes on them. J Scribble Goes to Borders (00:00:48)
Frances Dunlop (letter-writer) 2019-11-12 subject John says the first record of the song is on the back of a letter Burns wrote in 1788 to Frances Dunlop. still learning (00:00:29)
2020-12-31 passing The current song is owed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who in December 1788 wrote its first known draft on the back of a letter to his friend Frances Dunlop. Auld Lang Syne: The Anthropocene Reviewed (00:03:03)
Francesca Lia Block (author) 2007-04-30 takes part As a surprise, Francesca Lia Block greets Hank and a viewer; John calls her the author of Weetzie Bat, a book he and Hank both like. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:00:32)
2007-05-01 passing Hank is excited that Coe Booth thinks he's hot and says hi back to Francesca Lia Block and everyone who greeted him in John's last video. May 1st: Neil Gaiman in Helena (00:02:58)
Franz Kafka (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
2014-02-18 credited John recommends E. Lockhart's Fly on the Wall, a brilliant feminist reworking of Kafka's Metamorphosis. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:01:28)
François Rabelais (author) 2010-10-08 passing John reads the book's Rabelais entry, which says Rabelais' last words became more widely discussed after their use in his Printz Award-winning Looking for Alaska. GEEKING OUT Over Dying Declarations (00:00:26)
2015-01-13 quoted John says the endpapers carry 'I go to seek a great perhaps', François Rabelais's last words, and 'How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?', Simón Bolívar's last words. On Writing, Looking for Alaska Turning 10, and Winning the Project for Awesome (00:01:48)
Friedrich Nietzsche (philosopher) 2008-03-04 passing John's quick picks: Kant over Nietzsche, the Beatles over the Rolling Stones, cookie dough over cake batter, Vader over Voldemort, a blue shirt. SETTING THE QUESTION TUESDAY WORLD RECORD (00:01:56)
2008-05-06 cited John coins 'Hankian' for his excited, busy state: like 'Nietzschean', but less frighteningly nihilistic. Hank Would Think This Is Awesome: The Project (00:00:00)
Fyodor Dostoevsky (novelist) 2008-01-21 passing John says his video is like Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov in one way only: it comes in four parts. A Short History of the PUPPY SIZED ELEPHANT (00:00:00)
2016-11-15 cited At 15 John wrote a sincere, terrible English paper arguing there could never be another great work of fiction since Dostoevsky was dead; months later Song of Solomon and Angels in America made him retract it. Good News/Bad News: A Pizzamas Video in Nine Slices (00:02:17)
Geoffrey Chaucer (poet) 2015-01-09 cited Hank says James Joyce, Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer and the Arabian Nights all contain fart jokes. 14 Fart Facts for my Flatulent Friends (00:02:36)
2020-09-15 cited John says Chaucer wrote a version two centuries before Shakespeare, and Aesop made a similar observation 2,600 years ago. All That Glitters Is Gold (00:00:29)
George Bernard Shaw (playwright) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
2021-10-19 cited John says George Bernard Shaw had a cat called Pygmalion. Cat Names: The Authoritative Guide (00:02:04)
George Orwell (author) 2008-01-30 credited John tells those who say teens lack critical sophistication to stop condescending: readers of Animal Farm or Huck Finn don't take them literally (Godot, he jokes, doesn't help). I Am Not A Pornographer (00:02:36)
2010-01-29 passing Hank says Apple's 1984 ad channelled Orwell's 1984 to cast IBM as Big Brother, which he finds senseless in hindsight, yet it raised the bar for Super Bowl ads. An Extremely Brief History of Superbowl Commercials (00:00:36)
Gertrude Stein (writer) 2020-12-01 quoted Citing Gertrude Stein, John says merely masterful, impressively realistic art excites people a little but does not really thrill them. The Utah Monolith, What It Means, Why It Matters, and Whether It's Aliens (00:01:55)
2026-09-25 cited A 1930s New Yorker piece on a Gertrude Stein signing described fans writing their names on slips, since people facing an author get timid. Who Has Signed Their Name the Most Times? (00:07:18)
Hendrik Hertzberg (writer) 2008-08-06 personal story John says he proposed to the Yeti by having Hendrik Hertzberg, a writer she likes whom he met at a conference, sign a book to Sarah asking "Will you marry John Green?". Question Tuesday Returns (on a Wednesday) (00:02:09)
2009-06-30 personal story John recalls that he did not ask the Yeti to marry him himself: he had Hendrik Hertzberg do it when signing John's copy of his book Politics. Nerdfighter MARRIAGE PROPOSAL (00:00:39)
Immanuel Kant (philosopher) 2007-02-15 cited Voicing the popular side as George W. Bush and Tom Brady, John answers poker-style with famous nerds, from Bill Clinton and Lincoln to all four Beatles, and declares 'We win!' Brotherhood 2.0: February 17, 2007 (00:01:39)
2008-03-04 passing John's quick picks: Kant over Nietzsche, the Beatles over the Rolling Stones, cookie dough over cake batter, Vader over Voldemort, a blue shirt. SETTING THE QUESTION TUESDAY WORLD RECORD (00:01:56)
Jeffrey Cranor (writer) 2015-10-30 personal story Hank says the Welcome to Night Vale creators' book just came out and debuted at number four on the NYT list, number four because Sparks, Rowling and Grisham had new books. Feeling Thankful in Portland (00:00:38)
2018-03-02 credited Hank loves the cover of It Devours by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, which recalls Watchmen in colour and bold comic-like font, and likes the current trend of radial designs. The Best (Recent) Book Covers Including MINE! (00:01:10)
Jeffrey Eugenides (author) 2011-04-01 joke John jokes that Jeffrey Eugenides' facial hair may or may not be a joke. Many Truths, 1 Lie! (00:00:54)
2012-06-12 personal story At a writers' lunch John met Jeffrey Eugenides, who with Michael Chabon made him want to be a writer in high school; he filmed him from behind for ten minutes before shaking his hand and embarrassing himself. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:58)
Joseph Fink (writer) 2015-10-30 personal story Hank says the Welcome to Night Vale creators' book just came out and debuted at number four on the NYT list, number four because Sparks, Rowling and Grisham had new books. Feeling Thankful in Portland (00:00:38)
2018-03-02 credited Hank loves the cover of It Devours by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, which recalls Watchmen in colour and bold comic-like font, and likes the current trend of radial designs. The Best (Recent) Book Covers Including MINE! (00:01:10)
Judy Kaufmann (illustrator) 2016-11-07 credited Hank thanks this year's (2016) Pizzamas designers: Tekst, Ming Doyle, Judy Kaufmann, Rude, Julia Pott, Sara Cervantes, Duncan Gasiewicz and Rachel Calderon Navarro, each with their Pizza John design. It's Pizzamas!!! (Thoughts From the Place Where they Print Our Shirts) (00:00:00)
2016-11-10 credited Rachel lists this year's (2016) designers: Judy Kaufmann, Sara Cervantes, Julia Pott, Rachel herself, TEKST (Big John Pizzeria), Ming Doyle (an indigo design) and the design duo Rude. The Museum of Pizza Johns Past (00:01:56)
Junot Díaz (author) 2012-11-13 cited John announces that Amazon.com named The Fault in Our Stars one of the ten best books of 2012 overall, not just for teenagers, right behind Dave Eggers and ahead of Junot Díaz. I Was a Child Poet. And a Bad One. (00:00:05)
2012-12-04 passing John says Time Magazine has just named The Fault in Our Stars first on its list of the top ten novels of 2012, ahead of Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz and J.K. Rowling, and he is overwhelmed. Time for AWESOME (00:00:00)
Katie Couric (journalist) 2015-07-17 cited Hank notes, as a sign of mainstreaming, that at VidCon this year (2015) Katie Couric is interviewing Ze Frank. Is YouTube Good for Humanity? (00:02:39)
2015-11-06 takes part In the montage Franchesca Ramsey says she was not seeing people like her represented in television. Announcing VidCon 2016! June 23 - 25 (and Pizzamas 2015!) (00:00:21)
Katrina Vandenberg (poet) 2008-10-14 credited Paper Towns opens with two epigraphs, one from a poem written by a nerdfighter, Katrina Vandenberg. Paper Towns Reading (00:00:56)
2011-04-20 quoted John first heard of tulip mania in Atlas by Katrina Vandenberg, a brilliant book of poems that has shaped his thinking while writing the new book. Tulipomania (00:01:40)
Ken Jennings (game-show champion, writer) 2013-06-18 cited Grace's media markers: NPR as a car preset, a specific favorite Simpsons episode, finding the new Arrested Development season more nostalgic than groundbreaking, reblogging the New Yorker, Wes Anderson, Ira Glass, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ken Jennings on Twitter, Alanis Morissette's misuse of 'ironic'. 50 Ways to Pretend to Be Smarter (00:03:15)
2026-02-27 cited The description wonders how many names Ken Jennings knows and says Hank feels he could definitely get him to take the test. Can We Do a Science Together?? (00:00:00)
Laura Miller (critic) 2017-10-17 recommended The description links Laura Miller's review in Slate and Constance Grady's in Vox, which calls the book 'an existential teenage scream'. Look at Tiny Baby Hank (00:00:00)
2026-09-22 cited Laura Miller of Slate, John's all-time favorite book reviewer, called the book hilariously frank and profane in an exceptionally generous review. I Want You to Know Nothing About This (00:00:32)
Lauren McLaughlin (author) 2007-04-04 takes part John says he writes a lot with his friends Maureen Johnson and Scott Westerfeld; today they were joined by Justine Larbalestier and Lauren McLaughlin. Brotherhood 2.0: April 2: A Day in the Writer's Life (00:00:11)
2009-09-13 subject, recommended John relays his friend Lauren McLaughlin's blog argument that sports is an attempt to remove ambiguity from the human condition. Sex, Sports, and Caster Semenya (00:01:10)
Mark Bazer (writer / host) 2008-02-08 passing John says he will perform that night (21 and over) at the Hideout in Chicago with his friend Mark Bazer (name as heard). QUESTION TUESDAYS (On Friday) (00:00:00)
2009-02-01 passing John tells over-21 Nerdfighters near Chicago he will be part of Mark Bazer's live talk show at the Hideout on Friday, February 6 at 6:30; it costs five dollars. Super Bowl Analysis from an Idiot (00:00:00)
Mark Slouka (author) 2008-04-21 credited John, who owns many books on conjoined twins, recommends One of Us by Alice Dreger (nonfiction) and God's Fool by Mark Slouka (fiction). Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:01:22)
2011-01-12 credited John has a zit so big that his camcorder mistakes it for a face; it has set him thinking about conjoined twins. Top Six Conjoined Twin Pairs in History (00:00:00)
Maurice Sendak (author and illustrator) 2013-01-15 quoted John thanks the audience: this collaboration has been the great joy of his professional life and helped him, in Maurice Sendak's phrase, to fall in love with the world. An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall (01:00:55)
2021-05-25 quoted At the end of his life Maurice Sendak said on NPR's Fresh Air that he cries a lot because he misses people who die, and that as he ages he is finding he is in love with the world. The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated (00:13:45)
Melissa Anelli (author) 2010-02-12 credited The description credits Melissa Anelli, author of Harry, A History, with help on the search story through an entertaining Skype brainstorm. Google Search Stories: Harry Potter (00:00:00)
2012-11-27 credited For Harry Potter fans, John says to reread the books, which stand up to rereading, and recommends Lev Grossman's Magicians series and Melissa Anelli's Harry, A History about the fandom. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:01:27)
Michael Crichton (writer) 2008-12-17 criticized Hank's example: a teacher buying 30 copies of Jurassic Park to excite kids about genetics; some would call Crichton an idiot, others a good idea; donors decide. Project for Awesome: DonorsChoose.org (00:02:17)
2014-04-01 credited John says the velociraptor wasn't famous until Michael Crichton's 1990 novel Jurassic Park and Spielberg's film, which show smart, people-sized, scaly pack hunters dug up in Montana. VELOCIRAPTORS (00:00:11)
Michel Foucault (philosopher) 2010-04-21 subject John says Hank blew his mind on Monday with the size-of-the-universe video, and claims he will now blow Hank's mind with post-structuralism and Foucault's 'insurrection of subjugated knowledges'. The Insurrection of Subjugated Knowledges (00:00:00)
2010-08-11 cited John's examples of that freedom: reading and discussing Foucault with very smart people, or skipping a biology test to drive to the Grand Canyon; don't let it pass you by. College Advice From an Expert (00:03:41)
Nicole Sealey (poet) 2017-10-03 passing Instead of summarising, John recommends three poetry books by quoting a line from each: Nicole Sealey's Ordinary Beasts, Kaveh Akbar's Calling a Wolf a Wolf and Clint Smith's Counting Descent. Let's Talk about Books (00:01:36)
2020-04-14 credited John says he really needs poetry now, like Nicole Sealey's beautiful Ordinary Beast, and quotes its line about a name for the animal love makes of us. books that help (00:02:50)
Nnedi Okorafor (writer) 2016-12-06 credited John recommends Nnedi Okorafor's Binti, about a girl who travels across the galaxy to attend university: page-turny, exciting and ultimately really moving. Exactly Like the Human Sternum (00:02:13)
2017-10-03 passing John looks forward to unread books out this month (October 2017), Okorafor's Akata Warrior, Lockhart's Genuine Fraud and Stiefvater's All the Crooked Saints, so his tour reading is sorted. Let's Talk about Books (00:02:56)
Patrick Ness (author) 2015-09-08 recommended Among the places to give, John lists the UNHCR and a Save the Children fundraiser created by author Patrick Ness. Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, and around the World (00:00:00)
2016-03-29 credited John says he is very excited for the new Doctor Who spin-off series written by his friend Patrick Ness. My New Book, Marriage Advice, and Hamilton: 50 Snapchat Questions Answered! (00:02:29)
Paul Claudel (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes that John Adams's last words, that Thomas Jefferson still survived, were untrue: Jefferson had died earlier that same day, July 4, 1826. Famous Last Words (00:00:25)
2019-09-03 cited Asked about his last words, John says you have to get lucky: Paul Claudel could not have planned 'Doctor, do you think it was the sausage?', yet they were perfect last words. Death, Love, and John's Religion: The Big Questions Take Over Question Tuesday (00:02:55)
Peter De Vries (author) 2012-10-16 credited As the best book you've never heard of, John recommends Peter De Vries's The Blood of the Lamb, which inspired large parts of An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten. Burning Peeps, My OTP, and Velociraptors: It's Question Tuesday (00:01:31)
2012-11-27 credited For readers who liked his The Fault in Our Stars, John thanks them and recommends Peter De Vries's The Blood of the Lamb. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:58)
Rainbow Rowell (author) 2014-04-15 personal story John met Rainbow Rowell, then went to USC for the LA Times book festival, where his editor Julie Strauss-Gabel talked with 15-year-old Maya Van Wagenen, author of the memoir Popular. Walking the Red Carpet: Thoughts from Los Angeles (00:00:17)
2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
Reza Aslan (author) 2008-04-21 credited John's favorite reference book about Islam is No God But God by Reza Aslan. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:00:53)
2015-12-01 credited For understanding Islamic history and contemporary Islamic thought, John recommends Reza Aslan's No god but God, his favorite of the dozens of introductions he has read and reviewed. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:02:20)
Robert Burns (poet) 2019-11-12 subject John read up on Auld Lang Syne: parts of the song are at least 400 years old, but today's version comes from the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who claimed he got it from an old man. still learning (00:00:00)
2020-12-31 subject The current song is owed to the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who in December 1788 wrote its first known draft on the back of a letter to his friend Frances Dunlop. Auld Lang Syne: The Anthropocene Reviewed (00:03:03)
Sabaa Tahir (author) 2016-12-06 credited John's book list credits An Ember in the Ashes to Sabaa Tahir, Sapiens to Yuval Noah Harari and I Contain Multitudes to Ed Yong, and notes that The Raven King, the amazing last book of The Raven Cycle, just came out. Exactly Like the Human Sternum (00:00:00)
2022-11-22 credited John's favorite young adult novel of the year is probably All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir, her first standalone and first contemporary novel, which he calls beautiful. John's 2022 Gift Guide (00:00:57)
Sara Cervantes (illustrator) 2016-11-07 credited Hank thanks this year's (2016) Pizzamas designers: Tekst, Ming Doyle, Judy Kaufmann, Rude, Julia Pott, Sara Cervantes, Duncan Gasiewicz and Rachel Calderon Navarro, each with their Pizza John design. It's Pizzamas!!! (Thoughts From the Place Where they Print Our Shirts) (00:00:00)
2016-11-10 credited Rachel lists this year's (2016) designers: Judy Kaufmann, Sara Cervantes, Julia Pott, Rachel herself, TEKST (Big John Pizzeria), Ming Doyle (an indigo design) and the design duo Rude. The Museum of Pizza Johns Past (00:01:56)
Sara Zarr (author) 2007-10-18 passing John congratulates Nerdfighter Sara Zarr, whose first novel, Story of a Girl, is a finalist for the National Book Award. October 18: Live from Datyon: PARTY BLOWER SOLO (00:02:27)
2009-09-01 credited Hank jokes that John has enough books now not to mention his anthology appearances; so far Hank has read only John's story and says it is very good. I AM COMPUTER MAN!!! (00:01:35)
Sarah Dessen (author) 2011-03-09 joke John reports that Libba Bray just broke both of her elbows, and jokes that he is not surprised it was her rather than, say, Sarah Dessen. DANDY LIONS! It's Question Day (00:01:37)
2015-12-01 credited For a new generation of YA readers John recommends four books over ten years old: Valiant, Ball Don't Lie, The Truth About Forever and Speak, and likes bundling different kinds of books as gifts. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:03:05)
Siddhartha Mukherjee (author) 2012-11-27 credited John says he and the Yeti keep several thousand books in their house and even two-year-old Henry has a sizeable collection, so he feels qualified to recommend books. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:00)
2022-11-22 credited For nonfiction lovers John recommends Siddhartha Mukherjee's new The Song of the Cell: he didn't think he liked biology, but it turns out he loves it, and is biology. John's 2022 Gift Guide (00:00:29)
Stephen Chbosky (author) 2013-04-23 passing John says The Fault in Our Stars, fifteen months after publication, is back at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, passing Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, now No. 2. DOCTOR GREEN (00:02:22)
2020-09-15 quoted John says in these moments when we feel infinite (Stephen Chbosky's word) you can almost feel a memory being formed, and all that glitters really does feel like gold. All That Glitters Is Gold (00:02:55)
Suleika Jaouad (writer) 2024-03-15 credited Hank recommends Suleika Jaouad's Between Two Kingdoms as a beautiful, well-done discussion of this. The Worst Things About Not Having Cancer (00:06:20)
2026-08-18 passing John announces special guests on the Hollywood, Ending tour: Lily King in Portland, Maine, Sarah Urist Green in Birmingham, Clint Smith in DC, Suleika Jaouad in New York, Hank in San Diego, Sharon McMahon and Brandon Sanderson. My Nemeses (00:01:56)
Sylvia Plath (writer) 2020-08-11 credited The description and John's comment correct the show's name: Latif Nasser's Netflix show is called Connected, not Connections. never get bored (00:00:00)
2021-10-19 cited John says many writers named cats after their work: Sylvia Plath had a famous poem called Daddy and a cat called Daddy. Cat Names: The Authoritative Guide (00:02:04)
T Cooper (author) 2007-04-30 takes part John says many people wanted to say hi to Hank this weekend, so he let them: his editor and a number of authors greet Hank on camera. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:00:10)
2014-04-15 personal story John saw T Cooper, author of Changers, met Ansel Elgort and Sarah at a hotel, then went to the MTV Movie Awards with Nat Wolff and walked the red carpet. Walking the Red Carpet: Thoughts from Los Angeles (00:01:38)
Tahereh Mafi (novelist) 2016-09-27 personal story John's publisher Julie Strauss-Gabel dropped by before the screening, and Ransom and his wife, the novelist Tahereh Mafi, posed on the red carpet. Books, Movies, and Wonder: Thoughts from a Red Carpet (00:01:57)
2026-02-14 passing Every year John takes ten books from his own library, signs them and donates them as Project for Awesome perks. Project for Awesome 2026 part 4! (00:13:36)
Tennessee Williams (writer) 2009-07-22 subject Purported fact one, posed as one of two options: the playwright Tennessee Williams choked to death on a bottle cap. Truth or Fail with John! Famous Authors Edition (00:00:00)
2020-08-03 quoted John says he has felt more aware of time lately, that time is the longest distance between two places, as Tennessee Williams put it. you're bundled up now? wait till you get older. (00:00:11)
Tom Brokaw (journalist) 2008-10-07 subject John says the debate had a clear winner, moderator Tom Brokaw, who was funny, charming and showed an excellent grasp of the issues. John Green on the Debate (00:00:09)
2008-10-07 passing Hank says Tom Brokaw asked a question sent in over the internet by a 78-year-old woman. Hank on the Debate (00:00:29)
Tommy Orange (author) 2018-08-14 recommended John is geeking out about a novel by Tommy Orange, DoctorBenjyFM's YouTube series managing a fictional football team (never so invested in pixels), and the new season of the podcast In the Dark. Question Tuesday: Secrets & Primes (00:00:55)
2019-10-31 quoted Hank saw Tommy Orange, author of There There, at a University of Montana Q&A, where Orange called himself a duality: writer and revisionist are completely different jobs. Book News! (00:00:00)
Tony Hawks (comedian and writer) 2014-02-18 credited John recommends Tony Hawks's Round Ireland with a Fridge, about hitchhiking around Ireland with a refrigerator: one of the funniest things he has read. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:00:43)
2020-01-14 cited John's favorite foolish endeavor: Tony Hawks hitchhiked around Ireland with a refrigerator to win a bet, and the resulting book is as amazing as you would hope. Foolish · Beautiful (00:00:52)
V. E. Schwab (author) 2018-03-02 credited Hank praises V. E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic for thoughtful colour choice and a cover that feels full of institutional knowledge about the book. The Best (Recent) Book Covers Including MINE! (00:02:43)
2026-09-25 cited Hank is confident all the authors who have signed the most books ever are alive today, since mass signing is relatively new, and John is among them. Who Has Signed Their Name the Most Times? (00:07:47)
Veronica Roth (author) 2012-11-27 credited For Hunger Games fans John, a big fan of dystopias, recommends Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, Ally Condie's Matched series and Veronica Roth's Divergent series, which he calls infuriatingly unfinished. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:58)
2014-04-15 personal story John met his friend Veronica Roth, then fell asleep in the cab while trying to film himself fake-sleeping. Walking the Red Carpet: Thoughts from Los Angeles (00:01:12)
Walter Dean Myers (author) 2009-10-25 cited John says he looks up to young adult writers like Walter Dean Myers, E. Lockhart and Markus Zusak and wants respect from them. Fame: The Road Trip (00:03:05)
2023-11-28 credited As examples of kids' books worth reading, John points to Walter Dean Myers' book about the Haitian Revolution and a kids' book about tuberculosis. John's (Mostly Book) Holiday Gift Recommendations (00:01:57)
Willa Cather (author) 2014-02-18 credited John says Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop may be the most important novel about American religion and asks why it isn't required reading for every American high-school student. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:02:26)
2015-12-01 credited For readers who think they hate classics, John recommends Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop and Alice Walker's The Color Purple as captivating and moving despite being taught in schools. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:00:39)
Zora Neale Hurston (author) 2016-07-12 quoted John says the best literary observations are both beautiful and broadly true, citing Hurston's 'Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board' and Vonnegut's 'We are what we pretend to be'. Our Capacity for Wonder: A Review (00:01:37)
2020-06-02 recommended The description lists books and essays John found helpful on racism's centrality to American life, by Kendi, Anderson, Lorde, Coates, Morrison, Evans, Baldwin, McWhirter, Woodson, Hurston, Wilkerson and Washington. --- (00:00:00)
A. A. Milne (author) 2008-02-14 credited John thanks A. A. Milne, the people at Dutton who turned his books into easy readers, and whoever titled 'Pooh Gets Stuck'. The Puff Pwns Gravity (00:02:33)
A. S. King (author) 2012-11-27 credited For Looking for Alaska fans, John recommends E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks for the boarding-school parts, and A.S. King's Everybody Sees the Ants and Gayle Forman's If I Stay for the other parts. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:02:26)
Agatha Christie (author) 2007-02-22 cited When they run out of room, Hank and Katherine take books to the Book Exchange, which buys back books for what you paid in paperback credit; it has more shelf space and is far cheaper than Barnes & Noble. Brotherhood 2.0: February 22nd: Where Do Books Go? (00:02:19)
Alex Cuadros (journalist) 2016-03-18 credited Hank thanks diplomat Rafael Prince, journalist Alex Cuadros, whose book Brazillionaires is out in July, and the Brazilian Nerdfighter Facebook group for their help. Brazil's Government is Falling Apart...and it's Good News? (00:10:03)
Alexandre Dumas (author) 2007-02-22 cited Hank admits downloading books and reading them online; he doesn't feel bad because their authors, like Alexandre Dumas, aren't trying to make a living. Brotherhood 2.0: February 22nd: Where Do Books Go? (00:02:56)
Alfred Soto (writer, critic) 2016-06-14 credited The description recommends the LA Times' profiles of the victims and Alfred Soto's essay 'Only When I'm Dancing Can I Feel This Free'. Orlando (00:00:00)
Allen Ginsberg (poet) 2013-05-21 passing John says Ai lived in New York from 1981 to 1993, knew Allen Ginsberg, worked as a photojournalist, then returned to China and the Beijing East Village artist community. Poetry Makes Nothing Happen: Thoughts on Ai Weiwei from the Indianapolis Museum of Art (00:00:31)
Andrew Auseon (writer) 2009-07-26 credited John recounts that he and Maureen Johnson discovered in a coffee shop that adding 'in your pants' to book titles makes them funnier, and runs through examples. Volunteering (In Your Pants) (00:00:37)
Andrew Marvell (poet) 2008-04-21 credited John's favorite personification of death in literature is in Andrew Marvell's poem To His Coy Mistress. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:02:30)
Anne Sexton (poet) 2009-06-29 joke John says not everyone watching is awesome and reads comments posted on Vlogbrothers videos in the last week, replacing each curse word with a famous American poet's name. GAY is NOT an INSULT (00:00:22)
Art Spiegelman (author) 2008-02-21 credited Asked for his favourite graphic novel, John picks Maus by Art Spiegelman. People Who Love Giraffes Who Love Giraffes (00:01:07)
Arthur A. Levine (editor) 2007-08-06 passing John tells Hank that their cousin and her husband, author Lisa Yee, and Arthur Levine, who edited the Harry Potter books, just said hello to Hank. August 6th: JK Rowling and I Will ... Be Punished (00:00:00)
Arthur Schopenhauer (philosopher) 2017-09-05 quoted The novel's epigraph, from Arthur Schopenhauer: man can do what he wills, but cannot will what he wills. John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down (00:00:13)
Ashley Rhodes-Courter (author) 2008-03-04 credited John recommends Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson and Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter. SETTING THE QUESTION TUESDAY WORLD RECORD (00:01:56)
Barbara Duden (historian) 2023-02-07 quoted John recalls Barbara Duden writing that pain is inside the body, so it leaves no trace for the historian. Mid-Morning Existential Crisis: The Format Returns (00:01:32)
Ben Blacker (writer) 2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
Ben Rawlence (writer) 2017-10-03 passing City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence follows refugees in Dadaab camp over many years; a difficult book without easy answers, it shows that refugee stories are human stories. Let's Talk about Books (00:01:57)
Benjamin Alire Sáenz (writer) 2017-10-03 passing John recommends The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, whose books are always tender and generous to the reader; it might be his favourite of them. Let's Talk about Books (00:00:00)
Bernardine Evaristo (writer) 2020-08-11 credited The book club just read Bernardine Evaristo's novel Blonde Roots, which John calls brilliant. never get bored (00:02:34)
Blaise Pascal (mathematician and philosopher) 2007-02-15 cited Voicing the popular side as George W. Bush and Tom Brady, John answers poker-style with famous nerds, from Bill Clinton and Lincoln to all four Beatles, and declares 'We win!' Brotherhood 2.0: February 17, 2007 (00:01:39)
Brendan Behan (playwright) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes that John Adams's last words, that Thomas Jefferson still survived, were untrue: Jefferson had died earlier that same day, July 4, 1826. Famous Last Words (00:00:25)
Cal Newport (author) 2026-02-14 passing Hank says he did an interview with Cal Newport that will be on Hank's channel in the next couple of weeks. Project for Awesome 2026 part 4! (02:31:44)
Cam Robertson (journalist) 2007-06-08 credited John thanks New York Times reporter and high-school friend Cam Robertson for the illustrations and wants Cam to illustrate the Evil Baby Orphanage book, if and when it exists. Brotherhood 2.0: June 8: Studying the Clues (00:01:16)
Carl Sandburg (poet) 2010-10-04 quoted John quotes Carl Sandburg describing Chicago as laughing 'under the terrible burden of destiny', the phrase that titles the video. The Terrible Burden of Destiny: Chicago and Waupaca (00:00:20)
Chris Colfer (actor, author) 2012-06-12 subject John gave speeches, one alongside Lois Lowry, Kadir Nelson and Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer, whom he found extraordinarily nice, generous and quick-witted. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:58)
Christian Robinson (author) 2015-12-01 credited John's son's two favorite books this year (2015) were Last Stop on Market Street (Christian Robinson and Matt de la Peña) and Marla Frazee's Boot and Shoe. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:03:32)
Christoph Niemann (illustrator and artist) 2015-02-03 credited John's favorite Art Assignment video is Christoph Niemann's Emotional Furniture; he also enjoyed the Highlights video in which he made prints with Sarah. Beards, Birds, and the Paper Towns Release Date: Question Tuesday! (00:01:16)
Cindy Pon (author) 2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
Clay Shirky (writer) 2008-04-30 credited Citing a video he just watched, Hank says Wikipedia took about as much time to make as it takes 100 million Americans to watch the Super Bowl. BLOOD! I'm a KILLER! (00:02:49)
Colson Whitehead (novelist) 2016-12-06 credited John recommends Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, which just won the National Book Award: a haunting, brilliant novel about American slavery imagining the Underground Railroad as an actual railroad. Exactly Like the Human Sternum (00:01:27)
Connie Willis (author) 2012-11-27 credited For Whovians, John recommends Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog, maybe his favorite time-travel book. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:02:26)
Constance Grady (critic) 2017-10-17 recommended The description links Laura Miller's review in Slate and Constance Grady's in Vox, which calls the book 'an existential teenage scream'. Look at Tiny Baby Hank (00:00:00)
Cynthia Lord (author) 2007-06-27 passing John has footage of Nerdfighter Cynthia Lord winning the Newbery Honor for her book Rules, and of the Printz Award reception on Monday night. June 26: The American Library Association Parties (00:01:10)
Dan Brown (novelist) (novelist) 2010-08-13 passing Hank explains Dan Brown is not the Da Vinci Code author but a video blogger with a style and values similar to the brothers', a kindred spirit. The Marvelous Mystery of The Dan (00:01:30)
Dan Rather (journalist) 2008-10-07 joke John jokes about Dan Rather still being alive and working on HDNet, saying he would rather be in a home. John Green on the Debate (00:00:15)
Dana Reinhardt (author) 2007-04-30 takes part John says many people wanted to say hi to Hank this weekend, so he let them: his editor and a number of authors greet Hank on camera. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:00:10)
Daniel Leon-Davis (writer) 2016-06-14 credited The description also recommends Daniel Leon-Davis's Fusion piece on Pulse, an NPR story on what queer Latinos are saying about the shooting, Richard Kim's 'Please Don't Stop the Music', and the Orlando Sentinel's coverage of the victims, what happened, reactions and vigils. Orlando (00:00:00)
Darin Strauss (author) 2012-06-12 personal story John says Darin Strauss wrote Chang and Eng, the book that introduced him to conjoined-twins literature. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:01:56)
David Adam (writer) 2017-10-03 passing John loved David Adam's The Man Who Couldn't Stop, a good starting place for Turtles readers who want to learn more about OCD. Let's Talk about Books (00:02:27)
Derek Knabenbauer (editor) 2016-08-05 credited Hank credits the project's team: Taylor Behnke Peters (writing and research), Derek Knabenbauer (editing), Nicole Sweeney (graphics), Nick Jenkins (director), and Spanish translators Liza Platae, Rafael Arévalo, Amber J Holder and John Flores. Our Massive Project: How to Vote in Every State (00:00:00)
Devin DeWeese (historian) 2007-02-23 credited John finds it very hard to get rid of books or limit how many he owns, even ones he will never reread, such as Devin DeWeese's 638-page monograph on Islamization in the Golden Horde. Brotherhood 2.0: February 23, 2007: Books (00:00:57)
Diana Peterfreund (author) 2010-06-25 passing John gets to meet authors he likes: Nina LaCour, the authors of Beautiful Creatures, Lauren Oliver, Maryrose Wood and Diana Peterfreund. Book Nerd PARADISE (00:00:00)
Donna Seaman (critic) 2026-09-22 cited Donna Seaman, another of John's all-time favorite reviewers, called the book spellbinding, tender, funny and compassionate. I Want You to Know Nothing About This (00:00:32)
Doris Lessing (writer) 2021-10-19 cited John says writers can inspire names: Ursula K. Le Guin had a cat called Mother Courage, and Doris Lessing one called El Magnifico, both top drawer. Cat Names: The Authoritative Guide (00:02:33)
Douglas Adams (author) 2018-04-27 cited Hank recommends Space Opera by Catherynne Valente: finally someone with the chops and guts to understand Douglas Adams's genius and maybe move beyond it; a book about glam rock in space. Finding Respite in 2018 (00:02:01)
Dylan Marron (writer-performer) 2016-07-29 passing Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) (00:03:23)
Dylan Thomas (poet) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes that John Adams's last words, that Thomas Jefferson still survived, were untrue: Jefferson had died earlier that same day, July 4, 1826. Famous Last Words (00:00:25)
Edward Thomas (poet) 2015-09-01 subject Frost was inspired by many walks with his friend the English poet Edward Thomas, an obsessive, indecisive man who could never choose at a fork in the road. The Road Less Traveled By (00:00:43)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (poet) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes that John Adams's last words, that Thomas Jefferson still survived, were untrue: Jefferson had died earlier that same day, July 4, 1826. Famous Last Words (00:00:25)
Emily Brontë (novelist) 2020-03-20 passing Susie Dent replied that she had been wondering about it for days and kept returning to 'wuthering', a rushing or raging you are powerless to stop, which Emily Brontë described as an atmospheric tumult. The Sudden Obliteration of Expectation (00:03:51)
Emily Gould (writer/editor) 2007-04-18 takes part John identifies the opening clip as Emily Gould, co-editor of 'the world-famous website Gawker.com'. Brotherhood 2.0: April 18th: Prom and Consequences (00:00:11)
Emily Nussbaum (TV critic) 2015-10-27 quoted John says viewers are affected by advertising even if they think not, quoting Emily Nussbaum's essay; corporations know more about his consumptive habits than he does, as studies show. Understanding YouTube Red: Paid Subscriptions and the Future of Online Video (00:00:49)
Eric Carle (author) 2009-11-15 credited John recalls thinking Gus Is a Bug the greatest accomplishment in literature, judging Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar good but no Gus Is a Bug. Gus Is A Bug (00:00:41)
Erin Kubo (illustrator) 2020-12-04 credited Hank shares a book by Erin Kubo that he saw as a Twitter thread twelve months ago and loved so much he turned it into a video: a reading of The Christmas Creature. The Christmas Creature (00:00:03)
Ernest Hemingway (author) 2007-01-16 passing John says editing it made him realise he is 'such a loser', and he won't show his even more embarrassing Hemingway vs. Faulkner battle. Brotherhood 2.0: January 16, 2007 (00:02:37)
Eugene O'Neill (playwright) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes that John Adams's last words, that Thomas Jefferson still survived, were untrue: Jefferson had died earlier that same day, July 4, 1826. Famous Last Words (00:00:25)
famous author at the 1987 Florida Young Writers Conference (author) 2020-10-20 personal story John recalls winning a writing contest at nine to attend the 1987 Florida Young Writers Conference, where a famous author he loved refused his worn paperbacks, signing only new hardcovers he couldn't afford; he felt horrible. How to Sign Your Name 150,000 Times (00:01:54)
Farhad Manjoo (journalist) 2016-10-25 cited John says Bush did not steal the Bush–Kerry election in Ohio, pointing to Farhad Manjoo's complete analysis of the vote-rigging claims. Will the U.S. Presidential Election Be Rigged? (00:00:00)
Frank Rich (critic) 2017-06-23 quoted Teddy & Alice (1987) fictionalises Teddy Roosevelt and his daughter Alice; Frank Rich of the New York Times compared it to a high-school halftime show, and Hank gives it zero teddy bears. Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages (00:03:31)
Gabrielle Zevin (author) 2022-11-22 credited For lovers of video games or great novels John recommends Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow; he has given it to a dozen people and all fell in love with it. John's 2022 Gift Guide (00:00:57)
Gary Paulsen (author) 2016-02-26 credited The book John has reread most is probably Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, counting his childhood. Things You Don't Know About Us (REUNION!) (00:03:04)
Gayle Forman (author) 2012-11-27 credited For Looking for Alaska fans, John recommends E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks for the boarding-school parts, and A.S. King's Everybody Sees the Ants and Gayle Forman's If I Stay for the other parts. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:02:26)
Gene Demby (journalist) 2019-08-16 recommended Hank links something Gene Demby wrote that helped him think more correctly about this and says it better than he could. ...Not My Proudest Moment (00:02:51)
Gene Luen Yang (author) 2007-06-27 passing John praises all the Printz speeches: Markus Zusak, Tobin (M. T.) Anderson, Gene Yang and Sonya Hartnett were wonderful. June 26: The American Library Association Parties (00:02:27)
Gene Wolfe (author) 2013-01-15 quoted Neil Gaiman recalls Gene Wolfe telling him, after he finished American Gods and thought he had figured out novels, that you only figure out how to write the novel you're on. An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall (01:54:46)
Greg Mortenson (author) 2011-04-25 subject, passing John reports that Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, is in the news over accusations of fabricating part of his memoir and running his charity inefficiently. Meeting Greg Mortenson (00:00:07)
Greg Silver (poet) 2026-02-14 personal story John says his friend Greg Silver, father-in-law of his friend Craig, died a couple of days ago; a poet, he sent John his poems and talked with him about the news. Project for Awesome 2026 part 3! (01:12:51)
Günter Grass (novelist) 2007-02-07 joke The list of pant-poopers: his mom, dad and brother John, Kirsten Dunst while filming Spider-Man 2, Liverpool Football Club, Günter Grass, Stephen Dedalus, Al Roker and Lenin. Brotherhood 2.0: February 7, 2007 (00:01:12)
Hafez (poet) 2015-08-04 recommended Asked for a relatively unknown poet he loves, John names the Persian poet Hafiz, who he feels is not as well known here as he should be. Question Tuesday: Wookiee Gunships, Sneezing Cessation, and Pizza (00:01:01)
Hanya Yanagihara (author) 2015-12-01 recommended For literary-fiction readers John recommends Hanya Yanagihara: her strange first novel is excellent, but A Little Life is better, and sadder than The Fault in Our Stars. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:01:20)
Helen Keller (author and activist (historical)) 2009-02-04 joke 51 Jokes (in Four Minutes) (00:03:15)
Helen Oyeyemi (novelist) 2016-12-06 credited John recommends Helen Oyeyemi's What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, a transfixing book of fairy-tale-like short stories unlike anything readers have read. Exactly Like the Human Sternum (00:01:54)
Henning Mankell (novelist) 2015-10-06 subject John calls Henning Mankell, who died yesterday, a great Swedish crime novelist he admired for his stories and for making a lot of money and giving almost all of it away. Question Tuesday: My Social Media Hiatus, My Excellent German, and Books! (00:01:42)
Henrik Ibsen (playwright) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes that John Adams's last words, that Thomas Jefferson still survived, were untrue: Jefferson had died earlier that same day, July 4, 1826. Famous Last Words (00:00:25)
Holly Tucker (author) 2017-10-03 passing John credits the authors of two nonfiction books he recommends: City of Light, City of Poison by Holly Tucker and The Water Will Come by Jeff Goddell. Let's Talk about Books (00:00:00)
Hypatia (ancient philosopher) 2015-07-07 cited Greece used the drachma until 2001; on independence in 1832 it brought the drachma back, and in 2001 it joined the Eurozone and adopted the euro. Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece (00:00:35)
Isabel Allende (writer) 2019-04-23 credited Life's Library has slots open for its new book, Isabel Allende's House of the Spirits; sign up at lifeslibrarybookclub.com, with all proceeds going to Partners In Health's work in Sierra Leone. untitled (00:02:26)
J. M. Barrie (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
J. M. Miro (author) 2026-02-14 credited Hank is enjoying J.M. Miro's creepy series with Ordinary Monsters, set in industrial London, which he likens to X-Men but horror. Project for Awesome 2026 part 4! (05:36:41)
Jacques Derrida (philosopher) 2009-01-03 joke Asked whether he is Kurt Vonnegut, John says he wishes he were. Giraffe Love and Other Questions ANSWERED (00:01:47)
Jad Abumrad (journalist) 2026-08-26 takes part A few months ago Hank interviewed Jad Abumrad, known from Radiolab, for Humans, to ask how he made his Dolly Parton series and about Dolly Parton herself. Jad Abumrad on Dolly Parton: 'The Unicorn of Unicorns' (00:00:00)
James Patterson (novelist) 2008-10-28 joke John says he is considering doing 'national finish-your-revision-of-your-book month' in November and will try to. The Unzipped Zipper (Of Your Pants) (00:00:56)
Jane Kenyon (poet) 2020-09-08 passing John introduces The Third Thing, an essay the poet Donald Hall wrote after the death of his wife, the poet Jane Kenyon. That's the way. (00:00:29)
Jane Wong (poet) 2020-03-17 recommended John has found YouTube videos helpful, such as Grant at 3Blue1Brown explaining exponential growth and Jane Wong reading a poem on Ours Poetica. together. (00:02:55)
Jason Reynolds (author) 2015-12-01 credited Admitting he read little YA this year (2015), John recommends Emma Mills's (elmify) First and Then and Jason Reynolds's The Boy in the Black Suit. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:02:52)
Jason Rosenthal (author) 2020-04-28 credited John recommends Amy's husband Jason's new memoir about their marriage, Amy's illness and his life afterwards, My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me: wonderful, highly recommended. get your game on (00:03:53)
Jeff Goddell (author) 2017-10-03 passing John credits the authors of two nonfiction books he recommends: City of Light, City of Poison by Holly Tucker and The Water Will Come by Jeff Goddell. Let's Talk about Books (00:00:00)
Jeff Jarvis (writer) 2024-11-22 credited Hank says the video is heavily inspired and informed by Jeff Jarvis' The Gutenberg Parenthesis, which he suggests to anyone, and draws a lot on the book Wrong and on Renee DiResta's Invisible Rulers. Populism, Media Revolutions, and Our Terrible Moment (00:32:40)
Jennifer E. Smith (author) 2012-02-14 credited John recommends The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by longtime Nerdfighter Jennifer Smith: beautifully written, super romantic and extremely thoughtful. Things I Can Do (00:00:29)
Jennifer Senior (journalist) 2017-10-17 recommended John adds that Jennifer Senior's review of the book in the New York Times was very kind. Look at Tiny Baby Hank (00:00:00)
Jeremy N. Smith (writer) 2012-11-05 credited The description thanks Jeremy Smith for helping coax the story out of Hank's memory and give it structure. Spicy Summer Camp Story (00:00:00)
Jeri Taylor (screenwriter) 2017-09-29 passing Michael Piller was TNG's showrunner from the third season to the end, sharing the job with Jeri Taylor in the last years, writing episodes and managing the writing room. What's This Video About? (00:01:24)
Jodi Picoult (novelist) 2011-12-05 credited John notes the book's back cover carries quotes from Markus Zusak, Jodi Picoult and E. Lockhart; Zusak calls it John Green at his best. 5 Worst Typos of History (00:00:12)
John Barnes (author) 2013-10-25 credited For a book, Hank recommends Neil Gaiman's quick, beautiful The Ocean at the End of the Lane and John Barnes's Losers in Space, an excellent introduction to hard science fiction. When Was it a Million Seconds Ago? (00:03:30)
John Grisham (novelist) 2015-10-30 passing Hank says the Welcome to Night Vale creators' book just came out and debuted at number four on the NYT list, number four because Sparks, Rowling and Grisham had new books. Feeling Thankful in Portland (00:00:38)
John Steinbeck (novelist) 2008-05-20 credited Asked how In Dubious Battle relates to teenagers, John rejects the idea that readers must identify with characters to enjoy a book; it is about group psychology and the machine and its cogs. Guys Love Giraffe Love (00:00:00)
Jonathan Rendall (writer) 2014-02-18 credited John recommends Jonathan Rendall's This Bloody Mary Is the Last Thing I Own: the best book title ever and his favourite boxing book. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:00:23)
Jordan Sonnenblick (author) 2009-03-22 personal story John has just come home from a week touring Holland with two other American authors, Jordan Sonnenblick and Steve Kluger, and says it was fun. John Loves Amsterdam (00:00:39)
Joseph Campbell (mythologist, writer) 2015-12-22 subject John introduces Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a famous book about shared mythologies across cultures and historical eras. The Myth Reawakens (00:00:31)
2015-12-22 quoted Campbell, quoted by John: a hero ventures from the everyday world into supernatural wonder, meets fabulous forces and wins a decisive victory. The Myth Reawakens (00:00:45)
Joseph Heller (writer) 2021-11-02 quoted John tells the story of Vonnegut noting at a billionaire's party that the host earns more in a day than Heller made from Catch-22, and Heller replying he has what the host never will: enough. enough (00:00:00)
Joshua Braff (novelist) 2014-02-18 credited John recommends The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff, Zach Braff's brother: a great coming-of-age novel, worth it for the bar mitzvah thank-you notes. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:01:00)
Julia Child (American chef and author) 2012-10-02 cited John says Julia Child, besides being an extraordinary chef, was a spy for the United States. What To Do With Your Life (00:02:26)
Julian Rubinstein (author) 2012-11-27 credited For fans of his fictional Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers, John recommends The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber, the true story of a Hungarian hockey goalie who robbed banks and escaped prison. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:00:29)
Kadir Nelson (author-illustrator) 2012-06-12 personal story John gave speeches, one alongside Lois Lowry, Kadir Nelson and Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer, whom he found extraordinarily nice, generous and quick-witted. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:58)
Kiese Laymon (writer) 2014-12-30 recommended John recommends non-video voices on race: Roxane Gay's work in Slate and The Butter, a New York Times story on recent black graduates, Chris Rock's interview, Ashley Ford's commentary and Kiese Laymon's writing. Racism in the United States: By the Numbers (00:00:00)
Langston Hughes (poet) 2008-04-21 passing Asked for favorite poets besides Walt Whitman, John recites unattributed lines from several poems, then can't find his Langston Hughes book in his cataloged home library. Belated Book-tacular Questions (00:03:00)
Lauren Oliver (author) 2010-06-25 passing John gets to meet authors he likes: Nina LaCour, the authors of Beautiful Creatures, Lauren Oliver, Maryrose Wood and Diana Peterfreund. Book Nerd PARADISE (00:00:00)
Laurie Halse Anderson (author) 2015-12-01 credited For a new generation of YA readers John recommends four books over ten years old: Valiant, Ball Don't Lie, The Truth About Forever and Speak, and likes bundling different kinds of books as gifts. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:03:05)
Leo Tolstoy (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
Lewis Carroll (author) 2010-03-10 passing Asked how a raven is like a writing desk, John says Lewis Carroll intended the riddle to have no answer, then offers that Edgar Allan Poe wrote on both. New Tour! New Book! (Remember Books?) Your Q's A'ed! (00:01:36)
Linda Civitello (author) 2018-02-06 credited The description names Linda Civitello's Cuisine and Culture and Reay Tannahill's Food in History as the books that most inspired the video, plus a short Ultimate History Project essay on bread. Sawdust Bread (00:00:00)
Lisa Yee (author) 2007-08-06 passing John tells Hank that their cousin and her husband, author Lisa Yee, and Arthur Levine, who edited the Harry Potter books, just said hello to Hank. August 6th: JK Rowling and I Will ... Be Punished (00:00:00)
Lois Lowry (author) 2012-06-12 personal story John gave speeches, one alongside Lois Lowry, Kadir Nelson and Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer, whom he found extraordinarily nice, generous and quick-witted. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:58)
Lope de Vega (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
Lord Byron (poet) 2011-06-10 joke Then I Took Off My Bra (00:01:15)
Louise Glück (author) 2015-12-01 credited For poetry John recommends Mary Oliver's A Thousand Mornings and Louise Glück's Faithful and Virtuous Night (unsure how to say her name): precise, profound, never pretentious. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:02:38)
Maggie Nelson (writer) 2021-10-22 quoted Hank says Maggie Nelson, on The Ezra Klein Show a couple of weeks ago, said people now have a deep hunger for a tool with no blood on it: the truest thing he has heard said so beautifully. A Tool with No Blood on It (00:02:26)
Malcolm Gladwell (author) 2017-02-28 quoted John cites Malcolm Gladwell's famous claim that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become expert at something. You Are Here (00:01:01)
Mara Wilson (actor and writer) 2015-08-21 passing Hank lists other NerdCon: Stories guests: Holly Black, Mara Wilson, M.T. Anderson, the Welcome to Night Vale folks, Nalo Hopkinson, Jacqueline Woodson, Rainbow Rowell, John Scalzi, Stephanie Perkins, Pat Rothfuss, Hank and John. Book Towers for Miles (00:02:51)
Margaret Atwood (novelist) 2023-05-09 quoted John cites Margaret Atwood's line that very little in history is inevitable, and says he believes it. on hope (00:02:28)
Margo Lanagan (author) 2007-01-26 recommended On science fiction, John says he really likes Kurt Vonnegut and is a big fan of Margo Lanagan's short stories. Brotherhood 2.0: January 26, 2007 (00:01:16)
Marilynne Robinson (author) 2015-12-01 credited John recommends Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, both an excellent novel and a religious one, a combination he finds very rare. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:01:38)
Marla Frazee (author) 2015-12-01 credited John's son's two favorite books this year (2015) were Last Stop on Market Street (Christian Robinson and Matt de la Peña) and Marla Frazee's Boot and Shoe. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:03:32)
Marlon James (author) 2015-12-01 credited John recommends Marlon James's A Brief History of Seven Killings, an oral-history-format novel revolving around the 1976 shooting of Bob Marley in Jamaica. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:01:46)
Mary Beard (author) 2015-12-01 credited For history John recommends Mary Beard's recent SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:02:31)
Mary Beth Constant (copy-editor) 2020-01-10 credited Last time Hank's copy editor was Mary Beth Constant, the valedictorian of his high school class, maybe the weirdest coincidence of his life; he hopes to get her again. The Thing I would Like to End (00:01:58)
Mary Shelley (author) 2014-08-22 credited After the Jane Austen adaptations, Hank's team is adapting Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as the vlog series Frankenstein MD, starring Victoria Frankenstein, who is not yet an MD. Kidneys, LlamaJohn, Frankenstein, Back to School, and The Nerdfighter Online Video Workshop! (00:00:43)
Maryrose Wood (author) 2010-06-25 passing John gets to meet authors he likes: Nina LaCour, the authors of Beautiful Creatures, Lauren Oliver, Maryrose Wood and Diana Peterfreund. Book Nerd PARADISE (00:00:00)
Matt de la Peña (author) 2015-12-01 credited For a new generation of YA readers John recommends four books over ten years old: Valiant, Ball Don't Lie, The Truth About Forever and Speak, and likes bundling different kinds of books as gifts. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:03:05)
Matt Fraction (comics-writer) 2010-05-12 passing Hank performed on a bill with Savage, Fraction, Frontalot and Loading Ready Run, and the crowd was so loud he couldn't believe it was happening to him. Hank Raps about w00tstock...for real (00:01:34)
Matthew Inman (cartoonist) 2012-04-13 subject Hank says The Oatmeal's Matthew Inman posted a comic on getting Facebook likes that suggests making a sing-along video on how to load a dishwasher, so he makes one. This is How You Load a Dishwasher - A Song (00:00:00)
Maya Van Wagenen (author) 2014-04-15 passing John met Rainbow Rowell, then went to USC for the LA Times book festival, where his editor Julie Strauss-Gabel talked with 15-year-old Maya Van Wagenen, author of the memoir Popular. Walking the Red Carpet: Thoughts from Los Angeles (00:00:17)
Michael Gerard Bauer (author) 2010-07-28 subject That night Michael Gerard Bauer gave a hilarious reading from his book about a boy called Ishmael, first in English, then a German actor read it in German. Umbrellas Amuse Me: Observations from One Day in Munich (00:01:56)
Michael Piller (screenwriter) 2017-09-29 subject Michael Piller was TNG's showrunner from the third season to the end, sharing the job with Jeri Taylor in the last years, writing episodes and managing the writing room. What's This Video About? (00:01:24)
Michael Shermer (writer) 2011-07-06 credited Hank encourages everyone to read about bias to escape their bias blind spot, recommending Michael Shermer's new book The Believing Brain; Shermer writes for Scientific American, a favourite magazine. John Green is an IDIOT! And so are you. (00:03:41)
Natalie Standiford (author) 2010-06-25 recommended Offered (in a staged choice) an early Mockingjay or Natalie Standiford's Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters, John picks Standiford's, says he is excited for it, and admits Mockingjay wasn't really there. Book Nerd PARADISE (00:01:15)
Nicholas Sparks (novelist) 2015-10-30 passing Hank says the Welcome to Night Vale creators' book just came out and debuted at number four on the NYT list, number four because Sparks, Rowling and Grisham had new books. Feeling Thankful in Portland (00:00:38)
Nigerian writer quoted by John (writer) 2010-03-19 quoted Quoting a Nigerian writer (make your children safe in the world, or make a world safe for children), John values the week's talk on balancing the two. Foreign John Green Books and the Ultimate Concern (00:02:56)
Nikki Giovanni (poet) 2009-06-29 joke John says not everyone watching is awesome and reads comments posted on Vlogbrothers videos in the last week, replacing each curse word with a famous American poet's name. GAY is NOT an INSULT (00:00:22)
O. Henry (writer) 2008-12-15 quoted John notes W.C. Fields's last words were addressed to Carlotta, his mistress, not his wife Hattie; he says he tones the quote down for young nerdfighters. Famous Last Words (00:02:37)
Orson Scott Card (author) 2010-01-29 credited Hank says there is no word for what is going on with the dolphin harvest in Japan; the closest he can find is Orson Scott Card's 'xenocide'. The iPad and Dolphin Murder (00:03:25)
P. D. James (author) 2012-11-27 recommended For Sherlock fans, John recommends The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, and thinks they would like P.D. James. Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:02:55)
Patti Smith (author) 2015-12-01 credited On art and being an artist, John and Sarah both love Rachel Kushner's The Flamethrowers and Patti Smith's Just Kids. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:02:09)
Percival Everett (author) 2026-02-14 credited Hank recently finished Percival Everett's James, which he calls really good. Project for Awesome 2026 part 4! (05:47:00)
Percy Bysshe Shelley (poet) 2011-06-10 joke Then I Took Off My Bra (00:01:09)
Plato (philosopher) 2018-11-27 passing John says the Melian Dialogue happened about 2,400 years ago in ancient Greece; 5th-century BCE Athens was a democracy where Plato and Socrates philosophized and Sophocles wrote and held office. On The Melian Dialogue (00:00:00)
Rachel Kushner (author) 2015-12-01 credited On art and being an artist, John and Sarah both love Rachel Kushner's The Flamethrowers and Patti Smith's Just Kids. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:02:09)
Rachel Syme (writer) 2026-09-01 recommended John praises New Yorker writer Rachel Syme, whose writing about smell lets readers actually smell it, which he calls borderline magic that almost no one else can do. You Can't Go Home Again, but I Tried (00:01:45)
Ralph Waldo Emerson (poet) 2009-06-29 joke John says calling someone stupid implies knowing the difference between stupid and smart, a case not helped by using 'stupid' as a noun. GAY is NOT an INSULT (00:01:29)
Randall Munroe (author) 2016-04-29 credited A couple of years ago (2014), in the Bay Area for the launch of Randall Munroe's book What If?, Hank took a taxi whose very nice driver chatted with him about Montana and his trip. The Time a Taxi Driver Stole My Money (00:00:13)
Reay Tannahill (author) 2018-02-06 credited The description names Linda Civitello's Cuisine and Culture and Reay Tannahill's Food in History as the books that most inspired the video, plus a short Ultimate History Project essay on bread. Sawdust Bread (00:00:00)
Rebecca Morrow (author) 2022-11-22 credited For a friend who might enjoy a super steamy exvangelical romance, John recommends Corinne by Rebecca Morrow. John's 2022 Gift Guide (00:00:57)
Rebecca Solnit (writer) 2019-03-05 quoted Invoking Rebecca Solnit on getting lost, John says he got lost both ways: the familiar picture was not what he thought, and something unfamiliar began to appear. Way, Way Down the Rabbit Hole (00:00:58)
Reinhard Pabst (journalist) 2019-03-05 credited Through correspondence with reporter Reinhard Pabst, John and Tuataria found both pictures and secured the rights to share them. Way, Way Down the Rabbit Hole (00:02:26)
Renée Watson (writer) 2017-10-03 passing Renée Watson's Piecing Me Together genuinely changed how John thinks about the role art plays in human life; he read it in two days and has thought about it for six months. Let's Talk about Books (00:00:37)
Richard Hugo (poet) 2012-05-01 passing John loves Missoula, the only Montana town he ever visits; it reminds him of Richard Hugo's poem 'Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg', some lines of which he recites. Moon Farts: Being Charlie While Running Errands (00:00:00)
Richard Katrovas (poet) 2014-05-27 quoted Poet Richard Katrovas, a boxing fan, wrote that boxing serves as a mottled lens unto the bifurcated human heart, whose one true nature is to break apart. ALL THE SHIRTS (and some paths to community) (00:03:37)
Richard Kim (writer) 2016-06-14 credited The description also recommends Daniel Leon-Davis's Fusion piece on Pulse, an NPR story on what queer Latinos are saying about the shooting, Richard Kim's 'Please Don't Stop the Music', and the Orlando Sentinel's coverage of the victims, what happened, reactions and vigils. Orlando (00:00:00)
Richard Matheson (author) 2011-11-16 credited At No. 1, John picks Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend, which he says invented everything awesome about zombie apocalypses; Shaun of the Dead is his No. 6. Top 5 Zombie Apocalypses OF ALL TIME (00:02:52)
Richard Powers (novelist) 2015-11-16 credited The description says the photograph inspired Richard Powers' first novel, Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance, which it highly recommends. On Our Way to the Dance (Pizzamas Day 6) (00:00:00)
Rob Reid (author) 2018-11-30 recommended The description recommends sources Hank used: Rob Reid's Ars Technica piece and its companion podcast, and PBS Space Time on Oumuamua. We just had our first interstellar visitor...and it's weird. (00:00:00)
Robert Michael Pyle (naturalist and writer) 2007-04-23 takes part Asked what picking up a spare feels like, Robert Michael Pyle says it feels even better than writing a good paragraph. April 23rd: Celebrity (00:00:00)
Roger Ebert (film critic) 2016-11-14 joke Craig recalls that a few years ago he filled in for John, doing his best impression of him, and says it was well received. Who the Eff Is Hank? (00:00:13)
Rumi (poet) 2026-02-14 joke John says Epic Games, which he loves, is a longtime supporter of the Project for Awesome. Project for Awesome 2026 part 3! (00:52:16)
Sabrina Strings (author) 2026-02-13 passing John recommends Sabrina Strings' Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, which Sarah gave him: it was fascinating and taught him much he had no idea about. Project for Awesome 2026 Kickoff! (07:47:19)
Saladin Ahmed (author) 2016-11-09 quoted Saladin Ahmed, quoted by John: it is our job to fight those in power and stick up for the powerless, whoever is president. My Post-Election Thoughts (00:01:46)
Sampson Levingston (historian) 2022-11-22 recommended John suggests a walking tour, like those Indianapolis public historian Sampson Levingston gives of neighborhoods, especially historically Black ones; John loves learning from him. John's 2022 Gift Guide (00:01:56)
Samuel Johnson (writer) 2013-04-23 cited John says the lexicographer and 'professional quote machine' Dr. Samuel Johnson was only an honorary doctor. DOCTOR GREEN (00:01:52)
2013-04-23 quoted John attributes to Samuel Johnson 'hell is paved with good intentions', 'patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel', a mock cucumber recipe and 'what is written without effort is in general read without pleasure'. DOCTOR GREEN (00:01:55)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet) 2011-06-10 joke Then I Took Off My Bra (00:01:06)
Sarah Addison Allen (novelist) 2013-07-09 credited He says in Sarah Addison Allen's The Girl Who Chased the Moon an ex-husband leaves black dust on all he touches, a physical symbol of the messes hurtful people leave behind. The World Needs More Magic (00:00:58)
Seneca the Younger (philosopher) 2020-01-07 quoted John notes that every new beginning leads to some other beginning's end, quoting Semisonic by way of the Stoic philosopher Seneca. Endings · Beginnings (00:01:46)
Seth Godin (author) 2007-10-11 quoted Hank relays a point from a Seth Godin interview: about 175,000 books are published in America each year, but the average person buys about one book a year. October 11th National Coming Out Day (00:00:09)
Shannon Hale (author) 2012-06-12 personal story John met nerdfighters (one gave him a singamajig), spoke to an enormous room, and ate dinner with Shannon Hale and M. T. Anderson, with whom he once broke into abandoned buildings in Detroit. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:01:27)
Sheila Alvarado (author) 2015-12-01 credited John also recommends City of Clowns, written by Daniel Alarcón and illustrated by Sheila Alvarado, calling it a brilliant story about a young journalist in Peru grieving his father. John's Book Giving Guide for the Holidays! (00:01:00)
Shel Silverstein (poet) 2010-04-28 recommended Hank says he likes poetry that doesn't confuse him and hates when poets assume he knows what they mean; Shel Silverstein says what he means, just more cleverly. Who's in Your Hug Bucket? (00:00:45)
Sonya Hartnett (author) 2007-06-27 passing John praises all the Printz speeches: Markus Zusak, Tobin (M. T.) Anderson, Gene Yang and Sonya Hartnett were wonderful. June 26: The American Library Association Parties (00:02:27)
Sonya Sones (author) 2007-04-30 takes part John says many people wanted to say hi to Hank this weekend, so he let them: his editor and a number of authors greet Hank on camera. Brotherhood 2.0: April 30: Hellos from Los Angeles (00:00:10)
Sophocles (playwright) 2018-11-27 passing John says the Melian Dialogue happened about 2,400 years ago in ancient Greece; 5th-century BCE Athens was a democracy where Plato and Socrates philosophized and Sophocles wrote and held office. On The Melian Dialogue (00:00:00)
Stan Lee (comics writer) 2013-05-17 joke Henry Reich explains that light is affected by black holes because gravity is an interaction between objects with energy and momentum, which light has. GIFs, JIFs, Whip Pans, Trivia, and BATMAN! (00:02:18)
Starline Hodge (cartoonist) 2016-04-08 credited Hank thanks everyone in the video: Flula, Hannah Hart, Lee Newton, Meghan Camarena, Steve Zaragoza, Phillip DeFranco, Allison Raskin, Gaby Dunn, John Green, William Haynes, Reina Scully, Matt Lieberman, Trisha Hershberger, Bree Essrig, Markiplier, Taylor Peters, MatPat, Jon Cozart, Grace Helbig, Connor Franta, Tyler Oakley, Hartbeat, F0xy, Starline Hodge, Travis McElroy, Jenna Marbles, Mamrie Hart, Jimmy Wong, Arielle Scarcella, Miriam Nielsen, Ruba Wilson, Rhett McLaughlin, Link Neal, Derek Muller, Meghan Tonjes, Nicola Foti, Ava Gordy, Matt Watson, Darren Vongirdner, Mitchell Davis, Jake Roper, Michael Stefens, Karen Kavett, and Gilmore Guys podcasters Kevin T Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe. 47 YouTubers Laugh Without Smiling (00:00:00)
Stephen Fry (actor, writer) 2013-05-28 joke The special edition TFiOS audiobook narrated by John, with a bonus DVD, previously sold at DFTBA.com, is back for pre-order. NERD FACTOR! (...And Why I Fear for Tumblr) (00:03:38)
Steve Kluger (author) 2009-03-22 personal story John has just come home from a week touring Holland with two other American authors, Jordan Sonnenblick and Steve Kluger, and says it was fun. John Loves Amsterdam (00:00:39)
Steven Moffat (British television writer) 2012-10-05 credited Since the video is short, Hank adds a promo of the brothers' other YouTube channels, SciShow, Crash Course, Lizzie Bennet and HankGames, which he says are doing quite well. 21st Century Sherlock: A Sherlock / Doors Song (00:01:29)
Suketu Mehta (author) 2014-04-29 credited John says Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, so he is going to New York for its party. Influence, Airports, and the Nerdfighter Book Club (00:00:04)
Susan Carlson (journalist) 2008-08-21 criticized Hank says he enjoyed the report, which turns out to be mostly about John, but it has several factual inconsistencies he wants to comment on. INTERNET SENSATION B$%CH (00:00:46)
Suzanne Collins (author) 2013-12-06 credited Hank praises Suzanne Collins for showing a world much like ours and making us ask how anyone could live in it. I Am President Snow (00:00:36)
T. Michael Martin (author) 2013-05-14 credited Asked for one book to recommend, John says it changes weekly; for now he recommends The End Games by T. Michael Martin (zombie) and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia (non-zombie). Puppies, Pegasi, and TFiOS Casting: It's Question Tuesday (00:02:08)
Tahar Ben Jelloun (novelist) 2014-02-18 credited John recommends Tahar Ben Jelloun's This Blinding Absence of Light, a fictionalised story of real political prisoners: a little intense but really good. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:02:33)
Tahar Djaout (author) 2014-02-18 credited John's list credits the last of his recommended books, The Last Summer of Reason, to Tahar Djaout. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:00:00)
Tayari Jones (novelist) 2014-02-18 credited John recommends Tayari Jones's The Untelling, which captures the precariousness of working-class life; she is best known for Leaving Atlanta. 18 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read (00:01:37)
Taylor Behnke Peters (writer) 2016-08-05 credited Hank credits the project's team: Taylor Behnke Peters (writing and research), Derek Knabenbauer (editing), Nicole Sweeney (graphics), Nick Jenkins (director), and Spanish translators Liza Platae, Rafael Arévalo, Amber J Holder and John Flores. Our Massive Project: How to Vote in Every State (00:00:00)
Ted Chiang (writer) 2016-12-06 credited For sci-fi fans John recommends Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others: one story was the basis for the wonderful film Arrival, and all are mind-blowingly good. Exactly Like the Human Sternum (00:02:03)
Thomas Mann (novelist) 2016-01-19 credited John says Davos is the setting of one of his all-time favourite novels, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, so he gets to do some literary tourism there. The Looking for Alaska Movie, Davos, and Hufflepuff Shade: It's Question Tuesday (00:00:13)
Thucydides (historian) 2018-11-27 credited John says Thucydides was revolutionizing the writing of history, and that we know about the Melian Dialogue primarily because of him. On The Melian Dialogue (00:00:29)
Théo (video-editor) 2017-04-07 credited The description thanks Théo for the chosen edit and everyone who submitted videos; Hank found it fascinating what people kept or discarded compared with what he would have kept. Squeezing Strangers' Bikes in Amsterdam! (00:00:00)
Tina Fey (comedian and author) 2012-11-27 credited For couples reading together, John names the two books he and the Yeti read together this year (2012) and liked most: Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue and Tina Fey's Bossypants (he is unsure how to pronounce both surnames). Nerdfighter Book Recommendations: A Gift Giving Guide for Nerdfightastic Readers (00:01:27)
Tony Kushner (playwright) 2016-11-15 credited At 15 John wrote a sincere, terrible English paper arguing there could never be another great work of fiction since Dostoevsky was dead; months later Song of Solomon and Angels in America made him retract it. Good News/Bad News: A Pizzamas Video in Nine Slices (00:02:17)
Téa Obreht (author) 2012-06-12 personal story At a writers' lunch John met Jeffrey Eugenides, who with Michael Chabon made him want to be a writer in high school; he filmed him from behind for ten minutes before shaking his hand and embarrassing himself. Chris Colfer, John Green, Mob Wives, and Jeffrey Eugenides: Thoughts from Places Book Expo (00:00:58)
Varian Johnson (author) 2014-05-20 credited John recommends two books he really likes: Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour and The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson, both excellent. Deserving (00:03:26)
Virginia Euwer Wolff (author) 2007-08-22 joke John declares that 'in your pants' jokes never get old, like the family in Tuck Everlasting, and runs through literary titles 'in your pants'. August 22nd: Um. Uh. IN YOUR PANTS (00:02:37)
W. S. Merwin (poet) 2026-10-13 credited John says his favorite poem right now is Berryman by W.S. Merwin, which ends with the advice that a writer can never be sure the work is any good and dies without knowing: if you have to be sure, do not write; better to be unsure than to not write. My Lungs Are on the Outside of the Body (00:05:19)
Walker Percy (author) 2007-11-12 credited The blog's clue '24.1.2.19' pointed to John discussing Walker Percy's The Second Coming in a January Brotherhood 2.0 video; nerdfighters found a dollar bill in that book at a Chicago Borders. November 12th: Brotherhood Clue Point Oh! (00:02:22)
Will Shetterly (author) 2008-02-19 credited Hank calls Elsewhere one of his all-time favourite books: a young nerd taken in by a bookshop owner and a bunch of elves. Your Spying Thieving Valentine: Hank (00:01:27)
William Blake (poet) 2011-06-10 joke Then I Took Off My Bra (00:01:06)
William Gibson (author) 2011-08-08 passing Hank hates the prefix 'cyber' and uses it unwillingly because it became standard, since older newspaper readers and cable-news viewers are comfortable with it; he adds that he loves William Gibson. Hackers, Cyber crime, and a New Kind of War. (00:00:00)
Zeno of Elea (philosopher) 2012-03-20 personal story John names Zeno as his all-time favorite Greek philosopher, maybe obvious to readers of The Fault in Our Stars. Sharpie Face Question Tuesday (00:02:15)