The Anthropocene Reviewed book: announcement and publication (2020)

project history · status: completed · last event: milestone (2025-01-21)

John's book The Anthropocene Reviewed was announced for pre-order in September 2020 and came out on 18 May 2021. It spent weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and its paperback followed in March 2023.

Told alongside: Vlogbrothers videos of each brother reading the first chapter of his new book (2008) · John's weekly 2021 vision board (2021) · John is now 'the science one' too, after The Anthropocene Reviewed is named a best science book (2021)

About: The Anthropocene Reviewed (book), audiobook

date	event	what	video
2020-09-01	announced	The Anthropocene Reviewed book will be published on May 18, 2021, is available for pre-order now, and will have an audiobook read by John.	get the show on 00:01:27
2020-12-29	milestone	The book John wanted to finish in 2020 is The Anthropocene Reviewed; he has not exactly finished it but has made good progress.	Looking Back at My 2020 Goals 00:00:58
2021-01-26	milestone	In a comment John confirms he will narrate The Anthropocene Reviewed audiobook.	The Sycamore Tree: The Anthropocene Reviewed video description
2021-02-23	milestone	Despite its grandiose title, John says, The Anthropocene Reviewed is a very personal book, his first attempt to write about his actual self.	A Little Joy and Color in an Otherwise Unbearably Bland Life 00:00:58
2021-03-16	milestone	John announces that The Anthropocene Reviewed book has a cover, which he shows, and that he will talk about how book covers happen for his books.	How a Book Cover Gets Designed 00:00:00
2021-03-30	milestone	Today is the last day John can change the book; from tomorrow it is in the hands of the Virginia printers, and on May 18 it will belong to its readers.	I did it! 00:02:54
2021-04-02	milestone	Hank congratulates John; The Anthropocene Reviewed is out May 18, can be pre-ordered wherever books are sold, and all pre-orders will be signed.	John's World Record 00:03:29
2021-04-20	milestone	John just finished recording The Anthropocene Reviewed audiobook, which was fun; he found only one typo.	Breaking Ground!!! 00:01:46
2021-04-27	milestone	The Anthropocene Reviewed book has arrived; John finds it beautiful and is grateful to the people who made it.	What is my new book about? 00:00:00
2021-05-04	milestone	Since 2008, whenever either brother has a book out, the author reads its first chapter in a Vlogbrothers video; this continues soon with an animated video of The Anthropocene Reviewed's opening.	What the Most-Viewed Vlogbrothers Videos Say about YouTube (and about us) 00:03:24
2021-05-11	milestone	John is going on a virtual tour for The Anthropocene Reviewed next week (week of 17 May 2021); info and tickets are in the description.	I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. 00:03:38
2021-05-14	milestone	The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green comes out May 18 and all copies will be signed; Hank's is.	This Vlogbrothers Stat Blew My Mind 00:03:40
2021-05-18	outcome	John announces that The Anthropocene Reviewed book is out today, Tuesday May 18.	Saying What I've Needed to Say to Hank for a While 00:00:01
2021-06-29	milestone	The description says The Anthropocene Reviewed book has just celebrated its fifth week on the New York Times bestseller list, and thanks readers.	Sneezing is not normal. video description
2021-07-13	milestone	John, who writes about his life and mental health especially in The Anthropocene Reviewed book, thanks viewers: it has been on the New York Times bestseller list for seven consecutive weeks.	The Vlogbrothers Videos I Didn't Make 00:01:59
2021-07-20	milestone	John says The Anthropocene Reviewed, essays reviewing facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale, has been on the New York Times bestseller list for eight consecutive weeks.	Reviewing Reviews of My Reviews 00:00:00
2021-08-24	looked back	Three months after The Anthropocene Reviewed book came out, sharing something so personal has been strange, lovely and terrifying; unable to write about that directly, John wrote about space art.	It's My Birthday. I Gave Myself This Video. 00:00:29
2021-12-21	milestone	John says a large e-commerce platform recently named The Anthropocene Reviewed book one of the best science books of the year.	NOW I AM THE SCIENCE ONE… 00:00:29
2022-09-28	milestone	The algorithm concluded people prefer the large print edition and has shown it disproportionately for four months, making it a USA Today bestseller.	How My Book Became a Hit with Elderly People 00:02:24
2023-03-07	milestone	John announces the paperback of The Anthropocene Reviewed is about to come out and he will launch it in person in Miami, Florida, on March 23; tickets in the description.	What's the Deal with Paperback Publishing? 00:00:29
2025-01-21	milestone	John says The Anthropocene Reviewed audiobook has sold almost as well as the paperback.	Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? 00:03:56

What is said about it

40 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).

2020-12-29 · Looking Back at My 2020 Goals — announcement: John: The Anthropocene Reviewed book comes out on May 18th, 2021, hopefully. (hedged) — 00:00:50
2020-12-29 · Looking Back at My 2020 Goals — John is still nervous about the book, his first nonfiction and largely about himself, but feels better about it than in January, unlike most things. — 00:01:08
2021-02-23 · A Little Joy and Color in an Otherwise Unbearably Bland Life — John does not want to imply writing is difficult work, since he has done difficult work and writing is not it, but it needs intense focus that can be emotionally exhausting. — 00:01:05
2021-02-23 · A Little Joy and Color in an Otherwise Unbearably Bland Life — John: Because this book was about him, John felt his whole self was being poured into it, which was a little terrifying; signing was a break from that. — 00:01:18
2021-04-02 · John's World Record — Hank: This reflects John's habit of imagining different ways of doing things, which Hank thinks the new book reflects better than any of his previous books. — 00:03:29
2021-04-20 · Breaking Ground!!! — announcement: John: Asked whether the audiobook will have music, John says not much: mostly his voice playing its only note. (playful) — 00:02:15
2021-04-20 · Breaking Ground!!! — announcement: John: The audiobook will not be signed: John has not yet figured out how to autograph sound waves. (playful) — 00:02:15
2021-04-20 · Breaking Ground!!! — announcement: John: The book and audiobook come out on May 18 and are available for pre-order now. — 00:02:44
2021-04-27 · What is my new book about? — announcement: John: The audiobook has three reviews not in print because they work only in audio (notably the Kauai o-o review), while the print book has easter eggs and a long notes section. — creator comment
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — announcement: John says the physical book is an eye experience and the audiobook an ear experience; each contains things the other lacks, such as a review of half title pages in the print book. — 00:00:29
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — John says that if The Anthropocene Reviewed can make some people feel less alone in that way, he feels very fortunate. — 00:02:15
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — announcement: John: Parts of the book that wouldn't have worked on the podcast: most notably the picture parts, and also the wintry mix parts. (playful) — 00:02:28
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — John confirms he used the word 'deadpan' exactly once in The Anthropocene Reviewed, as in every book since An Abundance of Katherines, another 14-year-old joke he enjoys. — 00:02:36
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — John: Asked to pronounce foreign titles of the book, John attempts the Dutch and German titles, raising his voice for the German question mark. (playful) — 00:02:45
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — announcement: John liked the German title so much that he wrote the book's entire concluding essay about it. — 00:02:57
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — announcement: John: The book is organized not alphabetically or by date but by a vague journey from childhood to adulthood, and from hope to despair to hope. — 00:03:12
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — John: Asked what the book is about, John says he still doesn't know; perhaps awe, connectedness, or how weird it is that temporary beings can conceive of permanence. (hedged) — 00:03:25
2021-05-11 · I am a small boat. It's Question Tuesday. — John: Asked what is on his vision board this week (week of 10 May 2021), John answers that he really hopes viewers like The Anthropocene Reviewed book. — 00:03:33
2021-05-14 · This Vlogbrothers Stat Blew My Mind — Hank: What Hank took for a four-minute video idea John saw as much more, and it has become a deep, peculiar, captivating and hilarious book. — 00:03:00
2021-05-14 · This Vlogbrothers Stat Blew My Mind — Hank: Some people have built theanthropocenereviewed.com, where you photograph the book in a place and rate that place on a five-star scale; so far only John and Hank are on it. — 00:03:08
2021-05-14 · This Vlogbrothers Stat Blew My Mind — announcement: Hank: John's virtual book tour runs May 17, 18, 19 and 22; tickets include a copy of the book, shipped or picked up at a partner store, chosen by store or guest host. — 00:03:24
2022-09-28 · How My Book Became a Hit with Elderly People — John calls this, like much of traditional publishing, wildly antiquated: it may have made sense in 2005, but readers now rightly expect to read in whatever format they want. — 00:00:56
2023-03-07 · What's the Deal with Paperback Publishing? — John says people now expect to read Looking for Alaska however they want: a $20 hardcover, $13 paperback, $12 audiobook or $11 e-book. — 00:01:56
2023-03-07 · What's the Deal with Paperback Publishing? — John understands the immediate business reasons for hardcover-first, but in the long run publishing wants readers to love reading in any format. — 00:02:26
2023-03-07 · What's the Deal with Paperback Publishing? — John says editions can be specialised by format: The Anthropocene Reviewed audiobook has a couple of reviews that need audio to work. — 00:02:26
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John's voice is thin because he spent all of yesterday recording the Everything Is Tuberculosis audiobook, which he is excited to narrate. — 00:00:00
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says his first book, Looking for Alaska, came out almost 20 years ago, when audiobooks were mostly called books on tape or CD and came in boxes. — 00:00:12
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John: When his editor said Looking for Alaska would get an audiobook, John was thrilled mostly for the $1,000 fee, but also because an actor would perform his book, the closest he expected to get to an adaptation. (playful) — 00:00:29
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says audiobooks were then a very small business and most books never came out on audio. — 00:00:41
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says back then, asked whether audiobooks counted as reading, he would probably have said maybe; he worshipped written language and thought its nuances didn't translate to audio. (hedged) — 00:00:46
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says he hadn't realized that audiobooks have nuances that don't translate to print, partly from a long-standing bias, and that a great narrator can make even a mediocre book amazing. — 00:01:06
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says listening to Ulysses misses its visual text-based puns, but reading it with your eyes misses its audible puns. — 00:01:28
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says a lot of research indicates most people retain information better from audiobooks than from printed books, so audio is the ideal way for many to read. (doubtful: most people) — 00:02:17
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says that many more audiobooks being available is great news, making information and storytelling much more accessible. — 00:02:53
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says there is still a long way to go: many books, especially textbooks and school learning books, have no audiobook, a needless barrier to learning. — 00:02:58
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John grants that audio and print reading differ: in print your eyes can linger or skip, on audio the narrator guides but conveys inflection and pace. — 00:03:10
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says if a book's job is, as Horace said, to delight and instruct, audiobooks do that job. — 00:03:51
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says the audiobook explosion is great news for readers, who can access stories as they want, and for authors, since more people engage with their stories. — 00:04:03
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says many so-called reluctant readers turn out to be voracious readers who just want to read on audio. — 00:04:14
2025-01-21 · Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? — John says with simultaneous publication and lower costs it is reader's choice; as an author he doesn't care which, he is just delighted people read. — 00:04:21