11 Great Books You Probably Haven't Read

----

[clairee]

based on these recs, I bet you would like this book called “The Anthropocene Reviewed”

[jobriq]

John: “I love a book about brotherhood”
Also John: *writes 5 books about an only child*

[mrittika]

Dear John,

I've been dealing with mental illness since I was a little kid. I was not even 1 when I cried when the bed sheet wasn't perfect and not 5 when I started self harm and cutting my hair out of compulsion. I didn't seek help for 16 years, and I had to recently for the sake of my life. I'm diagnosed with OCD. The reason why I am is because you unknowingly wrote about my experiences, my life and myself, while you wrote Aza Holmes, a 16 year old like me with the same condition. Never have I felt so understood and seen as I had felt when I read "turtles all the way down". I suspect Autism, PTSD, ADHD, MDD/ Bipolar 2, Maladaptive Daydreaming and anxiety too. I thought I should let you know that you saved a light unknowingly underneath the same sky. I'm in 11th grade and yes I was dying but I'm still here, right? You're probably not going to read this but I had to write this.

Love always,
Mrittika Rakshit/ the Aza you saved.

[tejasdeepsingh]

0:15 The Bookseller's Tale Ann Swinfen
0:30 Tuff Paul Betty
0:45 Miracle Boys Jacqueline Woodson
1:05 The Black Death Rosemary Horrox
1:20 Epidemics & Society Frank M Snowden
1:46 The Disordered Cosmos Chanda Prescod Wienstien
2:15 Phosphorescence Julia Baird
2:28 All Together Now Erik Samuelson
2:44 Upstream Mary Oliver
2:55 Pilgrim Bell Kaveh Akbar
3:12 How To Cook & Eat In Chinese (1945)
First Time Doing This, Tell Me If I Missed Something :)

[ArielBissett]

I think you’d really like The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. A book about snails that is also not about snails. It’s phenomenally slow and thoughtful and short and wonderful. 🐌

[SierraKyliuk]

"Disease does not treat people equally unless society treats people equally"

God I want to shout this from the rooftops.

[loc]

John - Thanks for helping me with my interview to become a bookseller! I talked about The Anthropocene Reviewed and how touching it’s been during these times. I truly do believe everyone should read it! I’m in my second week of work and things are going well.

[swimminginhoney]

I just handed in my master’s dissertation and these books are EXACTLY what I need to fill the sudden void

[lainwakura]

almost 15 years later, and still saying "the doobley-doo" to describe the YT description box, you love to see it.

[JoeyHon]

I consider Mary Oliver's poetry to be sacred text. So imagine my shock at discovering, just now, in this video, that she wrote a book of essays of which I was previously ENTIRELY UNAWARE. It's like discovering the Gnostic Gospels, except they're already in English, on the shelf at my local bookstore instead of buried in clay pots, and only cost $17 in paperback. In all seriousness, John, thank you for making me aware of this. My day is immediately better.

[Luumus]

I recommend "A Natural History of Dragons - A memoir by Lady Trent". It's like a Jane Austen-esq novel full of dragons. In the sense that it's written in a quasi-English, quasi-Victorian society where the main protagonist is writing her memoirs on how she became the leading expert on Dragons. It's this amazing mix of history, science and fantasy. The author is an anthropologist and you can tell, the love of learning is very much present and a lot of the elements came from the scientists of old, there's even anatomical illustrations of dragon specimens scattered throughout the book, like you would find in the old zoology compendiums. In addition the character is amazingly witty. I had a blast. Highly recommend.

[hmacaroni]

I'm not an avid reader, but I loved reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. It's about the story of Hmong refugees in the US and their struggles with healthcare. It taught me how the practice of healthcare must not only be rooted in scientifically accuracy, but also mixed in with understanding cultural differences in order to effectively provide healthcare, especially when providing healthcare to cultures different from your own (that might not be as rooted in believing in the scientific method as we are used to).

[rachelmcnally]

This video is part of my favourite series: book recommendations from John Green

[vanessapierson]

i love that i now have 11 new books to read … even tho my life’s library book arrived yesterday.

[blancrose]

I just finished Lemony Snicket’s new book Poison for Breakfast. I’ve never had so much fun being bewildered and I wish I could hang each line on my wall in tiny cutout strips. The book was so fun, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys disguised philosophy.

[laurenladybird]

Braiding Sweetgrass is one of the first books to consistently make me feel a full range of emotions but also fill me up whether I read one chapter or binge the whole thing. Crying, but in a hopeful, heart overflowing with love kind of way

[susanbaldridge]

Based on your back cover blurb, I picked up “Reading Jane Eyre as a Sacred Text” by Vanessa Zoltan. It’s wonderful, and it’s changing the way I read some books —literally changing my practice of reading. Thanks for the blurb that led me to the book, and for the sacred moments in The Anthropocene Reviewed. A lovely gift to the universe, that book.

[kamaxox]

For those in Canada, as Thursday marks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I recommend spending the day reading books by Indigenous authors:

Five Little Indians by Michelle Good - an incredibly well written, brilliant novel that considers the lasting impacts of residential schools. It is also a deeply beautiful reflection on friendship and culture.

Johnny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead - the story of a two-spirit queer indigenous finding their place in the world.

The Strangers by Karen Vermett - a new release that I’ve just started but can barely put down!

Fiction can be such a crucial way into understanding each other. These books are each so compelling, and are such wonderful and important reading experiences.

[carlyjacobs]

I recommend Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It's about a pandemic-induced apocalypse, but also deeply about people. I've though about it a lot since I read it 5 years ago (and almost daily since March 2020).

[alexisea]

I love these recommendations! I would recommend you read Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Antonio Vargas. I found it to be a really compelling and thought provoking read on the immigration "process" in the US and what the experience is like to be undocumented