“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”
-John Green, The Fault In Our Stars
Before I get to the 5 Reasons You Should Read Any John Green Book, I’ll start here…..
I recently read two John Green books:
The Fault In Our Stars
An Abundance of Katherines
…and not quite so recently, I read another of his:
Looking For Alaska
I’ll start by saying something surprising, given that I’m writing a blog about the author. I didn’t love Looking For Alaska.
I liked An Abundance of Katherines.
I loved, loved, loved The Fault In Our Stars.
In fact, I just spent a few hours of my life crying, sobbing really, as I read The Fault In Our Stars. And even though I didn’t love the character Alaska in the first book I read of Green’s, I still liked it. I still related to the characters.
John Green is a classic American writer disguised as a Young Adult author that some people might not take seriously. I mean, his books are easy to read and are probably geared toward teenagers, but they always involve a greater theme, references to books that would make the most sophisticated (slash pretentious) college student who is getting an English degree proud to recognize, and truly life-changing sentences.
“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
-John Green, The Fault In Our Stars
Here are five good reasons to read any John Green book.
1. You will be forced to remember the people you dated in high school, and the way you remember them will probably make you laugh and wince and then, eventually, smile with nostalgia.
In An Abundance of Katherines, there’s this guy who has dated only girls named Katherine. This (of course!) felt like a giant statement… that perhaps we all date a different version of the same person until one fine day, you finally will yourself to change and then, and only then, can you find the one you are meant to be with. This book also made me think that maybe “meant to be with” is a naive statement. I still don’t know what “meant to be” means and sometimes I feel like I don’t even know what love is. The characters in Green’s books find love in different ways, but they’re usually very quirky teenagers with a view of the world I had never considered. A lot of them have a much straighter head on their shoulders than I ever have managed in this life.
And I did remember all the past boyfriends. I did cringe, but then I remembered those old hand-holds, the kids we named at the age of fifteen, the breakups, and finally, the fun moments that made it all worth it.
Even though this is a post about John Green, a Feist lyric comes to mind
The hardest part of a broken heart isn’t the ending so much as the start.
Though it’s hard and painful, try to remember the good times; try to remember the good part of a relationship and let yourself smile with the memory, rather than cry with the end of that relationship.
AND remember… age has nothing to do with it. The feelings I felt when I was 14 are just as real (even if misguided or hormone driven) as the emotions I feel on this very day.
Also…. a thought….
“Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they’ll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back.”
― John Green, An Abundance of Katherines
2. You will be humbled by the fact that there are tons of people who are smarter than you are.
It’s hard to admit, but yes, there are thousands and thousands of people who analyze more thoroughly, who have better grammar, and who actually understand quantum physics.
“…because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.”
― John Green
3. You’ll want to create a fantastic nickname for yourself and all of your friends.
Looking For Alaska
Miles= Pudge
Chip= The Colonel
Alaska= Alaska (but her name is so odd, it’s like a nickname)
An Abundance of Katherines
Colin= so important, that the other Colin in the book is called TOC (The Other Colin)
Hassan= Daddy
Katherine= Katherine The Great, K-1, K-19
Old People= Oldsters (not the most original, but still poignant)
The Fault In Our Stars
This book was perhaps too serious to have awesome nicknames, but I think you get the point already.
Do you have any nicknames? Mine include Mel, Lou, Melly, Mel Bel and occasionally, Twin or just Meredith… who is my twin.
4. The hurtful truth of death, depression, illness, heartache and sorrow will cut you to the core. Get ready.
“The marks humans leave are too often scars.”
- John Green, The Fault In Our Stars
I literally, literally, cried for probably 75% of the pages in The Fault In Our Stars. It’s about teenagers with cancer. And then, it’s about so much more than just teenagers with cancer. It’s about teenagers with hopes and dreams. Teenagers who love and want to be something great. They want to go places, read all the books, have all the conversations. They want to see, even when they have cancer in their eyes. They want to go on walks, even when their lungs cannot handle much more than a walk to the mailbox. They want to fight for a good cause, even when their last checkup confirmed cancer- everywhere.
“That’s the thing about pain,” Augustus said, and then glanced back at me. “It demands to be felt.”
- The Fault In Our Stars
How could you not cry?
Or not look outside and see that the sky is still there, you can still see the birds, take in the fresh air…
Or feel selfish for the last time you felt sorry for yourself?
A great quote from another book I read, Norwegian Wood: “Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes feel sorry for themselves.” It kind of fits the situation.
5. You will laugh a lot. John Green is HILARIOUS.
That was one of my favorite things about his writing. His characters are always saying the funniest things. The kind of I’m-actually-laughing-out-loud-as-I-read-by-myself type of writing. He’s nerdy and isn’t afraid to show it. More often than not, his protagonists are also nerdy and very smart and have the oddest friends who keep the humor pumping out of each chapter. There are always light moments amidst the dark. That’s a good reminder, too.
I will read his other books as soon as I get my hands on them.
You should start reading John Green NOW.
“My responsibility is to try to tell true stories. To me a true story is always hopeful, but never simply, uncomplicatedly happy.”
-John Green
Well said, John. Well said.
And thanks for writing.
Love, Lou
Filed under: book review, Books, John Green Tagged: books, inspiration, John Green, life, reading Image may be NSFW.
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