Actual rating: 3.5/5 stars.

If this wasn't written by John Green, it would have held no interest for me. This isn't the type of nonfiction I typically enjoy or would have ever picked up for myself, but ultimately I'm glad I did. I enjoyed reading what John has to say, hearing him teach and hearing him muse on his own opinions and life experiences. I've always loved reading his books and hearing his voice peek through, so it was nice to read something totally in his voice. I liked the blend of contextual information and his own life experiences, though the amount of poetry he utilized made my eyes glaze after awhile.

The essay format didn't work for me much, similar to the reasons why I don't tend to love anthologies. The short format of the individual essays, the choppiness between topics, and the inability to get sucked into the book at all because of the frequent topic changes really ended up hindering my enjoyment. I think, in this way, it would work best in its original form as a podcast, where each topic is its own thing and separated from the rest.