How My Book Became a Hit with Elderly People

Pizzamas rolls on: pizzamas.com
In which John explores how a tiny algorithmic quirk led to his book The Anthropocene Reviewed becoming a surprise hit among readers of large print editions.
p.s. The Anthropocene Reviewed is available wherever books are sold in hardcover, audiobook (narrated by me), e-book, and large print edition (but not in regular paperback, because book publishing is weird).
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[@vlogbrothers]

Hi. Work out, stay hydrated, towel off, and Shrek Up with Pizza John: pizzamas.com Also! My book The Anthropocene Reviewed is available at fine bookstores everywhere, and also at large e-commerce sites whose algorithms subtly shift our purchasing habits without our ever being aware. You can get the hardcover, the audiobook (narrated by me), the e-book, or the large print edition--but not a regular paperback. -John

[@J05H30H3]

Just seen you in Jet Lag!!! 😂 🛬

[@werbnaright5012]

Absolutely fascinating exqmple of how easy algorithms can stray.

[@twalton]

Stay, hydrates. Come, hydrates. Good hydrates! Thank you for giving me the next best name for a pet after manhole.

[@untappedinkwell]

Nerdfighteria, it looks like vlogbrothers has handled your self care reminder for today. Celebrate and budget responsibly and DFTBA!

[@L83467]

you can get a normal paperback if you buy the uk edition!

[@surrexi]

i don't know why, but the idea of elderly TAR readers enjoying the book so much they decide to send john fanmail is just SO HEARTWARMING to me, like my heart did the "grew three sizes" thing from the grinch, lol.

[@soulcstudios]

+1

[@ThisIsReMarkable]

+!

[@felipevitorino7745]

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[@navajose200]

+

[@verticalfish]

++++

[@yuvalne]

"algorithms are human-directed and humans are algorithm-directed in ways we do not fully understand." hot damn, what a sentence.

[@spacey-sam]

+

[@soulcstudios]

+1

[@kalos2293]

With lines like that, he should write a book or something

[@Doubtlessly]

Totally could spawn a book idea

[@3countylaugh]

+

[@Meadowmeadowmoo]

This explains why last Christmas, my sister gave my brother a copy of The Anthropocene Reviewed and I got excited because I love the book and opened it up to see VERY large print. She proceeded to tell me that she was very confused when it arrived because she didn’t think she was buying large print😂

[@justcallmekiwi]

Healthcare worker with older patient population here and I can say I’ve seen people reading your book in our waiting room. 😂

[@jessw1168]

+++

[@bookworm272]

+++++

[@justrclaire]

Well this explains a lot. Asked for The Anthropocene Reviewed for my birthday last year. Was given the large print edition. Amusedly assumed it was because my grandmother bought it for me and isn't an internet native. Nope! The algorithm strikes again.

[@shalincarranza633]

I lent my hardcover copy to my grandmother a few months ago knowing she would LOVE this book. She told me she laughed, cried, and was so grateful to have had this book. Then she remarked on how lucky and rare it was that I had a signed copy... I won't tell her if you don't.

[@untappedinkwell]

Your secret is safe in this comments section.

[@doctormo]

No one reads youtube comments. We are told not to, and we don't.

[@joygilman1110]

That's hysterical!

[@fugithegreat]

I love this so much, and I love your grandmother!

[@ToriKo_]

Hahahha

[@briefisbest]

I'm so glad older readers are getting the opportunity to discover your writing.

[@eliontheinternet3298]

Is it just me, or does this video look especially crisp?

[@CrazyBookEater]

we need more wise elderly people in Nerdfighteria for the balance 👌🏻

[@ekkehard8]

Simple: Just become the elderly

[@CrazyBookEater]

@@ekkehard8 I already feel like one

[@fireinacan]

@@ekkehard8 Working on it

[@realspacemodels]

Good luck with that. I am considered elderly at almost 63, but I feel that much of Nerdfighteria is much wiser than I am. And THAT bodes well for the future IMHO.

[@briangarrow448]

As a nerdy senior citizen, I agree!

[@joanwerthman4116]

For what it’s worth I’m about to turn 71 on October 1st and I discovered you from Crash Course because I enjoy reviewing and updating my education. I particularly enjoy Crash Course as I have the Don’t Know Much About book series. To this day, I believe there’s nothing as comforting as the feeling that goes with reading a hardback book. Now add in how enjoyable your and your brother’s KZbin videos are and you can see why I jumped as fast as my creaky old self could to order the signed, hardback editions of your book for my 2 surviving oldest friends and myself. We all enjoyed it thoroughly. I also enjoy the Audible edition. Like most old people (and habitual rereaders) I find it helps to get a good night’s sleep to play an audio book provided you don’t get too eager to find out what happens next. So new books are for daytime unless I’m looking at waiting in a que . That’s when having the paperback of an old favorite is like having a friend for company while you wait to pay for groceries or yet another doctor to see you as happens frequently at my age. Again, it’s easier to put the book away when you already know what happens next. And small paperbacks are easiest to carry. P.S. The business of having a thing for continuing education always reminds me, joyfully, of my dad being a bit surprised to find how early my sister and I were studying subjects he got a few years later in High School. This held true for subsequent generations probably because there’s always more to learn. For example, I majored in English Literature without coming across The Yellow Wallpaper until Crash Course likely because I leaned towards Chaucer and Elizabethan-Jacobean works. Still, a course on late 19th Century covered The Awakening. I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it was to be directed to a “new” classic work. So, yes, I’m an elderly fan in the habit of recommending your work.

[@rmdodsonbills]

I feel like I'm on the same road, just a couple decades behind :)

[@TheWeezyOfOz]

+

[@maryjewell461]

I'm so impressed by your dedication to lifelong learning. Keep it up, friend.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

+

[@MichaelSteeves]

57 Here, heard about Brotherhood 2.0 from my teen daughter, came across Crash Course a few years later -- hang on, I know who that is! Later I was at the hospital for a day of drawn out waiting and I wanted something to read -- my daughter's copy of TFIAS was sitting around and I'd heard great reviews. I was hooked. TAS podcast was insightful and entertaining. Loved it and the book.

[@briangarrow448]

As a senior citizen, I have skipped the large print revolution and jumped head first into audiobooks. And if direct neural downloads became available, I would be signing up for the implant. Ride the wave of the future?! Hell, I’m out in front on it!

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

In the future, you won't even have to take the time to read the book. The brain-atron will just inject into your mind the memory of reading the book. It'll be the future version of reading the CliffsNotes.

[@KillahMate]

@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 They will remember it for him, wholesale.

[@Seth9809]

Were you in your 20s when Personal Computers were common in peoples houses?

[@carolinalopesrodrigues]

That’s already technically possible. My father has a cochlear implant, which is a earing aid that he had put in with surgery. There is an internal and external part. The internal part is directly connected with his auditory nerves. The external part, is a device which stays on his head ( it is very small, his hair covers it actually), and it can have Bluetooth pairing. So yes, he could listen to music, phone calls, audiobooks, podcasts, in some way, directly in his auditory and nervous system. Which I just find mind blowing 🤯. He just doesn’t do it because he would have had to pay extra for the device. Therefore, he just has a standard one. No Bluetooth. But still, amazing

[@phoenixliv]

John’s audio books are really good but Hank’s are like radio shows!❤ chefs kiss

[@Azeria]

I fear we may now need a ‘large print’ edition Pizza John shirt for next year…

[@ptarmigan1356]

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[@jennifercampbell2512]

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[@Feuer_Meister]

+

[@resourceress7]

At 3:47 the Shrek face acquires a hair poof, and ONION is pretty large print.

[@somethingelse9176]

+

[@LaurenFairwx]

This is so interesting! You were always very popular with my grandmother who excitedly called me every time she saw you on television. She always seemed so proud of your success because she knew we were friends and that made me really happy. These days, it works in the opposite way - whenever I see you doing well, I think about how if she were still alive, I’d get a happy phone call from her saying, “Lauren, your friend John is on [insert show here]! Did you know?!?”

[@t.h.1492]

This is the cutest story! It’s a beautiful thing to have such good memories of the people you love

[@maryjewell461]

This is so lovely

[@thewinterizzy]

I like that out of all of your books this happened with TAR. It seems fitting somehow. 😂💛

[@catherinecase1142]

A book about the interplay between humans and nature gets thrown for a loop because of the interplay between humans and algorithms. Very fitting!

[@empiricalandinquirical2435]

Life imitates art. And art imitates life.

[@rev.rachel]

Oh man you are not wrong

[@sharonfieldstone]

I give algorithms 3 stars.

[@whimsichloe]

the thought of older readers sending you fan mail about your book is so heartwarming to me

[@gussnarp]

There's one other lesson here, I think, which is that sometimes there's an audience for a thing that would love it and will almost certainly never discover it because the algorithms, or even physical store organization and stocking, will never show it to them. This was a rare(?) case of the algorithm helping an unexpected group find an unexpected thing that they loved, and that's beautiful.

[@photodube]

Of all the authors out there, yours are the only audio books that I welcome the author doing the actual reading.

[@3countylaugh]

If you're looking for another, may I recommend trying Neal Gaiman. He so clearly writes, at least novels, in a way that's designed to be read aloud in the most "story teller around a fire" sort of way.

[@BooyaMoonAgain]

NERDWRITER THOUGH

[@JJMax7]

@@3countylaugh I was immediately going to say the same thing. He has an incredible voice. Like it was made to tell stories.

[@photodube]

@@BooyaMoonAgain Absolutely

[@flowerheit4512]

I loved Ta-nehisi coates's performance of "Between the world and me"

[@xerk2945]

This doesn't really have anything to do with it, but Anthropocene is lovely for dealing with a health issue. Sitting in a waiting room? Boom, one essay. Obnoxious wait between blood pressure and doctor arrival? Boom, another essay. Waiting for someone to bring your lab orders after the doctor leaves? Oh snap, I just learned about Dr. Pepper!

[@CircleThinker]

Similarly 'my stupid brain won't let me sleep but it's already late and I don't want to be up too much longer' Knock out 1-2 Reviews of Things by John Green and try the sleeping thing again. I read TAR mostly at 3am in insomniac hazes and it was a very good early morning friend

[@vulixirus]

this is why i love reading short story/essay colltections and poetry books. i just don't have the time right now to read a novel, but i do have little breaks throughout the day where i can knock out a short story or poem.

[@jessicasnow9007]

Yes, and listening to some of the medicine related reviews, like staphylococcus aureus and the smallpox vaccine in the days before I had to have surgery last year actually helped me to be less anxious about the whole thing! Instead of freaking out, I was laying there thinking about how many generations of work and innovation it took to get us to the heat rate monitors and blood pressure cuffs we have today.

[@jessicasnow9007]

@@CircleThinker Especially the audiobook. It really helps me relax and occupy my mind (on something other than anxiety) until I can get to sleep.

[@mariacargille1396]

Absolutely! I was reading about the Laseaux cave paintings and scratch-and-sniff stickers while waiting for my therapist to be ready for me. It was remarkably comforting :)

[@daveandgena3166]

This is fascinating. Tangentially, I worked at an institutional library that tried to purchase everything in large print because so many of our patrons had reading difficulties, undiagnosed vision problems or were beginning readers and large print made books more accessible to them (audio books couldn't be used in the units at the time, so they weren't an option). The only problem is when the Stephen King novels are too huge to lift. Anyway, I agree that publishers should make materials available in all formats. It makes books available to people who, for whatever reason, wouldn't have access to them otherwise.

[@NinaDmytraczenko]

Stephen King in large print: for a mental and physical workout!

[@daveandgena3166]

@@NinaDmytraczenko Indeed!!

[@mrwizardalien]

this is hilarious and dystopian. but for once. this is mostly just hilarious. I love it

[@nathanong]

This is fascinating. If you had asked me to guess the reason you're a hit with older readers, I would've guessed that The Anthropcene Reviewed is just a vibe for that demographic.

[@rmdodsonbills]

I feel like you have a point there, even if the real reason is so different. But I will also say that this "older" reader also really enjoyed An Abundance of Katherines, Looking For Alaska, and TFioS, despite being well outside the target demographic. Good writing is good writing, regardless of who the book is "meant" for.

[@KiraFriede]

Hm, I think, it's a combination of both. The algorithm shenanigans is why more older people buy it, but the content is why it's a hit among them.

[@daniellewatson9055]

I got my dad a copy of the "paperback" a couple of months ago when he started his cancer treatment because he wanted a book that he didn't have to commit to a story in case he never finished it and he was so annoyed by the first chapter and the implications of not finishing treatment and making it through to see me graduate uni that now 6 months later he's a scan away from being confirmed in remission and got to watch me graduate university last week.

[@kimpwitman]

Hello from a senior citizen who has been watching you and Hank on KZbin since you started. Not all of us bought the book because of the algorithm 😊

[@flowerheit4512]

I've gotten so many compliments on my La Pizza Mort shirt over the past year! If you can afford it, don't miss out on this year's beautiful shirt designs!

[@thelonewolfspirit]

For some reason out of all my Nerdfightaria shirts, La Pizza Mort is the one people ask me to explain the most 😂 Not even my Glenn and Dale shirt is apparently more eye catching!

[@flowerheit4512]

@@thelonewolfspirit I've had more people ask me to explain my #octothorpe shirt but i think La Pizza Mort has gotten me the most "your shirt is cool!" comments

[@sunny-vd8eo]

you're my all time favorite author! sending a huge appreciation for your books from Uzbekistan 🤗

[@HighKingTurgon]

The closest I ever got to publishing was slinging books at a local Barnes & Noble, and the amount of STUFF that you just LEARN about book releases and marketing is such a treasure. I miss that learning experience. I do not miss the wages.

[@katieparker7548]

I'm elderly (70) and I've known who you are for a long time. I got a signed copy of The Anthropocene Reviwed. I guess I'm just ahead of my time. Love ya John and Hank.

[@rileytaylor3833]

I played the audiobook version during a long car ride on family vacation and now my 83 year old grandma loves the book and is using it for her book club

[@imberrysandy]

I watched a lot of KZbinrs around my age talk a lot about trying to get into the algorithmic game. I love how you stumbled your way into a gold mine! Happy your fan base got bigger 💕 we are going to have more nerd fighter friends! :)

[@sylvy16]

especially with the all stars bit, they seem to be going against the wants of the algorithm.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

The algorithm cannot be controlled. The algorithm is a force that shall only bestow its powers upon those it deems worthy.

[@ueblay]

"we are going to have more nerd fighter friends! :)" so wholesome omg I love it here

[@brettevill9055]

I gave a copy to my sister for her seventy-first birthday, and she loved it and has recommended it to scads of elderly women in her choir and VIEW-club branch, and I believe that you have picked up a couple of sales there. I don't think you got any fan mail that way, but I'm pretty sure you got some five-star reviews.

[@Andi-gq4yo]

i have three copies of TAR but like... now i want a large print one

[@AStitchTooFar]

watching with sweat on my face, not because of a work-out, but because I'm worried that i'm the 'elderly people' John is referring to....

[@Cattrix999]

Me too and I'm Only 66! 😄

[@NinaDmytraczenko]

Me too, and I'm only 29!

[@rmdodsonbills]

I'm not quite to large print books yet, but I see those days coming! Well, I mean, there's a blob on the horizon I think is the day I need large print books, but if I got myself to an ophthalmologist like I'm supposed to, I might find it was all a false alarm.

[@mtcynthus]

You say that as if it’s a bad thing…

[@thewiseturtle]

Here's a random story about why this older woman (is over 50 "elderly"?) bought The Anthropocene Reviewed: In cleaning out my mom's apartment after she passed away this spring, I ended up with a vast amount of media (books, DVDs, CDs) that I didn't want, and the local library was temporarily closed for renovations, so I couldn't just donate it all like I'd planned. I found someone with a car to help me haul many boxes of the stuff to a local used media store to sell. There were so many that it took them 2 hours to go through them all and calculate the total! In that time I got to really, really, really explore the store and pick out random interesting things that I could buy with some of the money/credit. I saw your book in the psychology/sociology section, which is one of my big passions in life, and the (hardcover, non-large-print) copy was even autographed (were all of them?) and, most importantly, it wasn't too expensive (it was used). Fault in Our Stars is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I've been somewhat familiar with your work in general, and the book's topic seemed relevant to me and my mom's-gone state of mine, so I bought it, along with a stuffed Totoro, Pusheen cat, book on the dreams of the dying by a hospice doctor, and a (plastic) Harry Potter time turner necklace. I used the two books I bought as an excuse to sit outside more often this summer. The hospice doctor's book was really interesting, and was good for me to read at that time. I never quite finished The Anthropocene Reviewed, but read almost all of it before I stopped going outside for some reason. The power went out for a while the other day, and I took the book outside to finish, but then my neighbor started talking to me and the power came back on, so that last chapter and a half remain unknown to me still. It was ok. Not really something I needed, but it was a nice sort of random banter option for a while, as my brain reorganized itself around the new reality of being mom-less, physically, at least. So thanks.

[@NamaTiti]

I just started watching this channel a few days ago, and you guys have an awesome thing going on here. The fact that you get to do something you’re passionate about and with you Brother no less is truly an amazing thing. My brother and I have been best friends with each other since we were kids, going on adventures and discovering science together, playing video games, you name it and we did it. After losing my brother to mental illness a few years ago, life has felt that much more empty and flavors are a little bit fuller, and my heart yearns to have my friend and brother with me. But I’ve promised myself that no matter how much I miss him, I will always keep going, I will always keep him with me. My brother, Spencer, was kind to all, so now when I find someone in need of lifting I remember him and extend a hand. Thank you for your content. I wish you and your brother the best.

[@tigerkill420]

I work in an assisted living community and they have turtles all the way down in large print. I've been reading it on my lunch break. Lol

[@inkynewt]

Honestly even as a 25 year old *knowing* there's a large print edition makes me more likely to buy it. I like not holding a book 2 inches from my face and your essays are lovely.

[@TheSunGamer101]

An interesting addendum is that overseas (at least here in Australia) normal paperback editions are published at the same time as the hardcover. Our reading culture seems to prefer paperbacks in general

[@idlikeacookie]

That’s interesting! I’m in NZ and we tend to get the paperback Australian editions as our one and only option for new releases.

[@potato5602]

Same in Belgium for the English version. From my observation a book needs to be (super)popular for it to be available in hardcover in the bookstore. But it is available in different format on the bookstores' online site.

[@Sam-nf5gy]

I bought your book from an online used book store, and was surprised when the large-print version arrived. I loved your book so much that I decided I wanted a hardcover version so I could ensure I always had it in my bookshelf… Which left me with an extra book in the large-print edition. I work as a nurse, so I am going to bring it to the hospital with me so that on the [relatively rare] occasion that a patient asks me if we have any books for them to read, I can give it to them. The large-print edition is perfect because most of my patients don’t have great eyesight to begin with! I hope that it can provide them with similar feelings of appreciation, hope, and comfort that it gave me during a difficult time. Thank you for giving me one of the most beautiful books I have ever read.

[@lookdownimthere]

I was so happy when I saw Sharon McMahon had selected TAR as one of her book club books, her Instagram is one of the most informative yet calming and kind pages I’ve ever followed (podcast too) and I love it and it’s so fun when your different pockets of good on the internet meet 🥰

[@GaryHampson]

Hello, fellow Governerd!

[@lookdownimthere]

@@GaryHampson 😄 hello!! I'm sure there must be a great corner of overlap between Nerdfighters and Governerds! Governerdfighters, if you will.

[@theragnarokmachine2251]

I found this video super funny because I'm 23 now and when I was in middle school The Fault in Our Stars was literally the most popular, well, thing--every single girl I knew in middle school wouldn't shut up about that or One Direction, so the fact that now John is more of a hit with the elderly crowd made my day.

[@lukecraver7966]

My grandfather was reading it and really connected with your chapter on Harvey, so much so he felt the need to tell me about it and little did he know I had been well aware since it’s release

[@khallo151]

It’s nice to know you make more on the hardcovers - that makes me feel better about their existence. As a medium sized person (both as a teen, young adult and now *ahem* adult adult) hardcover books are too heavy for me to hold while reading. I appreciate the freedom a paperback gives me, allowing me to do to use reading when my body wants to change positions or locations. I happily carried around huge paperbacks in my bag because I knew the hardcovers were so much bigger. Robert Jordan’s come to mind. I do go back and buy the hardcovers of my absolute favorites (Dune series, I’m looking at you) - they really do have gorgeous artwork. Also, I toss the dust covers from my kids’ picture books. Those things are cumbersome.

[@tatianabeastmode6573]

The Anthropocene Reviewed made me a nerdfighter, and I'm in my 60s. I then went back and read his other novels. They're all good but AR is the grownupest of his books, imo, and I'm looking forward to more. (The large print was just an added bonus, btw. So much easier on the eyes. I hope John makes more on those too.)

[@KimberlyLetsGo]

I'm overjoyed that you have reached a new audience! What a quirky way that it came about. And, I agree on the antiquated means of book sales and some distributions. Don't even get my professor husband started on the cabal of college textbooks!!! I'm glad to see your success and it's well deserved.

[@violet9jo]

I work for a publishers and think that it might be useful to point out that publishing in paperback isn’t just an antiquated system - it gives a 12 month (ish) timespan for publishers to see how the hardback edition has sold and reassess how the book might need to be repositioned to reach new readers in paperback format. It gives the book a new lease of life to be relaunched again a year later with a different cover, new promo materials etc. and helps the book target as many different markets as possible across different editions!

[@tonyesposito3649]

Two things: 1. I am one of those people who bought the softcover book now knowing it was large print--and I am young enough that I do not need it--but I love it! I started reading another book with "normal" size print and find myself feeling how unpleasant it is to read. 2. After reading The Anthropocene Reviewed, I wanted to write an email to John saying how grateful I was for him and his work, but couldn't figure out how to do so. Kudos to those, perhaps, less-technologically savvy elders that figured it out. Ha!

[@mfiesta4634]

This is the randomnest thing but I absolutely love the ~1 second of silence at the end of all of John’s most recent videos where he stops the recording

[@ybbdrasil]

I actually shared this book with my father (who's 85), and he loved it. He's completely the opposite of me in ideals, but I was glad to have something where we can connect, so thank you for that :)

[@writr2459]

Also the International Edition is paperback! I was working at a bookstore in a US territory when TAR came out, and I do have a paperback international edition because that's what the bookstore carried...

[@SteveBryanFL]

Old person here. I have known of your existence for many years. Have read your novels on my Kindle. Enjoyed and shared your TED Talk about paper towns. I follow vlogbrothers on KZbin and follow your brother Hank. Am a subscriber to SciShow. An old nerd with a still curious mind. You and many other KZbin channels I subscribe keep me informed and entertained. Thank you.

[@maliabergstrom]

I don’t feel elderly, but I am 65 and have successfully purchased 5 hardback copies of TAR for me and for gifts. No LP editions. Have loved John and Hank since my daughters introduced me to early vlogbrothers and pre-TFIOS books by John. I made a dftba poster and put it above my classroom door so kids would see it as they exited the room.

[@johanna_x]

This is really fascinating and immediately had me checking my copy of the Anthropocene Reviewed because it is a paperback, but I couldn't remember the text being extra large. I ordered it through a local bookstore here in Finland and apparently what I have is the "export edition". So that paperback version exists as well.

[@purpleparsnip2788]

I was looking for a comment like this. I too have a paperback version with normal font size. Mine seems to be the British version, but adapted to the German market (as evidence by the postscript) and I also got it from a local bookstore.

[@KodomoNoKaze]

My grandma just has surgery yesterday so I got her your large print book as a Get Well!

[@nechma13]

My grandfather would have loved this book, if he was still alive he'd have bought it and asked to talk about it with me even if i wasn't a huge fan of John and Hank. It makes me love the book more. My grandfather wrote a poem about grocery shopping it's my favorite poem of his it was simple and humanizing and when i read an essay from John's book it reminds me of that poem and I'm thankful for that always

[@KierTheScrivener]

I love this and also that old people are becoming fans. Also I appreciate your advocacy toward normal paperbacks as someone who prefers reading them and has a chronic illness that makes holding heavy hardbacks very difficult.

[@rmdodsonbills]

Hardcovers are heavy and they take up more space on the shelf in addition to being more expensive. My non-fiction does tend more toward hardcovers, but my fiction library is predominantly paperback with few exceptions.

[@sarahstephens9005]

seeing this after my 86 year old father shared with me that he was reading his first John Green book, and showed me his large print copy

[@amandarae1213]

I love this so much. My Grandpa is a fan too! I shared my Hardcover print with him and he loved that each chapter was a story so he didn’t feel he was committing himself to a whole book. 😊❤

[@triciahutchins5407]

I am an old person, with Large Print Editions in my near future. I loved "The Anthropocene Reviewed" and I was attracted to reading it partly because I used to work at a public library, and knew your other work, but also because I became an avid KZbin watcher during the pandemic, and LOVE "Crash Course". Just like to learn new things, I guess. I'm glad that you've become a hit with my fellow fossils.

[@De_Nasty]

I got the large print by mistake and I’m so glad I did. Less headaches lol

[@TheRavenfish9]

Story of another way elderly folks might become fans of AR book: My 92 year-old grandma has lost a majority of her vision in the last couple years. This has made it difficult for her to read books because she never learned braille. She was an avid reader all her life, and even wrote articles for her newspaper for years, so this has been very sad for her. To help her reconnect to reading, I set her up with a very basic mp3 player thing that she can plug audio book thumb drives into, which I make for her and send with bright colored tags. I told her about Anthropocene Reviewed and she said she'd like to listen to that, so I sent her the audiobook on a drive. She loved it! And that's how my 92 year-old gram now calls John Green that 'nice young man who writes so beautiful about people'. ❤

[@annemcrowell]

My grandma lost almost all of her vision too in her later years and also really loved audiobooks! A lot of folks in that age group have gone through a loss of vision and therefore also loss of access to many of the hobbies they once enjoyed, and audiobooks are such a seemingly small thing that can have a big impact for them. Given the technology at the time, we set my gram up with a very basic CD player (surprisingly hard to find something basic enough that it only has the buttons you absolutely need and not a whole bunch of extras you can accidentally press) and an endless rotation of books on CD from the library. Sadly she wasn't still around when The Anthropocene Reviewed came out, but I bet she would have loved it.

[@Pikminiman]

3:46 It's surprisingly trippy to see John's face temporarily overlayed with Ogre Pizza John's face.

[@misterscottintheway]

A delightful little story with potentially frightening implications. Never change, John

[@3countylaugh]

I can't believe I didn't look under the book jacket before now! 😆

[@mantramoon9]

I'm going to go look at mine right now!

[@3countylaugh]

@@mantramoon9 I looked. I must have a different version... White spine, no cover printing. Any luck with yours?

[@jessi3354]

As a young person with a visual impairment, I primarily listen to audiobooks but love having physical large print editions of books, because books are amazing!! It makes me happy that the large print edition sold so well, even if it was the algorithm’s fault. Please keep making large print editions 🙏🏻

[@spacey-sam]

I love when Green brother tweets get made into videos, I feel so in the know lol

[@sailorpaulino]

I LOVE mass market editions, but they are so rare for newer books. My entire Agatha Christie collection is in mass market edition, and I just think they are so cute!

[@samanthaburke3558]

My partner and I are currently reading The Anthropocene Reviewed for our first 2 person book club. We did in face order the large print on accident, but I can confirm it has not lessened the experience. I give the large print paper back The Anthropocene Reviewed 5/5 stars.

[@RavengerX1]

Kind of a story for no one, but I've recently started volunteering at my small town's local library to try and get out of my unemployment/depression slump and for the last couple of days it's been my job to retag, card, and organize their Teen/Young Adult section. 99% of the books are all donated from a town of less than 250 people, so it's a lot of teen girl centric books about dating and dating at the beach and dating magical things what probably shouldn't be dated, but there's also a handful of John's books. I remember watching videos what, the better part of a decade and a half ago, about John releasing this book and that, signing copies, and hank fishes and all that. And here I am, in a small town library that averages 1 person a day, just to use the internet most the time, and I'm tagging and stamping a collection of books from a youtube star I've been watching for close to half my life now. Just hits weird. I should probably actually read the things.

[@tessm6616]

As an Australian it is weird to hear hardcovers as the default at launch. We only really have hardcover books offered at bookstore for special editions (10th anniversary, collectors additions, etc.) It's very common/expected for first editions of popular books appear as paperbacks.

[@Asummersdaydreamer14]

As someone who frequents a public lending library with a generous budget, I hope everyone knows that needing to read Large Print books is OK and good if it makes you read more stuff you like. People who read Large Print tend to just want to read what everyone is reading of the new releases & I always think about if younger people or kids who need LP books just default to Audiobooks b/c so many of the LP collection does cater to older audiences idk

[@possiblypoet]

I give the Amazon Algorithm…3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@musicalnames]

I’ve followed you since 2007 (!) but hadn’t read Anthropocene until I joined Sharon’s book club. I’m so glad I did because it’s truly my favorite read of the year. Getting to discuss it with lots of like-minded folks was a life-giving experience, as was your talk with Sharon. Thanks for writing that beautiful book, John!

[@meaghanloos1150]

Same! I've been here as a nerdfighter since 2007 and when Sharon announced the pick, I knew I was joining a book club!

[@annekethorne7972]

This explains so much. I recently bought Crying in H Mart from Amazon, and because I wanted to bring it on my canoe camping trip I bought the paperback to reduce weight. When it showed up it was the large print edition and of course since it was longer/thicker than it would have been had it been the regular print size I didn’t end up bringing it camping anyway. And I still haven’t read it because I find the large print annoying/distracting. Publishing companies please just allow me to choose. If this continues with new books I will simply not buy newly published books without regular paperback editions/will therefore reduce the number of books I buy overall.

[@autumnbrookesings]

One of my fav things about following y'all across platforms is getting to hear the lead-up of conversations and life tidbits across multiple media platforms before it becomes a vlogbrothers video. Or even the ones that never make it to the channel, but the stories that get retold on DH&J years apart. Like, hey! I know this story. Now let me happily hear about it for the 2nd or 3rd or 4th time :) Happy pizzamas~

[@123amsterdan456]

I am just at awe of everything that came to be from two brothers deciding to use the internet as a novel way of communication. Thank you John and Hank, you guys inspire me a lot

[@lousielouise8716]

TAR was one of the last books my grandfather read before he passed this year. He loved it. I will always have that memory. Thank you, John.

[@markbrown2615]

So I am old (63) and I first learned about you via Crash Course (I am a history teacher) and then learned you were an author (why are my daughters crying?) and the later a social media sensation (I got a smart phone) and so now I thank you. Thanks!

[@mihirvasudev]

Okay this is a pretty weird and unnecessary confession, but,I pre-ordered my hardcover of the Anthropocene reviewed , but have only read the introduction because I like to “hoard” things that I know I like/love and don’t like to finish them, so that I can always have things to look forward to, thank you John for writing things that I will always look forward to!

[@catherinecase1142]

When I recommend media to a friend, I’m always jealous that they’re getting to see it for the first time!

[@3countylaugh]

I swing between this add just committing to consuming it repeatedly! So I can love it anew each time.

[@sylvy16]

I switch between hoarding media to preserve it and also finishing it as fast as possible to get to the ending.

[@MarkThePage]

I do this too!

[@soulcstudios]

This is why I annotate my books, I can always look forward to rereading it because I won't remember what my first response to the text was so I get to rediscover that while also making new discoveries

[@WoefulMinion]

This reminds me of Matt Parker's story about the most expensive book on his Stand-up Maths channel. A couple of booksellers had algorithms that adjusted their prices based on the competitor's price. Every time one of them adjusted the price the other one noticed and adjusted its price. The thing sort of spiraled out of control until someone caught it and put the price back where it should be.

[@ryan.s.h.]

I would love to see a future where publishing companies release three different editions at the start of a books printing: 1. the hard cover 2. the paperback 3. a "limited edition" or premium version with special little premium upgrades for the diehard fans or just people who love fancy books. I love a fancy book but I also love a paperback so I might even buy both at the release of a new book and therefore I would be happier and the publishing company would make more money. It's a win win for consumers and publishers and retailers alike.

[@wassholm]

I’ve always thought myself to be among the older inhabitants of nerdfighteria (I’m 43) but I’m very happy to give way for a “new” generation 😊

[@B-RollBooks]

Now THAT's how you market a book. I wasn't bored for a second, and next time my girlfriend asks if I want anything from the store, I might say "the large-print edition of The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green" even though I have the hardcover proudly sitting on my shelf.

[@ERYN__]

People in prison can only have paperback sent to them. I have a family member that pled guilty to a serious crime. I didn't know how to feel about it, but I heard he was playing lots of scrabble I sent him the paperback of the official scrabble dictionary, to help his game. I didn't know what words I wanted to say, so I sent all of them. Hank got me so excited about his first book that I pre-ordered it, discovered paperback was an option and pre-ordered that for that family member, as well as my Grandmother. I eventually wrote a couple of correspondences to that family member, but I still examine how I want to interact with that person, and what it will look like after they have served their time.

[@francescakyanda9182]

I love how large print makes reading so accessible!

[@KirtFitzpatrick]

That story is wild. I thought you named the culprit about three times before the final antagonist was revealed. It was the elderly all along..

[@frankeyithaka]

Given that a consistent theme in your books is death and questions about just general existence I think your books being popular with an older population makes perfect sense.

[@inklingofadream]

And now this video has me thinking about loaning my copy of TAR to my grandparents when my little brother is done with it (he wanted "a nonfiction book that would make him think" XD). Never would've thought of it on my own... but it IS the kind of sort of ponderous, quirky thing I think they'd be into!

[@lijohnyoutube101]

This comment desperately needs an update on the grandparents thoughts.

[@triteobservations4494]

My wife ordered a class set of TAR for her AP English class, which surprisingly showed up large print. It ended up working well for them!

[@quirkydee45]

Two more fun/odd facts to throw into the equation: First, the whole practice of releasing paperbacks a year later is actually an American publishing industry thing..... in the UK they often release both at once! I had a a horrible, unexplained but recurring chest injury that led me to seek out paperbacks for the weight difference, found i could order the UK version of new books from Bookdepository, and now often check to see if books are published there first! can get a book (and the edition i want) months before it comes out here! Second, completely unrelated: large print books are in demand and less donated to books-for-prisoners organizations, and some of those organizations can only accept paperback books. So large print books becoming more widely available and popular (and more likely to be discounted.. sometimes large print books are extra expensive) means more might more affordably find their way to those orgs and the people they serve!

[@BrandonMontenegroBrando]

Hi! youll probs never read my comment but im a student in college about to graduate with two majors in political science and communication. I have to say I have not been a fan of your previous works around teen drama simply because teen drama has never been a draw to me, nothing to do with you. So to read TAR was such a pleasant surprise. I loved this book and it has become in my top favorite books of all time. I really hope you write more books like this and this is coming from someone younger. Im about to turn 22. For someone that is anxious going through life and trying to find meaning in what I want to do in life it really was a book I needed even if it was not directly answering that question. Thanks John.

[@BlackScarabFilmZ]

That whole Large Print is also Paperback situation is a pain in ass as a bookseller, because if I open up my store's internal system, it will say Hardcover, Paperback, Mass Market, eBook, etc. For recent releases, it shows Hardcover and then the more expensive paperback which is also Large Print which throws everyone off the first few times. Now I just as a default tell people that paperbacks don't come out until a minimum of a year has elapsed from initial release and don't even check the system.

[@txsunnygirl]

I had to stop this video 42 seconds in because I thought you were saying TAR had a secret Tuatara, but urgent examination of my hardcovers of TAR and TATWD from the shelf next to me has cleared the matter up. Now I can proceed.

[@zhisu2665]

I WISH more regular books had large-print editions, I'm not elderly.. I'm only 26 but some books have ridiculously tiny fonts and I'm not a fan of reading online t.t

[@kirtanshah26]

Hey John, Australian here, I believe I've got the small-print paperback edition of The Anthropocene Reviewed. By the way, I absolutely LOVED it. Thank you so much!

[@TheGerm24]

"If they don't like the book they don't write me..." - What a great line.

[@Peardropdragon]

Amazon's algorithms for figuring out the canonical version of a book is also why when you are looking for a book that has multiple editions, the most recent editions often doesn't come up first. At the publisher where I work, we set up Amazon Ads (giving money to Amazon) for new editions to try to make sure people see them over the previous previous edition.

[@Georgesmomsu]

Our discussion with Sharon was fantastic. I’m so happy our group has enabled more people to read your wonderful book.

[@bertvandepoel]

This made me feel warm and fuzzy. Thanks John! I really needed a video like this this week 😊

[@GemShuffla]

Thank you for sharing, it really is fascinating how this happens

[@TheTaxGeek]

I'm elderly (62) and I currently own four of your books--none in large print, though. I read three of your novels and thought, gee, this guy could write a great nonfiction book--and you did!