Good morning Hank, it's Tuesday May 18th, which means The Anthropocene Reviewed book is out today!

I have to do a TV thing I am somewhat nervous about, but first, a while back I discussed the strange joy of having my books go to places I will never go. Like starting today the book has a life separate from its author, and it gets to go on all kinds of adventures around the world, forging whatever connections it can with whomever reads it.

Anyway, in response to my talking about that, Nerdfighters Jim and Rett made The Anthropocene Reviewed dot com (https://theanthropocenereviewed.com/), a domain name I am now very grateful I never bought, and built a website where people can share the approximate location of their books, and also review that location.

It has been such a joy to see the book start to travel this morning and to read your wonderful reviews of your locations, so if you have a moment, go to The Anthropocene Reviewed dot com and let people know where your book ended up. Also, share a picture of your signature, if you got an autographed one. I'm very interested to know where all the signatures went. Okay, I gotta go do this TV thing. Cut to me looking nervous.

Here we are, I'm getting my makeup done, Hank. This is my favorite thing. It feels like a nice person is putting a protective shield on me, that's how I always feel when I'm getting my makeup done. 

And I'm ready. There's also a Discord channel where you can discuss the book with other people in the community, link in the dooblydoo.

Also, reviews are coming in and so far they are very nice, like The San Francisco Chronicle said, I wanna make sure I quote this correctly, "The Anthropocene Reviewed is the perfect book to read over lunch or to keep on your nightstand for whenever you need a reminder of what it is to feel small and human in the best possible way." By the way, that review also says, "Green is a ravenous and tender polymath," which is very kind, even though I feel like proper polymaths know how to say that word, and I've never been totally confident about my pronunciation of it. Okay, now I really have to go do this TV thing.

Here's a picture of Drew Barrymore hugging my book after she said she loved it, so that was nice.

I'm back, I hope that TV thing went okay, but the most important thing is that it's over and I am where I belong in my basement. Also another great review just came in and I hope you don't mind if I read a little bit of it, it made me really happy: "Lyrical and beautiful, funny and hopeful, intricate and entertaining all at once, Green may have made his name by writing fiction and for good reason, but this first foray into nonfiction is his most mature, compelling, and beautifully written book yet." 

What else? The virtual tour started last night with the brilliant Clint Smith, and it was so fun that for a little while I forgot I was even on Zoom. The tour rolls on tonight with special guests Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser and Sarah Urist Green, and then on Wednesday, with Hank and Sarah, and then on Saturday with Ashley C. Ford and Sarah. It's gonna be a lot of fun, tickets in the dooblydoo. 

It's been a long three years, and a really, really long year and a half, and I'm just so grateful that the book is here. I wrote the book because I wanted to write my way back to wonder, and hope, and sustained attention, and it gave me that gift. And I hope it can give you something of that gift too.

Last thing from me, and it may not be easy for me to say, but: Hank, this book started with you. It started with big, sprawling conversations about our human moment and how to make sense of it. And it started with belly laughs on a tour bus during a cross-country road trip.

Like so much of my work and life, it starts with you.

There's a long-standing inside joke around here that the protagonists of all my novels are only children because I don't like to write about siblings, but that's not true. The truth is that writing about siblings is too close to my vulnerable and beating heart.

This book finally does have a main character with a sibling, and you are at the beginning and the middle and the end of it, telling me what I need to hear with wit, and empathy, and love, just like in real life. I loved writing about you almost as much as I love, and miss, being able to hang out with you, so thank you. Thank you for inspiring this book, and for supporting me every step of the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hank, I'll see you on Friday.