Good morning Hank, it’s Tuesday.

My book the Anthropocene Reviewed comes out 1 week from today. I am a small boat and these are big waves.

Anyway, it’s Question Tuesday, the day that I answer real questions from real nerdfighters. Let’s get right to it. Out of 14 years of vlogbrothers in jokes, what’s your favorite?

It’s when Hank left the “i” out of the word communication in our 2007 intro, and we had to think of a reason so he said it was because there is no “i” in brotherhood. I still think about that all the time. What is your opinion on frogs?

Largely positive. What’s the difference between the physical book and the audio book? I mean, the main difference is that one is primarily an eye experience and the other is primarily an ear experience.

There are a few essays in the audiobook that are not in the physical book, and there are things in the physical book that are not in the audiobook, just because they’re different ways of telling stories and I want it to reflect that. Like in the physical book there’s this thing called the half title page, and I have very strong opinions about half title pages so I wrote a review of half title pages. What’s the strangest thing someone has ever recognized you for?

Once I was in an airport store with my best friend Chris Waters and after he paid for his stuff I went up with my magazine or whatever, and the store clerk was like “listen this is a weird question,” and I was like “yeah, I am John Green.” And the clerk was like “no I already know that. What I’m wondering is, how do you know Vince Vaughn?” So the strangest thing I’ve ever been recognized for is being. Vince Vaughn’s best friend.

How do you manage to push through your severe anxiety and function as a human being? Well, sometimes I don’t function very well. But also I wouldn’t say that I push through it.

I would say that I try to treat it and when necessary try to accommodate it. Like I would any other chronic health problem. I know you have an email for Anthropocene Reviewed listeners to write in, what’s an email that resonated with you?

There are a lot, but I feel like I can’t talk about them because they’re too personal. People write into that email address with such raw emotion that I want to protect that. It actually reminds me of this moment from my favorite movie Harvey where the main character talks about chatting with strangers at a bar.

They tell me about the big terrible things they’ve done, the wonderful things they’ll do their hopes and their regrets and their loves and their hates. All very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. Nobody ever brings anything small into that email address either.

I mean, for writing to work both reader and writer have to some how lay down their protective shields of cynicism and commingle their fear and yearning and hope and joy, and whatever else. And I cannot tell you how grateful I am to the people who have done that to the Anthropocene Reviewed. Sometimes when I’m reading I’ll feel like the author knows something about me that I’ve never told anyone, and that will make me feel less alone in those amorphous depths of the self and that’s what I love most about art.

And if the Anthropocene Reviewed can be that for some people, I feel very very fortunate. Are there parts of the book that wouldn’t have worked on the podcast? Yeah, most notably the picture-y parts but also the wintry mix parts.

Did you include the word deadpan exactly once in the Anthropocene Reviewed as you have for every book you’ve written since an Abundance of Katherine’s? Indeed I did, that is another 14 year old that I really enjoy. Could you please pronounce some foreign language titles of the book?

Yes and with great skill as per usual. In dutch, it will be Welkom in Heet Anthropoceen. And in German it will be Wie Hat Ihnen Das Anthropozan Bis Jetzt Gefallen?

I didn’t know how to deal with the question mark so I just sort of raised my voice. By the way, I like the German title so much I wrote the entire concluding essay in the book about it. Are the essays organized by date written or in alphabetical order?

And should I read them in order like a novel or can I just jump around? You can read it however you like, I am very over authors prescribing reading experiences. The book belongs to you, use it however it can be useful.

But it’s not organized alphabetically or by date, it’s organized by a vague journey from childhood to adulthood. And then a journey from hope to despair to hope. Wait, what is this book about exactly?

Yeah I still don’t know. I guess it’s about awe. Or connectedness or how weird it is that temporary beings can conceive of permanence?

And lastly, what’s on your vision board this week? I really hope you like the Anthropocene Reviewed Book. Hank, I’ll see you on Friday.

PS I’m going on a virtual tour Next week for the Anthropocene Reviewed. But I’m also doing an event with the wonderful Dan Howell about his book You Will Get Through This Night more info and tickets in the dooblydoo. .