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I know, I know: shut up about John Green already! He hasn’t worked for mental_floss for like three years and yet you blog about everything he does! Gahh!
To this, and similar criticisms, I say: yes, it’s been awhile since John worked here, but he’s still responsible for like 50% of the books we ever published, which people are still buying and reading and infotaining themselves with. Also, I haven’t blogged about John in a long time, and he just published an awesome new novel, which is more than blogworthy.
Also also, John’s novel is about, among other things, growing up in that strange disposable exurban wasteland that is (or can be) Florida, a topic I we both find pretty darn compelling since we both grew up there. And a very significant portion of the book centers around what John calls “paper towns” and what I have called “aborted suburbs” — suburban communities that are platted out, the roads paved, perhaps even lots for the houses cleared, before the developers ran out of money or some bureaucratic epic fail sent the whole endeavor to Hell, leaving a place which is a town on paper, but not much else. (I did a Strange Geographies blog about one of these “towns” awhile back, which was just a few miles from my childhood home, and the deserted streets of which Mexican drugrunners used to use as landing strips.)
I’ve read Paper Towns, but this isn’t a book review. But I will say that I think it’s John’s most mature and heartfelt novel to date, full of wit and wisdom (and plenty of floss-worthy facts, unsurprisingly). Or as John’s editor describes it, Paper Towns is “the funniest serious mystery novel ever written about love and Walt Whitman.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
You can buy it on Amazon, or watch him read parts of it on YouTube.
Comments (6)
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I somehow missed all previous John Green posts you did–I didn’t realize he’s a former floss writer. No wonder I love his writing!
posted by nutmeag on 10-21-2008 at 8:43 am
I love that you posted this, Ransom. Looking for Alaska has been one of my standard gifts to smart teens for the past few years, and it’s always at the top of my recommendations list. Can’t wait to get my hands on Paper Towns.
posted by Mangesh Hattikudur on 10-21-2008 at 9:56 am
I have no problem with any book recommendations you have, thank you very much.
posted by Johnny Cat on 10-21-2008 at 1:35 pm
I’ve seen so many book blogs reviewing this book, and I want to read it. I really enjoyed Looking for Alaska.
posted by Krista on 10-21-2008 at 4:09 pm
I have been waiting and hoping that there would be a paper towns blog! I haven’t gotten to read it yet, stupid school work keeping me from it, but I have it and CANNOT WAIT to read it. I had read An Abundance of Katherines and LOVED IT, I kept thinking, holy crap, this reminds me of mental_floss with all the random facts, I bet this guy would love mental_floss! When I finally got to reading Looking for Alaska and read John’s bio in the back of the book, I learned why exactly Katherines and Alaska reminded me so much of my favorite magazine. Haha.
Of course I now proudly call myself a nerdfighter, religiously watch Hank and his videos and of course buy both covers of paper towns just so I have margo on and off her happy pills.
All in all, GO OUT. BUY PAPER TOWNS. READ IT. LOVE IT AND THEN BUY ALL HIS OTHER NOVELS. READ THEM. LOVE THEM. BECOME A NERDFIGHTER.
:]
(btw, anyone I know that has enjoyed any of his books I just send a link to this website, I have two friends that steal my mental_floss when I am done reading it, all because of dear John.)
okay.
I’m done.
:]
posted by K. Schaubz on 10-21-2008 at 4:17 pm
Sweet, thanks for mentioning the book. Anyone who is relatively new to the Mental Floss site will most likely not be annoyed by your posts about John (I, also, have not seen any previous posts about him).
Will check out his other books too!
posted by Dawn on 11-15-2008 at 6:59 pm