John Green is a bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, and Turtles All the Way Down. His first work of non-fiction, The Anthropocene Reviewed, has been released in May 2021.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I desperately wish I could sing well.
What is your most treasured possession?
A book that my wife made for me. Before we started dating, Sarah and I exchanged hundreds of emails as friends, and when we got engaged, she printed those emails and bound them into a book.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A walk in the woods with my family.
What is your motto?
Simple words from WH Auden: “We must love one another or die.”
How would you like to die?
In bed, after 122 years of perfect health.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be?
Oh, I’d like to come back as a person. It would be lovely to come back as a person who can do things I can’t do, like understand spreadsheets and play the guitar.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Prudence.
What is your current state of mind?
Worried, but hopeful.