September 12: Paper Towns, Part 1

[cynthiayl12]

I was reading along in my book with this :D

[shoelace07]

when I first watched this video, I thought Paper Towns was going to be a murder mystery. I had a really hard time figuring out how the title fit. =P

[TheCONNORCO]

Haha! John looks like he's reciting it in his memory with his eyes closed. :D

I loved reading Paper Towns, BTW!

[DayEyK]

Listening to this after having just listened to the finished prologue I think I finally get what people mean when they say that books are made in revision. It's the same story, but it doesn't have the right feeling to it.

[hmol257]

Awesomesauce excerpt. Whoever's idea it was for him to read excerpts as videos instead of just being stressed and not knowing what else to talk about is also awesome. I'm sensing a trend here....HOO HA NERDFIGHTERS!

[dftbawolf]

i love this book! sadly i didn't get it for Christmas. but i did get Looking for Alaska.

[BlueTwinTaco]

i watched this a year ago, and only (finally) got hold of the book a few months ago, and while i was reading it, i kept wondering why i imagined these places so vividly. Watching it again, i realised that you kind of inceptioned me.

[bubble8688]

Does anyone else go back to these excerpts of paper towns and compare them to their own, current copy of the book? Or is that just me?

[ChelsieOliviaa]

The visual representation is really cool,

as I have read the book,

and I couldn't quite picture the subdivision in its entirety.

But it's very cool to SEE it.

[dannerzme]

that's awesome :)

[stickerlover164902]

I'm watching this in 2011...I still can't believe the incredible amount of insight John Green has. His writing still amazes me.

[BethTheBubblyGirl]

Creepy :D

[InfiniteTim]

I believe I would have enjoyed this book more if I had not known a jerk, from my middle school, by the name of Quentin. *sigh*

The book is still brilliant! I loved...LOVE it. I'm probably going to read it again within the coming months. Maybe I should just pronounce the name differently when I'm reading. Like..."Quine-teen" or "Quant-own". Maybe.

...

...

...

dftba

[eretrece]

I know what I want for my birthday =)

[MarkNie1]

i've just finished the book and I have a question. Did you actually pee in a bluefin bottle?

[crazycookie76]

wow. i REALLY need to get that book. he is a GOOD writer.

[trombonesarebest]

Amazingly, the park looks exactly how I had pictured it in my mind.

[neeeeves]

1. now I want to get this book, though 2. you did this same numbering thingy in Looking for Alaska and 3. while it's cute, I'd 4. try to differentiate my methods of showing my characters' observations.

Anyway, I'm just now starting to read your books and they are all made of awesome.

[deaupside]

I just got my own copy of Paper Towns, when i first saw this video I wanted to read my copy while having John read what he had at the time. I find it amazing how much the book has changed though just slightly but enough that it truly shows how editing can really change things. I find this very interesting and great that John you allow us all to do this. To not only hear what you at one point wished the book to sound like but also allow us to read the published one with you. Thanks for a lot

[muffin2413]

I watch these videos with my copy of Paper Towns next to me so that every time you read from it I can see what was changed. I love doing that. :)

[OrangeCowProduction]

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I IMAGINED IT IN MY MIND WHILST READING IT... THIS IS SO FREAKY.

[DaisyTheOtter]

Anybody else sit with their copy of Paper Towns, reading along to see what the changes were?

[mirosango14]

John, every single one of your books is going on my summer reading list.

one of the potheads in my school LOVES Looking for Alaska. I overheard him talking to one of my classmates about how awesome the book is, and that when his girlfriend stole his copy, HE WENT OUT AND BOUGHT ANOTHER ONE.

[lcarver909]

I love this book so much.

[dolphin64575]

okay, now I REALLY /REALLY/ have to get Paper Towns...

[Ashley963123]

22 people have complex feelings they choose to express by pressing the dislike button.

[Hellsyeahswimming]

You use a lot of numbered lists in your books

[nillie1234]

What does he mean by flashback??

[KatyReaL]

@nillie1234 He means that the character narrating is talking about a time in the past, when he was about 10 years old.

[robinheil]

When I started reading this book I was like, "why does this sound so familiar?" and then I saw this video and I was like ZOMG! But then I got sad because for a second I thought I had tapped into the collective subconscious or something.

[jessiefails]

I'm reading Looking For Alaska at the moment and as soon as a I finish that I'm reading Paper Towns :D

[ZetaCron]

I've written another work-in-progress piece of music based on this most excellent book ... it's my channel. :-) [Still a work in progress, at the moment, though]

[ImnAMeRicAn]

Wow, he ACTUALLY went to Baldwin Park (Jefferson Park in the book).

[gelingelingx]

When I read the title I grabbed my copy of the book and let you read it. This is amazing. To see how Jefferson Parks looks like in real life kind of destroyed my imagination. But it's still wonderful.

[lolgirl607]

did anyone else got out their book and read along? :D

Hoo Ha! Nerdfighters!

[wntw319]

@lolgirl607 i get my copy every time i watch this...

[ACWNerdfighter]

Oh John Green... you could read to sleep with that beautiful voice n_n

[TheShootingCupcake]

oh an did anyone else get your book to follow along and see what changed and didnt?

[TheShootingCupcake]

when other people read Paper Towns, did like, John's voice read it in your head? or is that just me...?

[HarryPotterTrio91]

@TheShootingCupcake Yeah. That happens to me too. Actually it happens with all of his books.

:D

[jrf185]

I wish John could voice the audiobooks for his novels. He has such a great storytelling voice. That said, I usually hear his voice when I read the novels anyway :3

[Astrobasego91]

that was really interesting... now I'm gonna buy and read your book.

[MyLifeIsBoredom]

Summer Skin in the intro... Best song ever.

[guinivereXbloodgood]

Dear John,

You are one of the first names that come to mind (after JK Rowling and David Levithan) when I think of young adult authors that have influenced the way I look at the world. Reading Paper Towns two years ago really helped me realize that, even people who I hold aloft as being made of awesome, are only people who want to connect with others and find meaning in their own lives. I mean, I guess I knew this in theory, but you helped make it real.

Thanks and DFTBA,

Shelby

[lidlurch]

It's insane how much of the footage i imagined to be in the book

[tarsman013]

omg its so cool i know where this is!!!!! i used to go to school over there...

glenridge middle used to be across from the base....

[kcardin091]

I'm going to "Jefferson Park" to find this tree tonight, at 1AM. Will post video.

[mariiaha]

hahahahaha i love when he looks up to read "...to doctor. capital D. lowercase R. period."

also, i cracked up fairly often when reading this book.

[windpotato]

"someone's wearing a new pair of jeans and I'll ask 'did you get a hair cut?''

hah, that didn't make it in

[krumbcake4life]

This book was pretty bad. not gonna lie. It was incredibly superficial and petty, but I suppose if you were trying to emulate teenage life, you succeeded. =D

[dragonfly876]

@krumbcake4life - ... Huh?

I have trouble comprehending how you reached that conclusion. I personally found the book to be quite compelling and multifaceted, /especially/ for YA lit. Which books were you comparing it to?

It's clear that we think very different things about the book, and I respect that you have a different opinion, but I disagree with your opinion and your rude/generalized way of expressing it. Mostly I'm just trying to understand your view.

Still... You definitely just FTBA. :[

[krumbcake4life]

@dragonfly876 I in no way was trying to be rude, but merely expressing my own opinion about the book. I find my dissapointment to stem from the book being over praised by the media and the fact that it did really have an interesting spin with the paper towns, yet the book failed to have a deep enough meaning in the end. The book just "rubbed me the wrong way". True, great young adult book, just not for me. oh, and what does FTBA stand for? haha

[Mara14193]

dr. jefferson jefferson was not a doctor of any kind.. :-)))

So cool!! Great book! I am not finished yet, but will be soon.

[TheGalacticCannibal]

So, I just read this book for the second time, start to finish, in an 8 hour marathon. I have to say, it was better the second time around.

[jerusha319]

wow this is old

[gamekid870]

@jerusha319 YOU'RE old.

[pseudocaveman]

Looks like it's time to go book shopping again.

[keyofawesomefan]

this is awesome real nice this is getting favorited

[AProngs]

I read your books backward, so I read this first, and it's my favorite. :D

[eragonlover1]

This is so great for visualizing the opening sequence. I should probably read it again soon.

[mushugai]

great writing... I found katherines at Barnes and Noble, but I was undecided as Im 27 and havent read a book cover to cover since high school... Mostly just technical books for computer classes. Anyway, very descriptive and intriguing.

[HaysDonald]

I need to read this! John should read his books for the audiobook releases.

[TheSangryart]

I am currently reading Paper Towns and I can't put it down. I love it so.

[ihearttheplanet]

does john do audio books ? they would be great

[hypnotisedbabe]

Man, I JUST finished reading this book today. It was awesome. I love it very, very much :)

[ntcssj]

I remember reading that "Jefferson" part of papertowns in the new skytrain in my city! AWESOME BOOK! Probably your best!

[summerdaze121]

A bit late, but I really love this book!

[mascbp10]

This was 2 years ago yesterday.

2 years.

Time goes by far too fast.

[bookwormdaisy]

It is difficult to express how awesome I find this book. :D

[maxhavis]

Sold, time to read it again.

I have been thinking about this book all day wondering if I should pick it up again.

Now I think I'm probably not gonna get much sleep now =D

[tvsuicide4]

Me too

[prongslover77]

I want to read all your books so bad! Paper town sounds amazing!

[Jodeenah]

this really needs to be sold here in the uk.

But i'll prbably just buy it off Amazon xD

[RandigTiger]

Wow! This sounds amazing! I'm definitely going to read your books soon.

[michaelmooreamhs]

The name margot with a nostalgic romantic tone makes me sad, but the book sounds phantasmagorical!

[tvsuicide4]

I LOVE YOUR USE OF THE WORLD PHANTASMAGORICAL!

(I'm such a dork, but I love interesting words getting used!)

[flomchick13]

Correction; you're such a nerd. Congrats. :)

[superjensh]

I'm buying the book :)

[Interlochengirl56]

it sounds good!<3 I will get it the next time I'm at the store.

[bmisbuc]

I just finished reading this book for the first time, and I have to say i think any questions of life i had were inadvertently answered in this book = awesome! Thank you for writing one of the best books in the world!

[zigZAGGEDzebra]

Dude, I need to read this book!

[vcav22]

it is SOOOO good one of my fave books other than harry potter :P

[zigZAGGEDzebra]

Yes, then I definitely need to read this book!

[elyzalee]

i read this a few months back and i loved it... it actually inspired me to kind of kidnap my best friend and take him on an adventure up the coast of australia, i spent a month planing it and then one night i snuck into his room convinced him to go to the mall with me (just to get him in my car) and we took off

[AnonymousFreakazoid]

That sounds like an amazing book!!!!!! Ahhh I am DEFINITELY going to read all of John's books as soon as I'm done with the Harry Potter series. I'm on book 5 :)

[FullPacketOfChipsSka]

friggen excellent book, i only had about 40 pages to go up until last night, because i didn't want to finish it. i wanted it to keep on going but it's over now. i'll just have to read searching for alaska and an abundance of katherines now which i have. yay. John Green is the man. Hank is rad too. :)

[Cinderella7865]

yes! mac computers are so "jokes"

[RiskaTallent]

I'm so far about 3/4 of the way through and this book is so amazing! I've only been reading it for two days.

[jonsuther]

Listening to this on CD during my drive to work. Loving it so far.

[roxanney4]

i got sad margo :(

[legzandherpiano]

I got happy margo. I wanted sad margo.

[roxanney4]

at first i wanted sad margo (which is why i bought that one), but now i want happy margo.

[legzandherpiano]

Yeah. I got my copy as a gift for Christmas so I had no control over which Margo I got. :P You should buy a happy Margo anyway. lol

[FullPacketOfChipsSka]

yay i got sad margo. winnerrrrrrrrrrr

[nekotheninja]

QUENTIN FTW!

[ipodgirl93]

it sounds good, I'm trying to write a book, I think I love writing.

[devilday15]

Love Paper Towns!!!!!!!

[RedHeadExitting]

I LOVE THIS

[FailFriendAlex]

I'm reading this right now!!! I read that part last night at about midnight =3

I love Paper towns already and am only halfway through with it.

[gglennwill]

What's it called?? I really want to read it.

[MikeSpuches1]

Paper Towns, by John Green!

[gglennwill]

but I goggled it and it had a different plot, i'm confused oh well

[Chronox5]

He was reading the prologue and you probably read about the main plot. Read the book, it's really worth it!

[gglennwill]

it sounds sad though, the guy doesn't end up with the girl that is sad.

[Stephychan0]

it might be a bit sad but it's a book worth reading.

[LillieTellsDaTruth]

Paper towns was amazing I loved ben.

[Iwenttoaskaban]

Oh my God, I would kill myself if I lived there. Everything looks the same; the houses, the cars, the lawns, the people...

[4windchimes]

that's actually remarkablely similar to the final copy

[Rosietherabbit]

it seems like i was the only person who got happy margo.

I'm from england and my friend bought it for me when she went to america. when she gave it to me, i nerdgasmed.

[Iwenttoaskaban]

I got happy Margo :)

[TorBarstad]

Wow. I think I'll read it.

[animerox3105]

I love Paper Towns. O_O

It's probably one of the most amazingly awesome books I've ever read. Stephanie Meyer doesn't even compare to how awesome it was.

I got Sad Margo. :)

[whoamarygrace]

I need Paper Towns.

[AeroWing]

Just got Paper Towns today, so I decided to watch these videos with the book out, and compare and stuff. I'm not going to start actually reading it yet though, because I need to finish Deathly Hallows.

On an unrelated note, I don't love the Australian cover for Paper Towns. I wish I could have got the blue "sad Margo" American cover.

[OMFGyourmom2]

I just finished Paper Towns!

(:

It's one of the best books I've ever read.

[freespirit4loudmind]

I love Paper Towns!

[Maryangel24]

i just finished reading page 149 of papertowns and am kinda freaked out about what happened in that scene, so i had to take a break and watch some nerdfighter vids.

[dave13371337]

Sounds like a good book though.

[dave13371337]

But you dont really close you're eyes when you're dead because it requires muscle to do so you cant really deal with that when you're dead.

[plainoutofthisworld]

i always assumed that it took muscle to keep your eyes open, so when you died and all your muscles relax, then your eyes shut. guess i was wrong!

[senorsqueakydesk]

I like the idea of a ring-a-later. I've always envied Saturn and felt that it was the coolest planet.

I love Paper Towns!!!

[memory3945]

I now know what I'm buying with my Barnes and Nobles gift card...

[druthie104]

lol weird I live in Jefferson park

[gabishmabi]

my birthday is on the 12th :D

nerdfighters ftw!!

[cordeliaistheone]

are there audio books of alaska, paper towns et al?

read by john?

there definitely should be

he has one of those voices that u could listen to all day

i've only read about 1/3 of alaska so far due to an overload of english coursework but i can't wait to get back to it and get the others

if there aren't audio books right now, it would be amazing if there could be sometime soon..

preferably if john reads them :)

[raisaers]

"i thought you closed your eyes when you died." - what a great line..

[blackandwhitemiko]

"I saw in Louisiana a Live Oak Growing" by Walt Whitman allusion?

[KTHiNKSoFu]

I read this last week. It truly is one of the best books I have read, and I've read quite a bit. Amazing job John!! On another note, I just found out that your brother was the awesome singer of Accio Deathly Hallows, the song I hand stuck in my head 2 summers ago. =)

[Paigeala00]

I think I might just buy this...

[avidhpfan]

You should. Definitely. Everyone should buy and read Paper Towns.

[KingArthursWenches]

omg. i'm pretty sure that's celebration florida. i live there.

and i hate it. everybody has a stick up their butt. and they're all republican. grr

Shout out to CELEBRATION, FL!!!

[someone332]

Pretty close.

[musicalmal]

After finding this, I thought two things.

1) If this was shot in Florida, Im pretty sure it was in Celebration. I live there and the street signs and parks and picturesqe houses look awfully familar.

2) Im so going to read John Greens books. I went out and bought Looking for Alaska and will be purchasing and reading your other two books soon.

[RainaaKairi]

=0

I have to read this book now! I now know what to buy with my Barnes and Noble gift card. Although, Guiness Book of World Records 2009 was a good option...

[moonlady3000]

OMG, I finally read Paper Towns - it was awesome, you should read it.

[musicalcurse]

Paper Towns is fantastic. I highly recommend it.

[KavithaisPadfoot]

This is where the magic begun.

[roysters5]

paper towns paper towns paper towns!!!

[NoOtherRoad]

My brother has an imaginary friend named Jeffery Jeff.

This Soooo made me think of Dr. Jefferson Jefferson.

[Zonexi]

omg, I only just realized that you wrote Paper towns. *Hits self in head* Geez I am stupid.

[wildboy92004]

You can really tell that was an Air Force Base at one time. I've never seen such flat land before. I guess I should probably travel out of Iowa more.

[urbanosara]

it's the best book i have ever read.

[Spactacularr]

Having earlier read Looking for Alaska, and finding your videos, I have just ordered Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines.

I'm excited :)

[oobershnooze]

OMG i love paper towns!

[RockonDS]

Try this its weird 0.o

Click just above the red youtube bar (under video)

on the right side

[xthemusicroomx]

I LOVE "Paper Towns"!!!!!!!!!

[karicshnakof]

Where do i see Hanks videos

[ALIVlogs]

go to their channel and you can type is any date. it that date is John, then type the next date and it will be Hank!

[jarrod72501]

This would have been my first time listening to any commentary on Greens book ,however the screen says it is no longer available.

Thanks for the dead link.

[Jo2Be]

you are rich :) nice houses over there.

i live in belgium.

[PRESTONtv]

This book was incredible

[xOhaDancerx]

Looking For Alaska is still my favorite, but Paper Towns is really good, too.

[xthemusicroomx]

I LOVE "Looking for Alaska" what's your fave part??

[SoccerxJeremy]

Just got it today,

love it so far. XD

[jennbible]

i finished paper towns like 5 minutes ago,it was amazing,equally as good as looking for alaska,which is my favorite book and the best book i have ever read.

[Alimaria]

Johhhnnn I just read your book. I've been in kind of a book stump recently. I got your book from the library and I read it from 10pm-2am and then finished the last part today. I was glad to be out of my reading block. xD

[kira902k]

i love this book.

and i love seeing the actual park and town. thanks for this video.

[flyhoney18]

Gah, paper towns was incredible.

[Jmetelsky15]

very much so

[AEM327]

absolutely

[CKRikou]

Honestly, it's so incredible that the Incredible Hulk falters in comparison with the book.

This book is so incredible that the Incredibles had to change their last name to the Not-So-Incredible-Anymore-That­-Paper-Towns-Exists.

haha, this is comment is lame.

[THEhahahahahahaWALL]

I've onIy read 2 books in my life (Harry Potter and 1984) I bought Paper Towns last night, i was looking for "Clockwork Orange" but didnt find it.

Then I went to the "Young Adult" section, and this ones kept my attention, for the cover, i tought the girl on the cover was beautiful, and then by the reviews on the back of the book. xD

i hope its not a waste of time.

[AEM327]

it's definately not a waste of time :)

[THEhahahahahahaWALL]

yeah, its not, i've been reading it, its great.

xD

[Amiryfey]

It's awesome to hear this and see how it changed, not as much actually

[iamsmoochums]

On amazon if you look at papertowns as related books it comes up as a harry potter book! how cool is that?

[rayz0rz]

It reminds me of 'The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy', which is awesome.^^

I have to read this book, because 'The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy' is awesome...

[fistyfive]

Why do you have to be so great?! Makes me all jealous.

[vietchicken]

lol the books funny XD

[friendleycat]

Hey. you came to my school on monday. Ironwood high school. we all really liked you, and your obsession with black santas.LOL even tho most of our questions were about your ex- girlfriends.

[RebeccaInTheTARDIS]

Awesomeness...and why does everyone have a macbook? I feel so left out! D:

[samanthak2205]

wow, it's amazing how i've been hearing about pt for so long, and now it's finally out. still havent ahd a chance to make it to my bookstore an hour away, but i WILL get paper towns! and CONGRATULATIONS on making it to number 5 on the nyt bestseller list!

[U2Bwatcher]

Paper Towns = <3

[DittoFreak]

Comment 177:

Holy Crap, that sounds like a good book.

And the whole dead person thing?

Phwoar.

[PEYTOONIE]

This book turned out to be amazing. :)

I already read it twice.

I like the changes you made to the beginning though, it made me book play out better.

dftba.

[stardust0687]

How have I never seen this?!

Oh well, now I have. After I've read the book. lol