--- description: He talks 'Paper Towns' in the first of four AMAs leading up to the movie title: 4 Things We Learned from John Green's Reddit AMA image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41718587e0548b6e/69869125810bbb0d16c91c7d/john-green-portrait-the-fault-in-our-stars.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 4 Things We Learned from John Green's Reddit AMA  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 17, 2015 4:34 PM CUT  Gregg Segal for TIME  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 17, 2015 4:34 PM CUT Celebrities often have a transitory relationship with Reddit: they arrive hawking their latest project, they answer a few questions during an ask-me-anything Q&A session, then they leave, often never to return. But _The Fault in Our Stars_ author John Green is after a more genuine and lasting relationship with his fans and readers — [he pops in threads from time to time](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32xa0p/iam%5Fjohn%5Fgreenvlogbrother%5Fcrash%5Fcourse%5Fhost/cqfk44w "undefined") — so he’s planning to do one AMA every month until the release of the _Paper Towns_, the second film adaptation of one his novels. [Here are four things we learned from his first session](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32xa0p/iam%5Fjohn%5Fgreenvlogbrother%5Fcrash%5Fcourse%5Fhost/ "undefined"): If he had to choose between video blogging on YouTube with his brother, Hank, and turning his books into movies, [the choice is clear](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32xa0p/iam%5Fjohn%5Fgreenvlogbrother%5Fcrash%5Fcourse%5Fhost/cqfhgc9 "undefined"): --- > “” --- There are [three main reasons](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32xa0p/iam%5Fjohn%5Fgreenvlogbrother%5Fcrash%5Fcourse%5Fhost/cqfi98y "undefined") he likes writing for and about teenagers: --- > “” --- A line in his book _Looking for Alaska_ [was inspired by his wife](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32xa0p/iam%5Fjohn%5Fgreenvlogbrother%5Fcrash%5Fcourse%5Fhost/cqfims9 "undefined"): --- > “” --- He worries _Paper Towns_ newcomers[ who see the trailer](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32xa0p/iam%5Fjohn%5Fgreenvlogbrother%5Fcrash%5Fcourse%5Fhost/cqfj2kx "undefined") might think the movie reinforces the Manic Pixie Dream Girl myth [instead of challenging it](http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/post/57820644828/hey-john-i-was-just-wondering-what-your "undefined"): --- > “” --- _Paper Towns_ hits theaters July 24. _Read next:_ [_Watch Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne in the New_ ](http://time.com/3818857/new-paper-towns-clip/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined")[Paper Towns _Clip_](http://time.com/3818857/new-paper-towns-clip/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3826680/john-green-reddit-ama/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3826680/john-green-reddit-ama/"},"headline":"4 Things We Learned from John Green's Reddit AMA","datePublished":"2015-04-17T16:34:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:29:06.711Z","description":"He talks Paper Towns and Looking For Alaska","url":"https://time.com/3826680/john-green-reddit-ama/","keywords":["Books","movies","The Fault In Our Stars","john green","paper towns"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41718587e0548b6e/69869125810bbb0d16c91c7d/john-green-portrait-the-fault-in-our-stars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41718587e0548b6e/69869125810bbb0d16c91c7d/john-green-portrait-the-fault-in-our-stars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"John Green Portrait The Fault in Our Stars","caption":"John Green Portrait The Fault in Our Stars","creditText":"Gregg Segal for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3826680/john-green-reddit-ama/","name":"4 Things We Learned from John Green's Reddit AMA"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Best Free and Cheap Ebooks Sites","description":"Some of our favorite places to go for summer reading on the cheap.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/35n2mZWt/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-25T15:53:11.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/35n2mZWt.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3826680/john-green-reddit-ama/","duration":"PT1M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3826680/john-green-reddit-ama/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```