But what struck me most at last night's event (you can find a link to its livestream here) was that even though this was an event ostensibly for the book, it was also about something so much greater, and something that certainly wasn't going to end in the interim as fans waited for the next John Green novel. In this update on a kind of old-fashioned variety show, with readings, songs, musical guests, dancing, speeches, and a question and answer portion of the night — complete with costume changes — there were common threads. Many of the songs (performed by The Mountain Goats and Kimya Dawson as well as Hank Green) were about love and how important it is to each of us, whether it's love for another human or love for something creative and compelling. Sometimes the messages were also about high school, and the kind of loneliness we can feel even when we've left that place; about the regrets we have, maybe, about how we should have done things better while we were there, and how we'll do things better in the future. You could boil some of this down to an anti-bullying/it gets better sort of message, but there's more. There was talk of writing, in connection with loneliness and also with collaboration. "This is what I love about novels," said John. "They jump into the abyss to be with you where you are ... reading a good book helps us feel un-alone." He added that the life of Esther Earl, a friend and inspiration for The Fault in Our Stars, had taught him a "hero's journey is not from weakness to strength. The real hero's journey is from strength to weakness."

That journey does not need to be an oppressively sad one, though, even if we acknowledge that parts of life are inescapably sad. The Green brothers, both energetic 30-somethings, are all about community, and collaboration, and not being alone — metaphorically, but also probably literally. Not feeling alone, at least. So they've surrounded themselves with others, each other and beyond. Their video-blog project, Brotherhood 2.0, begun in the mid-2000s, involved the creation of Vlogbrothers and led to memes, catchphrases, fans known as Nerdfighters, and the world of "Nerdfighteria" that's still going strong. It's a full-blown movement, with meetings and project collaborations and friendships and forums, in person and online. And there's the related Project of Awesome from the brothers — "an annual event that sprung out of various YouTube communities to support charities and other ways of decreasing the overall worldwide level of suck" — which has raised hundred of thousands of dollars to help make the world a better place, a place where it's O.K., even awesome, to be a nerd.

In the question and answer portion of the night, Green was asked for his advice for aspiring novelists. He said, "Read a lot, read broadly, and tell stories to your friends. Pay attention when they get bored. Write a lot." Gaiman added, "Read everything. Write. Finish things and get on with the next one ... You'll learn more from a glorious failure than from something you've never finished." Hank was asked, "When do you feel like you're a real adult?" and responded, shrugging his shoulders, "Hopefully you never will." Later, resolving an age-old Internet battle, it was determined by Hank in the Q&A lightning round that "gif" is pronounced "jiff," and not with a hard g.