tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post8559781242309667028..comments2024-03-28T05:11:15.109-04:00Comments on Avid Reader's Musings: Walden Melissa (Avid Reader)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02119628715475021774noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-89788426338226477102018-02-18T23:19:10.759-05:002018-02-18T23:19:10.759-05:00Tim - I would love to find a copy of that! Tim - I would love to find a copy of that! Melissa (Avid Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02119628715475021774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-58998333539763443802018-02-15T08:36:47.225-05:002018-02-15T08:36:47.225-05:00Dredging up the past here! Great review, I'm h...Dredging up the past here! Great review, I'm halfway through Walden and have similar thoughts to you. There are some passages that just resonate like poetry and others that are pure tedium. I find he gets distracted by his own musings a lot, he'll be describing the cost of the materials or how he obtained them etc before straying aimlessly into the philosophy of earning a living. This can be seen as good or bad, in some ways it reads quite natural like a conversation evolving from one topic to the next but then it can be quite jarring when he springs back to a breakdown of the costs of his dinner.<br /><br />My only previous Thoreau was 'A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers' which I really enjoyed. It was more focused on describing the journey itself with some incredibly descriptive passages:<br /><br />"I had often stood on the banks of the Concord, watching the lapse of the current, an emblem of all progress, following the same law with the system, with time, and all that is made; the weeds at the bottom gently bending down the stream, shaken by the watery wind, still planted where their seeds had sunk, but ere long to die and go down likewise; the shining pebbles, not yet anxious to better their condition, the chips and weeds, and occasional logs and stems of trees, that floated past, fulfilling their fate, were objects of singular interest to me, and at last I resolved to launch myself on its bosom, and float whither it would bear me."<br /><br />Difficult to get hold of a physical copy these days!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16035627911787531509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-55958489017304816262013-08-16T09:42:02.241-04:002013-08-16T09:42:02.241-04:00**Sorry I accidently deleted this comment!**
Jane...**Sorry I accidently deleted this comment!**<br /><br />JaneGS said...<br /><br />Walden is one of those books I wish I had already read--I think an abridged version might be what I want. I've hesitated reading it because of the tedium you mention, but wanted to read the good parts.<br /><br />I've visited the replica of the cabin in Concord. It is amazingly small.<br /><br />Good review of a seminal work. <br /><br />JaneGS - I would LOVE to visit the replica cabin. I think it's hard to grasp exactly how simple the life he was living really was. Melissa (Avid Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02119628715475021774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-60783741330749307882013-03-20T10:47:56.442-04:002013-03-20T10:47:56.442-04:00Care - Oh my gosh yes!!! Seriously, best pie we...Care - Oh my gosh yes!!! Seriously, best pie we've ever had. They are a bit like a mix between a blueberry and blackberry, but without the seeds. Our 4 year anniversary is this fall and the traditional gift is fruit/flowers so I'm ordering huckleberries to make a pie. I'll let you know how it goes. <br /><br />Brooke - Ha, exactly! He had such wise thoughts, but I would have hated being friends with him. Melissa (Avid Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02119628715475021774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-41442671993474922042013-03-19T22:13:44.765-04:002013-03-19T22:13:44.765-04:00Ah, Thoreau. Despite what a pompous ass he could b...Ah, Thoreau. Despite what a pompous ass he could be, his writing is just stunning! Haven't read Walden in quite a while. Definitely need to find myself a copy one of these days.Brookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13474997114568231162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-69769263912666965542013-03-19T13:27:38.079-04:002013-03-19T13:27:38.079-04:00Huckleberries? I want to try. Are they pie-worth...Huckleberries? I want to try. Are they pie-worthy?Carehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06478474870247729611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-7031899112932557962013-03-18T16:29:25.734-04:002013-03-18T16:29:25.734-04:00Sandy - I just kept thinking, man this guy had nev...Sandy - I just kept thinking, man this guy had never even heard of TV or the internet and he felt overwhelmed by society. His head would explode now! <br /><br />Heather - Even though there were sections I struggled with, I know there are other bits I will return to in the future. <br /><br />Lemon Tree - It felt like a very slow read to me, but there were some sections that I just adored. <br /><br />Nikki - Bahaha, there were moments when I totally could have done that. Melissa (Avid Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02119628715475021774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-37365263866511872052013-03-18T13:44:37.350-04:002013-03-18T13:44:37.350-04:00I have a friend who threw that book across the roo...I have a friend who threw that book across the room after he had been talking about an ax for twenty pages, haha. But I do think he has some great thoughts when it comes to solitude--something that, as I'm getting more into social media, I want to cultivate every once in a while. Nikki Steelehttp://www.bookpairing.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-13253688370771824312013-03-18T09:43:40.848-04:002013-03-18T09:43:40.848-04:00I'm still reading it half-way. It's quite ...I'm still reading it half-way. It's quite difficult for me to stay reading, but I like the feeling I get when I read this book. It feels like reading somebody pouring his heart out. Hope I will be able to finish it. Lemon Treehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340029101536146372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-57832660990339834532013-03-18T06:59:19.849-04:002013-03-18T06:59:19.849-04:00This is one of my all-time favorite books, and I t...This is one of my all-time favorite books, and I try to read it every spring. I'll probably go through it next month. I'm glad you read it and enjoyed it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8481406859587493585.post-38721865180084754772013-03-18T06:09:26.063-04:002013-03-18T06:09:26.063-04:00Ha! Sounds like maybe he was a little self-absorb...Ha! Sounds like maybe he was a little self-absorbed. Why else would he think we really wanted to hear all those details? Still I think it is great that over a hundred years later, this work is still viable. There are weeks when I do believe we need to shut off the electronics and go for a walk.Sandy Nawrothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00564390728106776030noreply@blogger.com