Scan barcode
pattydsf's review
3.0
“A walk is exploring surfaces and textures with finger, toe, and—yuck—tongue; standing still and seeing who or what comes by; trying out different forms of locomotion (among them running, marching, high-kicking, galloping, scooting, projectile falling, spinning, and noisy shuffling). It is archeology: exploring the bit of discarded candy wrapper; collecting a fistful of pebbles and a twig and a torn corner of a paperback; swishing dirt back and forth along the ground. It is stopping to admire the murmuring of the breeze in the trees; locating the source of the bird’s song; pointing. Pointing!— using the arm to extend one’s fallen gaze so someone else can see what you’ve seen. It is a time of sharing.”
I really wanted to like this book. Overall, it wasn’t bad – I just wanted it to be better. To be honest, if I want a book to be “better” maybe my expectations don’t match up what the author is trying to do. My lack of connection is more likely my problem than the author’s.
Horowitz is attempting to get her readers to pay more attention. She knows, from watching others, that we don’t see much when we are in a familiar place. I know that I don’t see much on my daily drive to the gym or my weekly trip to church. There is much more going on. So, I am grateful for Horowitz’s premise. She takes various walks with a diverse group who see their environment through different passions (rocks), different senses (blindness) or different ages (her young son). All this is good – there just seemed to be something missing.
As I look through the book one more time, I think my issue is with the voice that Horowitz uses to tell her tale. It seems inactive to me. I am not sure I am explaining this correctly, but I might have liked the essays more if in some of them I felt like an active participant. I don’t have this right – I may have more to say after my book group meets.
I like the premise of this book, maybe I just wanted more than Horowitz actually promised.
I really wanted to like this book. Overall, it wasn’t bad – I just wanted it to be better. To be honest, if I want a book to be “better” maybe my expectations don’t match up what the author is trying to do. My lack of connection is more likely my problem than the author’s.
Horowitz is attempting to get her readers to pay more attention. She knows, from watching others, that we don’t see much when we are in a familiar place. I know that I don’t see much on my daily drive to the gym or my weekly trip to church. There is much more going on. So, I am grateful for Horowitz’s premise. She takes various walks with a diverse group who see their environment through different passions (rocks), different senses (blindness) or different ages (her young son). All this is good – there just seemed to be something missing.
As I look through the book one more time, I think my issue is with the voice that Horowitz uses to tell her tale. It seems inactive to me. I am not sure I am explaining this correctly, but I might have liked the essays more if in some of them I felt like an active participant. I don’t have this right – I may have more to say after my book group meets.
I like the premise of this book, maybe I just wanted more than Horowitz actually promised.
kaylielongley's review
4.0
In 2019, I am setting 19 goals for myself. On Goodreads, that's 36 books. In real life, one goal is scheduling time for adventure, at least once a week. Alexandra Horowitz' nonfiction book, On Looking, encourages just that.
Sometimes, I get stuck. Horowitz, a cognitive psychologist and avid walker, suggests I need to go outside, sometimes with a companion, to get a fresh perspective. But she got 11. Though it's not quite 11 walks around the same block, it reads like a love letter to New York: tangents (and walks) are winding, and some stories feel more personal. The footnotes, clearly inspired by Oliver Sacks, often miss the clever mark. The so-called experts include her son, dog, and various professionals, in sound engineering, physical therapy, typography, and much more. I'm not sure how she found these folks, or why she chose them, but the richest material highlights their passions: on these walks, neglected couches are flipped over, letters on windows are "pregnant", and only certain spots are suitable for dog peeing.
Yet despite the promise of 11 consistent paths (and thus creating a constant variable), I loved the conversations between the author and her blind companion, thoughtful and reflective. The bookends, a walk with her toddler and pup, add depth by reminding me to pause, sniff, and laugh at the mundane. Horowitz wants to be perceived as an expert social scientist, but she is full of zest and curiosity, and that is her strength. I learn a mouse can fit into a dime-sized hole. That sometimes a bug's path grows larger as the bug himself does, too.
Life is all about one's perception, and On Looking reminds me to keep exploring.
Sometimes, I get stuck. Horowitz, a cognitive psychologist and avid walker, suggests I need to go outside, sometimes with a companion, to get a fresh perspective. But she got 11. Though it's not quite 11 walks around the same block, it reads like a love letter to New York: tangents (and walks) are winding, and some stories feel more personal. The footnotes, clearly inspired by Oliver Sacks, often miss the clever mark. The so-called experts include her son, dog, and various professionals, in sound engineering, physical therapy, typography, and much more. I'm not sure how she found these folks, or why she chose them, but the richest material highlights their passions: on these walks, neglected couches are flipped over, letters on windows are "pregnant", and only certain spots are suitable for dog peeing.
Yet despite the promise of 11 consistent paths (and thus creating a constant variable), I loved the conversations between the author and her blind companion, thoughtful and reflective. The bookends, a walk with her toddler and pup, add depth by reminding me to pause, sniff, and laugh at the mundane. Horowitz wants to be perceived as an expert social scientist, but she is full of zest and curiosity, and that is her strength. I learn a mouse can fit into a dime-sized hole. That sometimes a bug's path grows larger as the bug himself does, too.
Life is all about one's perception, and On Looking reminds me to keep exploring.
clubsanwich's review
An insightful and interesting concept. Just wish the writing was more concise. It was difficult to get immersed in the stories when it was so verbose.
thegoldenquetzal's review
1.0
It feels as though the author sat down with her thesaurus, said, "How can I puff this draft up as much as possible?", and then replaced every other word with something in her thesaurus before proceeding to beat the reader about the head with gobs of passive voice. The writing is overly pretentious and stilted, and the concept - which sounds fascinating based on how the book is sold to us as readers - is not executed as promised. Furthermore, it is unbelievably dull to read.
davemmett's review
4.0
This was a pretty unique book. Alexandra walks around New York City (and a few other places) with a bunch of different experts, then explains all the new things she notices/learns from the perspective they bring to the walk.
Outside of the context of 'walking around cities with people', this book would just be a random collection of interesting things - what you can learn about people by how they walk, how dogs 'see' the world through their sense of smell, and the migration patterns of insects, among other equally random things. But she manages to pull the whole thing together and it works.
Outside of the context of 'walking around cities with people', this book would just be a random collection of interesting things - what you can learn about people by how they walk, how dogs 'see' the world through their sense of smell, and the migration patterns of insects, among other equally random things. But she manages to pull the whole thing together and it works.
coleperry's review
2.0
Super interesting premise.
I guess I was hoping I was on the walks with the experts, learning things.
I was less interested in the author's lens of it all.
Not a bad book at all; often kept me intrigued.
I guess I was hoping I was on the walks with the experts, learning things.
I was less interested in the author's lens of it all.
Not a bad book at all; often kept me intrigued.