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thejadedhippy's review against another edition
5.0
Really more of a 4.5 but why not bump it up a bit? I enjoyed this meditation on what it was like for the author coming out of the pandemic and founding wonder again. It wasn’t quite what I expected and I think I’ll be coming back to it again in the future. It’s a subtle book.
deluciate's review against another edition
4.0
May picks an idea and then writes about the story of her exploration of that, including stuff she does during her research as well as memoirs of moments in her past. In this book, she's dealing with the overwhelm and detachment of the COVID lockdowns in the UK by trying to reconnect with a feeling of enchantment.
The book is split into four quarters, each themed for one of the elements (earth, water, fire, air), and as an example, when she's exploring the element of fire, she talks about historical and present experiences of meteor showers.
The book is split into four quarters, each themed for one of the elements (earth, water, fire, air), and as an example, when she's exploring the element of fire, she talks about historical and present experiences of meteor showers.
hannscaveny's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I throughly enjoyed May’s eloquent fumble toward an enchantment with life that can and should also be found by each person in their own vein. Such a thing would make for more wonder, connection, and rest for us all.
trin's review against another edition
1.0
The author's Wintering was a major bestseller, so I thought I should see what the fuss was about. Maybe I should have read Wintering itself, because this, her latest, was a disastrous mess which left me disliking her voice on the page so much, I certainly will not be returning for more.
Me reading this book:
May scrambles madly, searching for what this book should be about; then, in the acknowledgements, she straight-up admits to throwing away several ideas and struggling to figure out what to write about. A kinder editor would have given her time and space to feel passionate about something, but instead she was clearly forced to rush this out to try to capitalize on Wintering. Mostly we hear about how cell phones are bad, the pandemic was harder on Katherine May than anyone else, and some bullshit spiritualism. My mistake for thinking this book would be about nature, or anything.
Rarely have I encountered a book that inspires so precisely the opposite of what it claims to. Which is almost wondrous in and of itself -- just in a bad way.
Me reading this book:
May scrambles madly, searching for what this book should be about; then, in the acknowledgements, she straight-up admits to throwing away several ideas and struggling to figure out what to write about. A kinder editor would have given her time and space to feel passionate about something, but instead she was clearly forced to rush this out to try to capitalize on Wintering. Mostly we hear about how cell phones are bad, the pandemic was harder on Katherine May than anyone else, and some bullshit spiritualism. My mistake for thinking this book would be about nature, or anything.
Rarely have I encountered a book that inspires so precisely the opposite of what it claims to. Which is almost wondrous in and of itself -- just in a bad way.