Scan barcode
vividynasty's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.75
bishopbox's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
2.0
I thought the concept was super cool but the execution left something to be desired. It’s not a revolutionary book at all, but sometimes, a person wants to read a light-hearted book with some simple (and sometimes wrong) fun facts to think about through the day. I have no gripe with that.
However, I feel like nothing was done to really give it that oomph I was wanting. Like great, we know a bunch of basic facts about some different fields that we can notice on walks. But i think it would’ve added a lot to just talk about learning to observe stuff that matters to you. How can this observation be added into other areas of life? How do you learn to observe for an area/field that you aren’t familiar with? How do you keep observation fun?
I think there’s just a lot of other directions that could’ve added more to the book.
However, I feel like nothing was done to really give it that oomph I was wanting. Like great, we know a bunch of basic facts about some different fields that we can notice on walks. But i think it would’ve added a lot to just talk about learning to observe stuff that matters to you. How can this observation be added into other areas of life? How do you learn to observe for an area/field that you aren’t familiar with? How do you keep observation fun?
I think there’s just a lot of other directions that could’ve added more to the book.
macroscopicentric's review against another edition
I mostly skipped the entire first chapter, which basically amounts to “newsflash! toddlers have different priorities than adults and notice different things than us, did you know?!” as if this is itself a groundbreaking observation. I tried to keep reading at chapter 2 but finally gave up and DNF’d it when Horowitz gets super condescending and preemptively handwringing about using geological terms in… a chapter about a geologist’s expertise.
Yikes! Here I must pause, anticipating a collective drop in reader blood pressure. One risks, in writing about geology, numbing one’s readership with the terminology. Schist, gneiss, phyllite; metamorphic, sedimentary; siliciclastic, schistosity. It can be dizzying. I sympathize. I hear “Paleozoic” and I nearly drop right into a deep sleep.
Like maybe if you need to stop in the middle of your geology explainer to talk about how boring geology is, you shouldn’t be the person giving a geology explainer?
Ultimately this book is much more pseudo-philosophical self-help inescapably tied to Horowitz’s own assumptions about what is and isn’t worth observing, than it is about any actual observations made by her expert walk companions. If you, too, need to be shocked into seeing that the priorities of a toddler are different than yours, or if you automatically tune out as soon as an expert uses any of the specialized vocabulary from their field, then maybe this book is for you too. 🤷🏼♀️
Ultimately this book is much more pseudo-philosophical self-help inescapably tied to Horowitz’s own assumptions about what is and isn’t worth observing, than it is about any actual observations made by her expert walk companions. If you, too, need to be shocked into seeing that the priorities of a toddler are different than yours, or if you automatically tune out as soon as an expert uses any of the specialized vocabulary from their field, then maybe this book is for you too. 🤷🏼♀️
sr_yancey's review against another edition
An interesting take on mindfulness and slowing down to really look at the world when everything is just A Lot. It all looks so different to people because of what they love and therefore notice. It is being the most present and most attentive even if there’s no possible way you’ll notice everything. It got me out of my head and enjoying travel again by actually seeing the people, the life, around me big and small. So in the strangest way, this book represents a substantial part of how I understand my own spirituality.
clar_a15's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.75
This book made me want to go on walks in the city (surprising ? Possibly not, but to make me want to go to the city is impressive in itself)
Such an amazing concept, did not disapoint. I have to say i was impressed by the quality of Horowitz's writing, whom i didn't know before. Regarding all the way of seeing and appreciating mundane things you see on a walk she learned, she did have a keen sense of observation and analysis already. Maybe because she's a psychology professor (among other fields of study)
What more is there to say ? Informative, funny, fascinating, and well written, my dream of any non-fiction book I read.
I loved it.
Such an amazing concept, did not disapoint. I have to say i was impressed by the quality of Horowitz's writing, whom i didn't know before. Regarding all the way of seeing and appreciating mundane things you see on a walk she learned, she did have a keen sense of observation and analysis already. Maybe because she's a psychology professor (among other fields of study)
What more is there to say ? Informative, funny, fascinating, and well written, my dream of any non-fiction book I read.
I loved it.
jwagstrom's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
This book was very interesting, but for some reason I found it difficult to get through. Some experts were extremely compelling, while others felt like a slog. And I think I wanted something different from this book than what it ended up delivering, though I couldn’t articulate what that is.
I did learn a lot of interesting stuff about humanity and our odd quirks, and even though it was tough to get through, it was still worth the read.
I did learn a lot of interesting stuff about humanity and our odd quirks, and even though it was tough to get through, it was still worth the read.