A review by lydiajlong
Walden, Or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

“It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves.”

I have wanted to read Walden since high school and now picking it up a decade later, I’m realizing I’m not used to reading this type of literature anymore! I struggled a bit to get through the writing style but there are so many amazing pieces in this work.

I loved the emphasis on simple living and the ideas of narrowing down life to what really matters most to you. I loved his quick comment about being offered a rug for his home but he contemplated his physical space and his time spent cleaning the rug — and he declined it! Especially in 2022 America, it is far too easy to accumulate things that we don’t actually need. We could live a much more peaceful life (for the person making the item and for the person consuming/using the item) if we sought a simple life.