Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Overall Impression:
This is my least favorite of the nearly 80 books I’ve read in the past year and a half. While the opening chapter, Economy, resonated with me in parts—even where I disagreed—I found the rest of the book increasingly difficult to connect with. The prose often felt meandering and disconnected, making it hard to follow Thoreau’s point from one sentence or paragraph to the next. His philosophy of simplicity and isolation does not appeal to me as a societal model, and his rejection of philanthropy clashes with my values. Though a few insights and passages stood out, they weren't enough to redeem the whole.
Themes or Characters That Resonated:
Thoreau’s main thesis seems to be an advocation for a simpler life. While I don’t subscribe to that philosophy, I do agree with some of his points about valuing thoughts over things. His critique of industrialism and the dehumanizing effect of the factory system also aligned with my own beliefs about the exploitative nature of capitalism.
Emotions, Thoughts, or Memories the Book Stirred:
Thoreau’s experiment demonstrated a level of privilege that was hard to ignore. His chosen isolation is not an option that would have been available to most people—and certainly not a lone woman of his time. The book often left me mentally drifting, especially in the long nature descriptions that lacked narrative or emotional color. Still, I appreciated the few moments when his ideas came through clearly and beautifully.
One element I did respect was his civil disobedience: he refused to pay taxes as a protest against a government that permitted slavery. That stands in contrast to his cynicism toward philanthropy, which I found frustrating. I prefer the blind hope of the bishop in Les Misérables, who gives with confidence in the possibility of redemption.
I also appreciated understanding his classical allusions, especially the metaphor of his bean field as the battlefield of the Iliad, with the weeds as Trojans and his tools as Argives.
Opinion About the Author or Writing Style:
I found Thoreau’s writing disorganized and overly indulgent. The structure of the book made it difficult to follow, and the paragraphs often lacked cohesion. Descriptions of nature felt dry and lifeless—particularly the focus on the number of birds or the depths of ponds. That said, I did enjoy his discussion of ice harvesting. It’s not that I dislike natural beauty, but rather that his presentation of it left me cold.
Favorite Passages:
“What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary? I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another.”
I enjoy this sentiment. The real way to have comradery is through a meeting of the minds, not merely being in each other's presence.
“I cannot believe that our factory system is the best mode by which men may get clothing. The condition of the operatives is becoming every day more like that of the English; and it cannot be wondered at, since, as far as I have heard or observed, the principal object is, not that mankind may be well and honestly clad, but, unquestionably, that the corporations may be enriched.”
This resonated with me. I agree that the abundance created by our technology and wealth is being directed towards the rich, instead of creating a fulfilling life for all humankind.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
This is a timeless sentiment that seems to echo through lots of classic literature.
“Men sometimes speak as if the study of the classics would at length make way for more modern and practical studies; but the adventurous student will always study classics, in whatever language they may be written and however ancient they may be. For what are the classics but the noblest recorded thoughts of man? They are the only oracles which are not decayed, and there are such answers to the most modern inquiry in them as Delphi and Dodona never gave.”
I appreciate this idea, as I work my way through classic literature.
“A written word is the choicest of relics. It is something at once more intimate with us and more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest to life itself. It may be translated into every language, and not only be read but actually breathed from all human lips; —not be represented on canvas or in marble only, but be carved out of the breath of life itself. The symbol of ancient man's thought becomes a modern man's speech.”
“That age will be rich indeed when those relics which we call Classics, and the still older and more than classic but even less known Scriptures of the nations, shall have still further accumulated, when the Vaticans shall be filled with Vedas and Zendavestas and Bibles, with Homers and Dantes and Shakespeares, and all the centuries to come shall have successively deposited their trophies in the forum of the world. By such a pile we may hope to scale heaven at last.”
This is a reference to the tower of Babel, and it is beautifully written.
My ratings-
Writing Style: 70
Relatability: 70
Originality: 80
Personal impact: 75
This is my least favorite of the nearly 80 books I’ve read in the past year and a half. While the opening chapter, Economy, resonated with me in parts—even where I disagreed—I found the rest of the book increasingly difficult to connect with. The prose often felt meandering and disconnected, making it hard to follow Thoreau’s point from one sentence or paragraph to the next. His philosophy of simplicity and isolation does not appeal to me as a societal model, and his rejection of philanthropy clashes with my values. Though a few insights and passages stood out, they weren't enough to redeem the whole.
Themes or Characters That Resonated:
Thoreau’s main thesis seems to be an advocation for a simpler life. While I don’t subscribe to that philosophy, I do agree with some of his points about valuing thoughts over things. His critique of industrialism and the dehumanizing effect of the factory system also aligned with my own beliefs about the exploitative nature of capitalism.
Emotions, Thoughts, or Memories the Book Stirred:
Thoreau’s experiment demonstrated a level of privilege that was hard to ignore. His chosen isolation is not an option that would have been available to most people—and certainly not a lone woman of his time. The book often left me mentally drifting, especially in the long nature descriptions that lacked narrative or emotional color. Still, I appreciated the few moments when his ideas came through clearly and beautifully.
One element I did respect was his civil disobedience: he refused to pay taxes as a protest against a government that permitted slavery. That stands in contrast to his cynicism toward philanthropy, which I found frustrating. I prefer the blind hope of the bishop in Les Misérables, who gives with confidence in the possibility of redemption.
I also appreciated understanding his classical allusions, especially the metaphor of his bean field as the battlefield of the Iliad, with the weeds as Trojans and his tools as Argives.
Opinion About the Author or Writing Style:
I found Thoreau’s writing disorganized and overly indulgent. The structure of the book made it difficult to follow, and the paragraphs often lacked cohesion. Descriptions of nature felt dry and lifeless—particularly the focus on the number of birds or the depths of ponds. That said, I did enjoy his discussion of ice harvesting. It’s not that I dislike natural beauty, but rather that his presentation of it left me cold.
Favorite Passages:
“What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary? I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another.”
I enjoy this sentiment. The real way to have comradery is through a meeting of the minds, not merely being in each other's presence.
“I cannot believe that our factory system is the best mode by which men may get clothing. The condition of the operatives is becoming every day more like that of the English; and it cannot be wondered at, since, as far as I have heard or observed, the principal object is, not that mankind may be well and honestly clad, but, unquestionably, that the corporations may be enriched.”
This resonated with me. I agree that the abundance created by our technology and wealth is being directed towards the rich, instead of creating a fulfilling life for all humankind.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
This is a timeless sentiment that seems to echo through lots of classic literature.
“Men sometimes speak as if the study of the classics would at length make way for more modern and practical studies; but the adventurous student will always study classics, in whatever language they may be written and however ancient they may be. For what are the classics but the noblest recorded thoughts of man? They are the only oracles which are not decayed, and there are such answers to the most modern inquiry in them as Delphi and Dodona never gave.”
I appreciate this idea, as I work my way through classic literature.
“A written word is the choicest of relics. It is something at once more intimate with us and more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest to life itself. It may be translated into every language, and not only be read but actually breathed from all human lips; —not be represented on canvas or in marble only, but be carved out of the breath of life itself. The symbol of ancient man's thought becomes a modern man's speech.”
“That age will be rich indeed when those relics which we call Classics, and the still older and more than classic but even less known Scriptures of the nations, shall have still further accumulated, when the Vaticans shall be filled with Vedas and Zendavestas and Bibles, with Homers and Dantes and Shakespeares, and all the centuries to come shall have successively deposited their trophies in the forum of the world. By such a pile we may hope to scale heaven at last.”
This is a reference to the tower of Babel, and it is beautifully written.
My ratings-
Writing Style: 70
Relatability: 70
Originality: 80
Personal impact: 75