A review by sean_mann
Walden by Henry David Thoreau

informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

My favorite parts of this book were Thoreau's observations of nature and the many interesting features you can identify when you observe everything in detail over a long period of time. His description of the actions of baby birds hiding from potential threats, or of the varied states and noises of ice on the pond reveal a beauty in nature that is just waiting for us to stop and observe it.

In between these observations were reflections on society that shifted between profound and somewhat of a lecture. One statement that stuck out to me was his comment that he doesn't read the news because what value does it serve to see that a man died in such and such a place today? Once you've read it once, you'll find the same things every time, and there are much better ways to spend your time.