Book club read #1: Walden
I'm
excited that so many of you are interested in a homesteading book
club! Walden won by a landslide, so we'll
start with that and then decide on the next book if folks are still
interested.
Since Walden is so easily accessible (for free download, free online with
copious footnotes,
or in book form at your library), I thought I'd just give you the rest
of this week to rustle up the book, a week to read the first chapter
(about 50 paperback pages), and then start the first round of
discussion on April 30. But please leave a comment if you think
that's nuts and I can slow things down.
I haven't read any of
the book yet, but I did poke around on the web to come up with some
facts and ideas you might want to ponder as you embark on your literary
adventure:
- Philosophical perspective --- Henry David Thoreau "hoped his book would establish him as the foremost spokesman for the American transcendentalist movement." According to Wikipedia, transcendentalism was a 19th century American movement that rebelled against institutions like organized religion and political parties and instead believed we should each be self-reliant and independent. "For the Transcendentalist, the secret of successful living was to hold oneself above material concerns as much as possible and focus on the spiritual." Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the founders of the movement, was Thoreau's mentor and loaned Thoreau the land on which he built his cabin beside Walden Pond at the age of 28.
- Historical perspective
--- Thoreau spent most of his life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during
a period when his region was shifting from an agrarian to an industrial
focus. He worked in his family's pencil factory and understood "how
dependent industrialization was on the exploitation of cheap labor",
an understanding that was also colored by his family's involvement in
the Underground Railroad.
- Living simply --- One of the goals of Thoreau's two year sojourn in the woods was to figure out if he could make a living by working only one day per week. His book didn't do well when it was initially published in 1854, but became much more popular when the Great Depression forced many people to live simply.
Keep in mind I just read
a few websites to come up with that background information. More
literary folks should feel free to comment here and set us all
straight. For everyone else, don't forget to hunt down Walden and start reading!
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed, or simply check the box beside "email replies to me" while writing your comment.
I don't meant to gush, but you just cemented yourselves as my FAVORIT BLOG on the whole, entire interweb. I've been feeling a bit worn down lately by working for the man or whatever, and the idea of picking up Walden again for another read just sounds totally refreshing. THANK YOU!
Dave --- Perfect! Sounds like you'll be ahead the game and ready to lead the discussion.
Pamela --- Aw, I'm so glad to hear that! Glad to have you in the book club!
Justus --- Great! I'm glad I'm not the only one who needed a little nudge to make it through the book. I think Walden is a very good book to digest slowly --- you'll have a leg up on the rest of us!
Better go read my five pages for the night now.
I downloaded Walden to my Kindle before getting on a recent airplane flight, determined to delve into a classic that seemed close to my heart. My husband laughed when I gave up after reading four pages. I might try it again but may just need to stick with the old standbys like Koontz, King, Patterson, and all those other catchy, easy-read fictional novelists for my reading gluttony.
~ Mitsy
Mitsy --- I would have given up after two pages if I didn't have the reading club to spur me on. That said, if you skim (or skip...) the first ten or twenty pages, Thoreau finally stops ranting and starts telling about his adventure, which is more interesting.
Which is not to say that I don't read five pages of Walden and then 50 pages of something more fun....
I admit that my eyes glazed over in a few places, but I was amazed that after more than 150 years, his writing is still so relevant. I love his observations about his daily life and his commitment to let nature continue around him, and his determination to be mindful of his daily decisions and their impact on others (people, animals, or trees with equal importance).
I will only chime in occasionally because I already finished (audio) and can't easily comment chapter by chapter. I actually listened to it all twice because there were so many things I wanted to reflect on that I ended up missing parts!
Thanks, Anna!