Walden

Walden is the book I read at the beginning of every summer. I have been doing that since I first read it at the tender age of nineteen, having thus read it thirteen times. It is a marvelous piece of work, falling somewhere between personal journal, and philosophical treatise, sprinkled with a healthy dose of spirituality. It is not an easy read, but once the reader gets into the rhythm of the prose, s/he should find it comfortable enough to keep going. It is not an effortless book, but it is one that will grow with each subsequent read. It is full of little bits of advice on how to live a meaningful life that is not tied to wealth and material things, and one that is full of spiritual meaning. However, it is not preachy and does not attack social problems from a Judeo-Christian point of view, but rather applies a universally applicable set of morality to a healthy life. I cannot recommend this book enough.

The finest work ever written about the economy of life. Thoreau describes his life on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachussetts, the quality of nature there, the quality of change in seasons, the terms of change and economy in life, the good sense required to see the complexity of life that abounds outdoors, and the better sense to achieve simplicity within doors. Simply, Walden is a better book than many, and is full of lessons to be learned.