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Walden, Or, Life in the Woods
Walden, Or, Life in the Woods | Henry David Thoreau
On July 4, 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved into the cabin he had built on the shore of Walden Pond, thus beginning the most famous experiment in simple living in American history. On the 150th anniversary of that event, Houghton Mifflin, successor to Thoreau's original publisher, is proud to publish a new edition of Walden, annotated by the distinguished Thoreau scholar Walter Harding and illustrated with Thoreau's own drawings. Even those who have read Walden many times will find much that is new in this edition, and those reading the book for the first time will discover why it has changed the lives of generations of readers.
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AllDebooks
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#Rereadtheclassics

Our discussion thread is open. Please do let us know your thoughts on this classic book.

How did you get on?
Did you enjoy the pace?
What stood out for you?
Was there anything you didn't like?

Cazxxx “I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” Love this quote from the book. Sums me up perfectly! 3d
AllDebooks @Cazxxx absolutely, me too. I kept pausing to think I'm not the only hibernating hermit! 😅 3d
See All 11 Comments
Graywacke I‘m enjoying it. An oddity, I think. I‘m about 40% through. Next chapter is The Bean Field. 3d
Cazxxx @AllDebooks No you‘re not, I‘m a total recluse 😂 3d
TheBookHippie @Cazxxx me too!!! That is just paradise. 3d
AllDebooks @Graywacke so glad you're enjoying it. Tbh I did find Economy a bit of a slog to get through. I'm loving the nature parts 3d
TheBookHippie I loved my reread. So many passages hit so close to home. 3d
AllDebooks My favourite passage “We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” 3d
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LitStephanie
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"I discovered that my house actually had its site, in such a withdrawn, but forever new and unprofaned, part of the universe." I visited the tiny cabin and property (more remote than Thoreau's, actually) I once lived in last weekend, and this passage resonated with me. @AllDebooks #naturalitsy #rereadtheclassics

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LitStephanie
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AllDebooks Lol, he doesn't mince his words!! 'ambitious booby' 🤣 1w
LitStephanie @AllDebooks he sure doesn't! Earlier, he explained how elderly people have no knowledge to offer. 😆 1w
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LitStephanie
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I am enjoying the discussion of how the more luxurious the house, the more burdensome it is. People toil through a lifetime deep in debt to have a nice house, and nowadays a lot of other things, they don't really need. And the maintenance, represented by his tossing out a couple of pieces of lime because they required dusting, sucks more of our lives than it is worth. #rereadtheclassics #naturalitsy @AllDebooks

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TheBookHippie
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@AllDebooks these would be my Walden copies… #rereadtheclassics

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dabbe
Walden by Henry David Thoreau | Henry David Thoreau
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ncsufoxes I live like 10-15 minutes away from Walden Pond. Although we haven‘t been yet (we just moved to the Boston area a few months ago). 1mo
Bookwormjillk @ncsufoxes it‘s a great walk 1mo
Eggs Lovely 💕💕 1mo
dabbe @ncsufoxes Lovely! Someday I hope to get there! 🙏 1mo
dabbe @Eggs 🥰 1mo
58 likes5 comments
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Graywacke
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Hmm. Can I actually get through this?

#rereadtheclassics (except this would my 1st reading this) #naturalisty @AllDebooks

IndoorDame Good luck! I never managed to get through it 😂 1mo
dabbe I'm going to take your question rhetorically and write, “Of course you can!“ Oh, wait. I'm not supposed to answer a rhetorical question, so I'll say it silently in my head instead. 🤣 1mo
Graywacke @IndoorDame yeah, you know, thank you. @dabbe I‘m afraid the question is not rhetorical 🙂 1mo
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batsy I want to read it too! It doesn't feel like a book that can be read straight through, though? I might be wrong. 1mo
Graywacke @batsy well, these opening 5 pages are all over the place. So far it begs rereading over and over. Presumably he settles down, eventually. ?? 1mo
AllDebooks I've read reviews where the 1st few chapters are tough going, but then we get to the good stuff. It's certainly testing my patience atm! 😅 maybe I should have chosen John Muir or Aldo Leopold 3w
Graywacke @AllDebooks that‘s what i‘ve heard. Plot through Economy, and then it gets better. I‘m itching to read Leopold. Muir appeals too, although I suspect he is harder to read. 3w
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LitsyEvents
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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repost for @AllDebooks:

#Rereadtheclassics #NaturaLitsy #BuddyRead

Our May read is Walden. Please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

A relaxed read along with check-ins and discussion at the end of the month

original post: https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2582762

AllDebooks Thank you for the share x 1mo
33 likes1 comment
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AllDebooks
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#Rereadtheclassics #NaturaLitsy

Our May read is Walden. Please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

A relaxed read along with check-ins and discussion at the end of the month

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/24/100-best-nonfiction-books-walden-h...

@LitsyEvents

See All 26 Comments
TheBookHippie I‘ve got all my copies . Now which to reread 🙃. 1mo
AllDebooks @TheBookHippie ❤️📚❤️ 1mo
TheBookHippie @AllDebooks may steal Mr BookHippies copy you have pictured here 😅🤣. 1mo
AllDebooks @TheBookHippie I really want that one! On my wishlist 1mo
BookwormAHN I'll skip this one since I'm still working on The Count of Monte Cristo 😺 1mo
AllDebooks @BookwormAHN ok, think we're all still going with the count!!! 1mo
Graywacke I‘m interested, but just saw this. So i need to find a copy. I‘ll try to join 1mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m interested, I‘ve had it on my shelf for yours. 1mo
AllDebooks @Graywacke @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yay, glad to have your company 😃 1mo
CrowCAH Thanks for the tag, but I won‘t be reading Walden this month. 1mo
AllDebooks @CrowCAH ok, thanks for letting me know x 1mo
ElizaMarie Found it on Kindle for free. I have never read this one. I think I will join y'all. 1mo
AllDebooks @ElizaMarie Yay, thanks for the Kindle tip 😊 1mo
Graywacke @AllDebooks i started. Reading at about 5 minutes a page! 🙂☺️ 1mo
LitStephanie Ok I just checked it out from the library. Please tag me. Thanks! 1mo
Read4life I‘m joining you. I think I‘m going to read it on Serial Reader 🤓 1mo
BarbaraJean No need to tag me for this one, but I‘ll keep at it with the Count! 😁 1mo
Saknicole Yes! I‘d love to read Walden together. Tag me please! 1mo
AllDebooks @Graywacke I guess there's a lot to take in!! 🫣 1mo
AllDebooks @BarbaraJean the Count is enough for sure! 1mo
AllDebooks @LitStephanie @Read4life @Saknicole Yay, the more the merrier 😄 1mo
43 likes26 comments
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LitsyEvents
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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repost for @AllDebooks:

#Rereadtheclassics #Buddyread

Our current read of The count of Monte Cristo is going to run until who knows? 🤔😅

Next up is our May selection, Walden by Henry David Thoreau. One for #NaturaLitsy too. Looking forward to reading about life at Walden ponds.

Please comment on original post to be added to the taglist:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2581205

AllDebooks Thank you for the tag x 1mo
35 likes1 comment
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AllDebooks
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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#Rereadtheclassics #Buddyread

Our current read of The count of Monte Cristo is going to run until who knows? 🤔😅

Next up is our May selection, Walden by Henry David Thoreau. One for #NaturaLitsy too. Looking forward to reading about life at Walden ponds.

https://fivebooks.com/book/walden-by-henry-david-thoreau/

Please let me know if you wish to be added to the taglist.

@LitsyEvents

TheAromaofBooks Do you have a schedule for reading Walden, or do you just read through the month and discuss it at the end? It was my February classic and I have only gotten a chapter or two in because Thoreau actually drives me a little crazy 😂 1mo
AllDebooks @TheAromaofBooks no schedule, just read at your own pace and we discuss at the end of the month. I'm ashamed (as a nature lover) to say I've never read it, so looking forward to it but also a bit nervous as I've read it's heavy on the philosophy. Don't want to be disappointed! 1mo
AllDebooks @TheAromaofBooks It's also my #bookspin, so no dodging it! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Well, if you have a tag list for discussions, add me to it!! I'll try to finish it this month. I may get a different edition - the one I have has very tiny print and I think that's been part of my issue haha 1mo
26 likes5 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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#OnThisDay in 1854 Thoreau's reflection on life in nature, Walden, was published. Thoreau lived on Emerson's Walden Pond for over two years. He was known to locals as "woods burner" for the 300-acre forest fire he started shortly before moving in (oops!). He left the pond in 1847, and spent the next seven years finishing his work. #HistoryGetsLIT

sprainedbrain 😂 10mo
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Rachel.Rencher
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Is there anything better to have on your lap than a puppy and a book?

ShelleyBooksie Awww! 12mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🐶 ❤️📚 12mo
Leftcoastzen 🐶👏 12mo
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LindaLappin
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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“earth's eye“... #SavvySettings #Lake 5
@Eggs

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rather_be_reading
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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TK-421
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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“The moles nested in my cellar, nibbling every third potato, and making a snug bed even there of some hair left after plastering and of brown paper; for even the wildest animals love comfort and warmth as well as man, and they survive the winter only because they are so careful to secure them.” #mole #QuotsyOct21

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peanutnine
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Eggs 🖤👍🏼❤️ 2y
28 likes1 comment
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Pip2
Walden, Or, Life in the Woods | Henry David Thoreau
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“In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live.”

Leftcoastzen Beautiful! 2y
readingjedi That's lovely! 2y
282Mikado “...if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds.“

Had to look this up. It is even better with what was left unsaid.
2y
Pip2 @282Mikado I love this quote. It is a reminder to simplify life at every opportunity. To reduced one‘s affairs when able and live life to the true fullest, not being caught up in the rigmarole of life and the societies news or social media outlets but to simplify. The one who succeeds in a multitude of tasks and doesn‘t simplify will drown oneself in the quicksands of magnanimity. 2y
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DebinHawaii
Walden by Henry David Thoreau | Henry David Thoreau
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#QuotsyJuly21 #worm

“My enemies are worms, cool days, and most of all woodchucks.”

-Henry David Thoreau

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MayJasper
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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#JulyJourneys Day 12 #SimplicityDay
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I like the thought of 'unanxious hens'.

Eggs Beautiful 🐓 ❤️📚 2y
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TiminCalifornia
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

#thinkpositivebepositive

@eeclayton - thanks for tagging me!

(taking the quote literally-pictured is the foundation for our detached garage and in-law unit currently under construction)

eeclayton Great quote ❤️ 2y
36 likes2 comments
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Chcj82
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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CindyMyLifeIsLit
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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1. Gone With the Wind, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, In Cold Blood, The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, A Tale of Two Cities, Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, everything by Georgette Heyer (I teach high school English, in case you can‘t tell!) 😂
2. It is an initial draw, but reviews and ratings trump beauty.
#ThoughtfulThursday

MoonWitch94 Thanks for playing 📚☺️🌿 2y
39 likes1 comment
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Thndrstd
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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1. Yes, I‘ve read the Great Gatsby more times than I count and I‘m thinking about rereading again.
2. Sometimes. I think it matters less as I age.

Tagging anyone who wants to do it. Enjoy.
#thoughtfulthursday
@MoonWitch94

MoonWitch94 Thanks for playing 📚☺️🌿 2y
28 likes1 comment
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lil1inblue
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

#QuotsyMar21 #Foundation #HenryDavidThoreau

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KCofKaysville
Walden by Henry David Thoreau | Henry David Thoreau
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Shot taken at nearby park yesterday reminds me to read Walden someday.

34 likes1 stack add
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RayHallucinogen
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Pickpick

See for yourself.

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TheNeverendingTBR
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Thanks for the tag @LoydaElionora here's my contribution to #ThinkPositiveBePositive 🙋‍♂️

If you see this and have spare time, take part if you want. I tag ya! 👍

Cathythoughts Nice one 👍🏻 2y
Ellies_Books06 Keeping it in mind!❤ 2y
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DarkMina
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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#ThinkPositiveBePositive

Thanks for the tag @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks !
Find an inspiring quote, tag me, tag friends!

EadieB Thanks for the tag! 2y
Eggs @DarkMina 💕💕 2y
DarkMina @EadieB You‘re welcome! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️❤️❤️ 2y
12 likes4 comments
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Kenyazero
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Mehso-so

I listened to this with my husband. It was a bit hard to focus on at times because the narrative wanders quite off course frequently, but I really enjoyed the descriptions of and observations about nature. Thoreau philosophizes a lot, and he's pretty sure he knows better than anyone else how to live. He has a nasty attitude about poverty being the poor person's fault because they buy clothes (etc) as well. And why is the 1st chapter 3 hours long?

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Andrea313
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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"You proclaim that I was never really alone at Walden Pond, because I had regular visitors. Bitch, I disclosed my visitors — I wrote a whole damned chapter called “Visitors.” Can‘t blame me if some debutante from Darien didn‘t read it. And who‘s entertaining visitors now? Not your quarantined ass."

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/whos-laughing-now-assholes-a-letter-from-hen...

Lcsmcat I love this! 2y
Bookwormjillk 😂😂 2y
Cuilin That‘s hilarious 😂 2y
Andrea313 @Lcsmcat @Bookwormjillk @Cuilin McSweeneys has been killing it with their literary content this year! 😂 2y
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DebinHawaii
Walden, Or, Life in the Woods | Henry David Thoreau
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#ChristmasQuotes #fireplace

I miss fireplaces.😉

“I lingered most about the fireplace, as the most vital part of the house.”

Henry David Thoreau

Verity I‘m still grumpy the first shut down meant we couldn‘t get the chimney repair done, so I still can‘t have a fire in our fireplace! 2y
DebinHawaii @Verity Oh my, I would be grumpy about that too! 2y
EadieB I love fireplaces too! 2y
BookBabe Doesn‘t get cozier than curling up in front of a fireplace! Possibly the only downside of living in Hawaii! 🤭😄 2y
60 likes4 comments
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Gina
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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The mouse book club. Picks out books they print that are pocket sized that they send you quarterly.

https://mousebookclub.com/

This was too much fun to pass up. I'll send updates when I get my teeny mouse books!

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erzascarletbookgasm
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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There are criticisms to the book- of hypocrisy, of Thoreau opposing technology/progress, it‘s all #flightsoffancy ..
but many are drawn to it as it speaks clearly of a communion with #nature , and is ahead of its time in environmental and mindfulness appreciation.

#fallfinds
#wordsofoctober

Cathythoughts ✨✨✨✨✨ 3y
OriginalCyn620 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 3y
Eggs Well done 👍🏼 Rather a “bible” for nature 3y
64 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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SharonGoforth
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Thoreau on reading. I‘m loving this! #henrydavidthoreau #walden #lovereading

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GatheringBooks
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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#QuotsySept20 Day 8: #Physical
In our new home with my teenage girl.

Soubhiville Cool cabinets. Congratulations! 3y
RidgewayGirl Look at all that cabinet space! 3y
Nute Lovely! Congratulations! 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Congratulations 🎈🎊🎉 so exciting!!! 3y
60 likes4 comments
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this_teacher_reads
Walden by Henry David Thoreau | Henry David Thoreau
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❤️

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Dude could write. 3y
34 likes1 comment
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Thndrstd
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Pickpick

Thoreau's writing is often beautiful and wise. Sometimes it is tedious and redundant. That said, I knew I needed to reread it and I'm so glad I did, even if it took me a long while. Now more than ever, his words are prescient and brilliant and the simple life he describes feels so out of reach but utterly necessary. Highly recommended

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Kenyazero
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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My husband named our Animal Crossing island Walden. #classiclit #animalcrossing #videogame

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PurpleTulipGirl
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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It‘s not Thoreau‘s pond, but a lake near where we spent a lovely weekend in Washington last fall.

#KeepLitsyPositive

kspenmoll I live your hashtag! #keeplitsypositive 3y
PurpleTulipGirl @kspenmoll I won‘t take credit for it. I‘m not sure who created it, but I like it! 3y
BookishMe @kspenmoll @PurpleTulipGirl if you still haven't found out, it's started by @LoverOfLearning ;D 3y
LoverOfLearning I created it. We all need some love. I AM SO HAPPY at how far spread this hashtag went. It makes my soul happy. @bookishMe @PurpleTulipGirl @Kspenmoll 3y
LoverOfLearning What a gorgeous picture! All we have is cornfields around me. 3y
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TK-421
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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“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.” #relic #QuotsyMar20

LiterRohde 🧡 Love that 🧡 So it‘s not just a story about a guy living next to a pond? 🤣 3y
59 likes2 comments
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rock.kowgurl
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
Panpan

I've tried to read it so many times. The audio book took five nights to get through. I love the classics but this is not for me.

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ImperfectCJ
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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I have, of course, read dozens of quotes and selections from Walden because one can't avoid them, and I even started the thing a few times, but I can't quite get past his self-importance and his neckbeard. Still, I think I ought to read the whole thing someday.

Day 20 - #GratefulReads #classicihaventread

@OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Scochrane26 I read it this summer. You‘re prob better off just reading the important quotes. The rest is about ponds. 4y
OriginalCyn620 Haven‘t read this either! 4y
Crazeedi A note is on it's way to you!😊💞 4y
ImperfectCJ @Scochrane26 I read up to the detailed bit about how awesome he is because he has last season's suit design made for himself. Ponds might actually be more interesting... 4y
ImperfectCJ @Crazeedi Hooray! I need to get on top of my replies! 4y
42 likes5 comments
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rachaich
Walden, Or, Life in the Woods | Henry David Thoreau
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We're reading this for Nov book club as we have a Thanksgiving meal planned (we have two Americans in our grouo) and thought this would be a good but challenging read!

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TK-421
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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“...I minded not how the hours went. The day advanced as if to light some work of mine; it was morning, and lo, now it is evening, and nothing memorable is accomplished...This was sheer idleness to my fellow-townsmen, no doubt; but if the birds and flowers had tried me by their standard, I should not have been found wanting. A man must find his occasions in himself, it is true. The natural day is very calm, and will hardly reprove his indolence.”

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Jari-chan
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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Pickpick

A book that surprised me with its timeliness. What Thoreau writes about the human society and its relationship to nature is now more actual than ever. This work should get more attention nowadays.

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krismlars
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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I‘ve lived in Massachusetts for 2 years, but I just now visited Walden Pond. I read a few pages while sitting next to Heywood‘s Meadow.

rather_be_reading 👏👏 4y
Lauram Love Walden Pond! I was expecting something much smaller. 4y
53 likes2 comments
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BirdsandBelles
Walden | Henry David Thoreau
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1. I grew up in New England and spent my childhood out of doors in this area.🌲
2. It‘s overcast here and about 70 degrees. It‘s starting to feel a little bit like fall in VA. 🍁
3. It was a blind date in college the night I first met my husband! It was awkward and we totally ran out of things to talk about five minutes into the date. Just to be clear, the date was NOT my husband-to-be! 😳
4. 2 👩🏼👱🏼‍♀️
5. @LuvBks81
#FRIYAYINTRO @howjessreads

Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🎈🤗 4y
17 likes1 comment