Re[4]: [at-l] RE: Bryson's Book

[GADog430@aol.com (GADog430@aol.com)]

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In a message dated 9/17/2002 10:30:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
ellen@clinic.net writes:


> "...Yeah  it  (Walden)  is  small  and so boringly dense and obtuse that you
> can
> never finish it." reports J. Bryan Kramer.
>
> I  guess that must be why it still sells thousands of copies a year and
> I've yet
> to  see  a bookstore that fails to have a copy on its shelves. One has to
> search
> for  the  other  "classics"  of that era. Only Walden seems to have a
> continuing
> broad audience.
>
> I've  often thought the reason may be the message and the skill with which
> it is
> delivered.  A  mixture  of  seriousness  and subtle humor. But J. Bryan may
> have
> discovered something about Walden that us denser folks have missed.
>
> Weary

I have often wondered if Walden is one of those books that you
have to read at the right time. My dad has read it, and I have not.
But, I find that books that I loved in my youth, while still thought
of fondly, do not hold the same interest for me now. And the opposite is true
also, books I would not have given second thought to in my youth are
now favorites.

I wonder if there is just a time in one's life to read it ... and I don't
mean chronologically. I mean...circumstances that will cause you to need or
enjoy it.

Dawg