Suggested Reading Time: 14 days
Category: Autobiographical Essay/ Non-fiction
There are very few books in life which can actually change your thought process per say. Majority of them, when recalled, only bring a passing reference to some instance or the author to mind. But ‘Walden’ is one book, or should we say an extended autobiographical essay, that makes one’s soul stir and brain-cells buzz.
Walden is regarded as one the seminal pieces of work in American literature. Written by Henry David Thoreau, it is a book which exposes the notion that in some way or the other, we are all slaves to our own selves and our lives are a fallout of the same.
This book is actually culled from notes which Thoreau maintained when he retreated from his home in Concord to his abode, known as the ‘Walden Pond’. Here he essentially lived in solitude, away from the vicissitudes of life, contemplating on things and living a life in harmony with nature. The book is a series of essays and opinions of Thoreau on a wide range of subjects, from the economy (money and it’s relation to personal finances) to the sounds that surrounded him to the nature of the pond itself.
Few of quotes/extracts from the book that make you sit up and ruminate deeply about life:
- “Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores. Do not stay to be an overseer of the poor, but endeavor to become one of the worthies of the world.” – 1. Economy
- “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.” – 2. Where I Lived and What I Lived For
- “I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.” – 2. Where I Lived and What I Lived For,
- I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls.” – 5. Solitude, Walden
- “I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – 18. Conclusion
- “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.” – 18. Conclusion
These are just some of the nuggets of wisdom that are splattered across the book.
All in all, this forms excellent reading material for Reading comprehensions actually. And I would personally recommend a look-in to this book. And since this is a copyright free book, you can find a copy of it easily on the net. So that would be help in online reading as well.
