I understand that this book has historic literary significance, but nowadays it just seems overrated and underwhelming. Thoreau comes off as self-congratulatory and self-involved. The messages and contents, though doubtless revolutionary in their impacts at the time of publication, come off as trite nowadays. There are some great quotes, but better to read those quotes than the whole book

I remember not liking this book as a kid and being bored when visiting the pond on a field trip. Fast forward 30 or so years later and I found it much more enjoyable. Having some extra spare time, I read much of it by a local swimming hole and also while away at a silent meditation retreat with a pond. I also continued to encounter quotes and mentions of Walden while reading several unrelated books in parallel which goes to show how influential this book really is. It can be hard to get through some of the chapters which some may describe as boring, but that is kind of the point. If we slow down and just notice things, boredom is really just something we create as there is always something worth paying attention to.

I didn't actually finish this book, I've just had it as "currently reading" for 4 months because I started it but couldn't bring myself to finish it. I mean, I have like 5 books total in my apartment and all the free time in the world, if I can't make myself finish this I must really not like it. Which I don't.

I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did, but wow. The "Spring" chapter is amazing. There's something weirdly captivating about the boring bits (ice melting!) too.

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.

I am finally fucking done with your book, Thoreau.
He definitely has a beautiful way with words but the content of this book and Thoreau's personality were just plain boring and yucky.

Poetic, insightful, gentle, powerful. Well written and rightfully beloved as both an American and a spiritual masterpiece.

Thoreau gets a bit long-winded at times over such things as his descriptions of ice, and mud flows. (The latter of which being the only section of Walden that was a bit lost on me.)In fact, he is at his best when pursuing and exploring metaphor and spiritual truth, and takes a few steps towards tedium in the sections that merely describe what he was looking at.

Even those sections, however, were written with a mostly golden pen. The magnitude of Thoreau's patient, penetrating observations during his time on Walden is indisputable.

Those few slight slogs notwithstanding, the short volume radiates with potentially life-changing thoughts of such depth as to make Walden Pond itself seem shallow by comparison.

If Thoreau were alive today he'd be that Millennial whose parents paid for college while he lived in a $50k van and produced a podcast about how other Millennials are lazy.